Twelfth Night
- Synopsis
- Shakespeare’s comedy adapted for radio and produced by Cathleen Nesbitt, who also plays both Viola and Sebastian to Gerald Lawrence’s Orsino. With music by Henry Purcell performed by the Wireless Quintet. The lyrics by Roger Quilter are sung by Norman Notley. Cecil A. Lewis speaks the prologue.
- Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain
- Medium
- Radio
- Transmission details
- 28 May 1923 at 19:30 (Channel: BBC)
- Duration
- 110 mins
- Availability
- No archive copy known
Credits
- Producer
- Cathleen Nesbitt
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Adaptor for Radio
- Cathleen Nesbitt
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Television and Radio Drama
- Plays
- Twelfth Night
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Doubling of roles
- Related items
- Epiphanous Use of the Microphone, An
Notes
- Notes
- Broadcast from the BBC London Station ‘2 LO’
- History
- This was the first complete Shakespeare play to be broadcast on British radio. It was followed by full-length productions of The Merchant of Venice (15/06/1923), Romeo and Juliet (05/07/1923), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (25/07/1923). They were all produced in the Savoy Hill studio in London. See separate entries.
- Reviews
- G. B. Shaw, who had been consulted by Lewis on how to best to introduce the play for listeners, advised him to "Scrap all that foolish twaddle, and read the play straight through just as Shakespear [sic] who really knew better than you) wrote it, with the reader saying what I told you he should say and no more" (C. A. Lewis, ‘G.B.S. Lectures the B.B.C.', Radio Times, 14 November 1924, p. 357).
Source: BBC Programme as Broadcast, BBC Programme Records, The Times
Production Company
- Name
BBC
- Notes
- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Twelfth Night". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av66566 (Accessed 19 Sep 2024)