SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

One-act play by J. M. Barrie adapted for broadcasting by Cynthia Pughe. Set in pre-1920 England. 23-year old Charles Roche from Oxford falls in love with a charming actress. When he eventually tracks her down in a cottage by the sea, he is confronted with a middle-aged woman whom he believes to be his idol’s mother ...

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Radio

Transmission details

4 Oct 1949 at 21:30 (Channel: BBC Light Programme)

Duration

30 mins

Availability

No archive copy known

Credits

Producer

Wilfrid Grantham

Writer

J.M. Barrie

Adaptor for Radio

Cynthia Pughe

Cast

David Peel	Charles Roche
Duncan McIntyre	Narrator
Phyllis Neilson Terry	Mrs. Page
Vivienne Chatterton	Mrs. Quickly

Additional Details

Production type

Television and Radio Drama

Plays

As You Like It; Merry Wives of Windsor, The

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes

Barrie’s 50-minute play seems to have inspired Irving Rapper’s 1953 feature film FOREVER FEMALE, in which Ginger Rogers plays the veteran Broadway star Beatrice Page.

General

Even though the Shakespeare connection (apart from the title and character names) appears to be rather tenuous, James M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, later helped adapt Paul Czinner’s 1936 film version of As You Like It to the screen (see separate entry).
According to an article in The Evening Post, Maryland, Barrie sent the manuscript of his play to actress Maude Adams the day she did her single performance as Rosalind in As You Like It in the Greek Theatre of the University of California (6 June 1910). ('Barrie’s Royal Gift’, 19 November 1912).

History

Barrie’s short comedy premiered on 14th October 1912 at the Duke of York Theatre, London, as an afterpiece to a translation of Kistemaeckers’ Instinct, and then transferred to the Theatre Royal Haymarket, managing a total run of 138 performances. In New York the play lasted just 12 performances after it opened at the Lyceum Theatre, Septermber 2, 1913.

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)