Life of King Henry V, The
- Synopsis
- 'Streamlined’ radio version of the play produced and adapted for broadcasting by Frank Hauser with a youthful Richard Burton in the title role. The play, shortened to fit the 90-minute slot, concentrates on the action of King Henry and his victories. The character of Pistol has been cut in it entirety. The music for the broadcast is composed by John Buckland. Clifton Helliwell conducts.
- Series
- Saturday-Night Theatre
- Language
- English
- Country
- Great Britain
- Medium
- Radio
- Recording date
- 3 Apr 1949
- Transmission details
- 23 Apr 1949 at 21:00 (Channel: BBC Home Service)
- Duration
- 90 mins
- Availability
- No archive copy known
Credits
- Producer
- Frank Hauser
- Writer
- William Shakespeare
- Music
- John Buckland
- Adaptor for Radio
- Frank Hauser
- Cast
Additional Details
- Production type
- Television and Radio Drama
- Plays
- Henry V
- Subjects
- Drama
- Keywords
- Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Notes
- Notes
- A BBC recording.
- General
- Rehearsals: 27/3/1949-3/4/1949
- History
- Initially broadcast as part of the St. George’s Day commemorations, it was transmitted again two days later as part of the ‘Monday Matinee’ series in the BBC Light Programme at 16.30 London time.
- Textual information
- A written transcript of the production is held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.
- Reviews
- Frank Hauser comments on his editorial decisions and the challenges an adaptor/producer faces adapting this play for radio in a column entitled ‘Saturday-Night Shakespeare’ in Radio Times, 15 April 1949.
In his review of the broadcast for The Listener, Lionel Hale criticises the fact that Shakespeare’s plays are truncated for broadcasting, a practice, he argues, that disregards the audiences familiarity with the richness of his plays: "I enquire why the barest bones of a Shakespearean play should be called ‘Henry V’. If I say Mr. Hauser made an excellent job of this, I speak as a man might speak of an executioner who disembowelled a friend of his. One does not (in short) believe it should have been done at all" (Vol. 41, 28 April 1949, p. 731).
Production Company
- Name
BBC
- Notes
- The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
How to cite this record
Shakespeare, "Life of King Henry V, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av66727 (Accessed 12 Nov 2024)