Patricia Hooker

Patricia Hooker (17 February 1933 – 2001) was an Australian writer who worked extensively in England. She wrote for TV, radio and the stage.^[1]

She wrote The Golden Road, the first play on British television that was both written by a woman and about a lesbian relationship.^[2][3] Hooker also wrote A Season in Hell the first Australian television drama to focus on a queer relationship.^[4]

Biography

She grew up in the town of Port Lincoln in South Australia and trained as a stenographer.^[5][6] She began writing in her spare time and her work began appearing in amateur theatres. She worked as a secretary at the Stevedoring Commission in Sydney and also as a court reporter.^[7]

Hooker was working as a shorthand typist in a city office in 1959 when she wrote the story for The Little Woman at home in the evenings. She wrote it as a stage play and it was included in a night of one-act plays at the Genesian Theatre. To help it reach a wider audience, Patricia studied a book on TV technique and decided to revise the script as a TV play. The ABC produced it in 1961 by which time she was at the ABC as a script assistant.^[8][9]

She moved to London in 1964 and worked as a court reporter as well as writing for TV and radio.

Select credits

• A Bird in a Gilded Cage (1957) – TV play
• The Little Woman (1961) – TV play
• Twilight of a Hero (1962) – radio play about King David's love for Absalom
• Poet's Corner (1962) - radio writer^[10]
• Concord of Sweet Sounds (1963) – TV play^[11] and adapted for radio
• George (1964) - lunch hour play from short story by Anthony West^[12]
• A Season in Hell (1964) – TV play – later adapted for radio
• Man of Blood (1964) - play^[13]
• The Winged Chariot (1967) - radio play about Socrates
• The Lotus Eaters (1968) – play^[14]
• Counterstrike (1969) – TV series
• A Fit and Proper Person (1970) - TV play
• Kate (1971–73) - TV series
• Last Seen Wearing (1972) - radio play
• Harriets Back in Town (1972–73) - TV series
• Harriet's Back in Town (1973) – TV series
• Armchair Theatre - "The Golden Road" (1973) - TV play
• Crown Court (1973) - TV series
• The Beauty of the World (1973) - radio play
• Simon Fenton's Story (1973) - TV play
• "Going to St Ives" (1973) - TV play
• Six Days of Justice (1973–75) – TV series
• The Carnforth Practice (1974) – TV series
• Rooms (1975) – TV series
• Angels (1976) – TV series - episode "Off Duty"^[15]
• The Gentle Touch (1980) – "Chance", "Rogue"
• Plays for Pleasure – "The Concubine" (1981) – Tv episode^[16]
• Survival (1989) - radio play
• Right Ho Jeeves (1989) - radio play
• Seven Against Reeves (1989) - radio play

References

1. "Worth Reporting". The Australian Women's Weekly. Vol. 28, no. 20. Australia. 19 October 1960. p. 22. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
2. "Edinburgh orders an Australian play". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 December 1967. p. 55.
3. billysmart (26 September 2013). "'Armchair Theatre: The Golden Road' (1973): Representing lesbianism in the 1970s". Spaces of Television.
4. Vagg, Stephen (14 June 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: A Season in Hell". Filmink.
5. "Port Lincoln Girl, 19 In Miss S.A. Quest". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 15 November 1951. p. 3. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "KITCHEN EVENING TENDERED MISS PATRICIA HOOKER". Port Lincoln Times. SA. 14 January 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "Leisure TV Drama Music Art Books Radio The Arts". The Canberra Times. Vol. 40, no. 11, 370. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 January 1966. p. 15. Retrieved 18 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "STENOGRAPHER'S PLAY ACCEPTED". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 September 1961. p. 12.
9. "Classifieds". Sydney Morning Herald. 2 February 1963. p. 24.
10. "Radio Guide". The Age. 13 September 1962. p. 32.
11. "Sydney Writer's". The Canberra Times. 18 December 1963. p. 45. Retrieved 5 June 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "Lunch Hour Play Opens the AMP Theatre". Sydney Morning Herald. 30 January 1964. p. 9.
13. "£1,000 award for play". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 May 1964. p. 13.
14. "Edinburgh orders an Australian play". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 December 1967. p. 106.
15. "The Guardian 29 Sep 1975, page 4". The Guardian. 29 September 1975. p. 4.
16. "TV Guide". The Guardian. 28 April 1981. p. 26.

External links

• Patricia Hooker at IMDb
• Patricia Hooker at AustLit
• production of Pat Hooker's plays at AusStage
• Biographical information