It’s been 40 years since the infamous A Country Practice scene, which shook the country, when Molly Jones took her final breath.
Now, lovers of the show can take a peek into how the episode came to fruition, courtesy of another star of the Australian soap!
Actress Georgie Parker, 60, is playing fictional writer Judy in How to Plot a Hit in Two Days at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre.
It’s a production that imagines two days in A Country Practice’s story room, when the iconic Molly farewell episode was being written.
As it is a fictionalised account, Georgie tells New Idea that the playwright Melanie Tait chatted with some of ACP’s original crew.
“Melanie spoke to the people who were responsible for writing and producing the episode. She had to borrow from the truth to create the story,” Georgie reveals.
Melanie also spoke with the actress who played Molly Jones, Anne Tenney.
“I know that Anne was very fond of the whole ACP experience early in her career. She’s gone on to do amazing things, but the show was a beginning for a lot of us,” she says.
Georgie’s own ACP character, Sister Lucy Gardiner, sadly didn’t cross paths with Molly.
Georgie was cast in the show in 1988 and stayed until 1992, while Anne left in 1985.
But Georgie explains, she actually keeps “forgetting” she was on ACP when she’s doing the play!
“The majority of the characters depicted in the play weren’t there when I was! So, it feels like I’m talking about a different show,” she explains. “It’s interesting, ’cause it’s about a different time and space in the ACP world.”
Georgie thinks Molly’s farewell episode rated so highly – and is still so beloved today – because it connected us all.
“It was such a specific time in Australian TV,” Georgie says. “There were only three TV channels, so the show rated enormously highly.
“Everyone talked about it for days, and everyone was deeply invested in it,” she adds.
Georgie says the play captures that excitement.
“I think the audience will enjoy jumping back in time and getting a bird’s-eye- eye view, even though it’s fictional, of how that episode came about.”
Despite the enduring love for ACP, Georgie doesn’t see it returning to TV.
“Whenever people loved a show in the past, they always go, ‘wouldn’t it be good to bring it back?’ It’s definitely been fun to return to the ACP world, in this play, but stories that have yet to be told are just as important, too.”
How To Plot A Hit In Two Days is on at Sydney’s Ensemble Theatre until October 11.
