Scenes from Shakespeare [16/02/1923]
- Synopsis
- First BBC radio drama broadcast. There is conflicting evidence on the exact content and cast of this programme. BBC Programme Records only credits a single scene from Julius Caesar as being performed by Shayle Gardner and Hubert Carter. In Vol. I of his History of Broadcasting Over Britain, Asa Briggs, following Gielgud’s version (op.cit.) suggests that the programme was actually comprised of scenes from 3 Shakespearean plays: the quarrel scene (Iv iii) from Julius Caesar, (with Robert Atkins as Cassius and Basil Gill as Brutus), as well as scenes from Henry VIII and Much Ado About Nothing.
- Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain
- Medium
- Radio
- Transmission details
- 16 Feb 1923 at 19:15 (Channel: BBC)
- Duration
- 105 mins
- Availability
- No copy extant
Credits
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
Additional Details
- Production type
- Television and Radio Drama
- Plays
- Julius Caesar
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Notes
- Notes
- In his account of this transmission Val Gielgud, Head of BBC Drama from 1929 to 1963, mentions scenes from three Shakespearean plays: "scenes were chosen from Julius Caesar - the famous ‘tent’ scene, with Robert Atkins as Cassius and Basil Gill as Brutus - from King Henry VIII - with Arthur Bourchier as the King and Acton-Bond as Wolsey - and from Much Ado About Nothing" in British Radio Drama, 1922-1956: A Survey (Harrap, 1957), p. 17. For a survey about the conflicting evidence about the content and dating of this primal scene of radio drama broadcasting, see Alan Beck, "The First Radio Drama Broadcast - ‘Scenes from Shakespeare’" , available at: http://www.kent.ac.uk/sdfva/invisible/shakes.htm(accessed 25 May 2006).
- General
- Broadcast from Marconi House, London.
- History
- The scene from Julius Caesar was transmitted from London 2LO sometime towards the end of the mixed programme slot. This dramatic transmission is usually credited as the first radio drama broadcast by the BBC.
- Reviews
- Source: BBC Programme Records; Asa Briggs, The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom, Volume I: The Birth of Broadcasting, Oxford: Oxford UP, 1961, p.280.
Production Company
- Name
BBC
- Notes
- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Scenes from Shakespeare [16/02/1923]". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av37818 (Accessed 15 Nov 2024)