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Hero image for Joyful and Triumphant

Joyful and Triumphant

Television (Full Length) – 1993

Classic Kiwi play Joyful and Triumphant followed the Bishop family over four decades, from 1949 to 1989. Written by Robert Lord, it charted changes in New Zealand society by focusing on the minutae of Christmas Day family dynamics. The play was first performed to sellout audiences in 1992, a month after Lord died. It won multiple Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards. Directed by Peter Sharp (The Fire-Raiser), this TV adaptation features Robyn Malcolm and Goodbye Pork Pie's Tony Barry — plus Catherine Downes and Bruce Phillips, who both appeared in the original production. 

It's all here: life, love, greed, need, self-sacrifice, pyjamas, placemats and patience, 40 years of New Zealand society in an eggshell, fragile but whole, from the first beer to the last cup of tea.
– Denis Welch, reviewing the original play for The Listener, February 1992

Produced by

Avalon NFU Studios

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Bert and Maisy - Christmas (She's Funny at the Moment, They Both Are)

Playwright Robert Lord explores another Kiwi family at Xmas

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The End of the Golden Weather

Another Kiwi Christmas play on-screen

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Survey - The Day We Landed on The Most Perfect Planet In the Universe

Robert Lord's first screen credit

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Are You Old Enough

This song features in a scene

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No. 2

Another adaptation of a classic NZ family play

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Home Movie

More whānau drama

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Home by Christmas

Tony Barry also starred in this

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bro'Town - Morningside Story

A later Kiwi Christmas

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Pictures

Robert Lord also co-wrote this movie

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Blue Smoke (featuring Jim Carter)

This song features

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The Intruder

Catherine Downes also co-stars in this short film

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Gliding On - No Smoke Without Fire (First Episode)

Another classic play on-screen

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Buck House - Series Two, Episode One

Catherine Downes also appears in this sitcom

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Shark in the Park - Lamb to the Slaughter (Series One, Episode Three)

Robyn Malcolm's first screen role

Thumbnail image for Our People Our Century - In the Family Way

Our People Our Century - In the Family Way

Another cross-decade family survey

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The Graham Kerr Show - Cooking with Kerr

More Christmas cooking

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Chunuk Bair

Another classic play adapted for the screen

Thumbnail image for Goodnight Kiwi Christmas

Goodnight Kiwi Christmas

Another Kiwi Christmas

Thumbnail image for 2000 Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park

2000 Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park

Family fun times at Christmas

Thumbnail image for Gone up North for a While

Gone up North for a While

Also deals with unplanned pregnancy

Thumbnail image for Together

Together

Short about a complicated family Christmas

Thumbnail image for The Fire-Raiser - Kitty Plays the Piano (Episode Three)

The Fire-Raiser - Kitty Plays the Piano (Episode Three)

Also directed by Peter Sharp