SHAKESPEARE

Alternative title

King Henry VI, Part 3

Synopsis

Radio version of the play adapted and produced by Peter Watts and broadcast as part of a sequence of Shakespeare’s histories. With Donald Wolfit as Richard and Sonia Dresdel as Margaret of Anjou. The fanfares are composed by John Hotchkis.

Series

Wars of the Roses, The

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Radio

Recording date

30 Oct 1952

Transmission details

4 Nov 1952 at 20:20 (Channel: BBC Third Programme)

Duration

120 mins

Availability

Unknown

Credits

Producer

Peter Watts

Writer

William Shakespeare

Editor

John Dover Wilson

Music

John Hotchkis

Adaptor for Radio

Peter Watts

Cast

Valentine Dyall	King Henry VI
Sonia Dresdel	Queen Margaret
John Greenwood	Edward, Prince of Wales
Dennis Arundell	Earl of Warwick
Donald Wolfit	Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III
Alexander Gauge	Father that killed his son
Brian Hayes	George, Edward’s brother, later Duke of Clarence
Garard Green
Hugh Manning	Sir John Montgomery
Jack Livesey	Duke of Exeter
Joan Hart	Lady Elizabeth Gray
John Cazabon
John Forrest	Son that killed his father
John Glen	Edward, Earl of March, later Edward IV
Malcolm Hayes	Lord Clifford
Marjorie Westbury	Edmund, Earl of Rutland
Michael Gwynn	King Louis
Molly Rankin	Lady Bona
Patrick Troughton
Paul Hardwick	Earl of Northumberland
Richard Hurndall	Raphael Holinshed, the historian
Stephen Jack	Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York
Tom Clarkson	Earl of Oxford
Wyndham Milligan

Additional Details

Production type

Documentary/Educational/News

Plays

Henry VI part 3

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes

A BBC recording.
Rehearsals: 26/10/1952-30/10/1952

General

The ‘Wars of the Roses’ broadcasting sequence does not open with Henry VI, 1 because the play, according to Dover Wilson, is a "patchwork in which Shakespeare collaborated with inferior dramatists" ('Shakespeare’s Chronicles of the War of the Roses’, Radio Times, 24 October 1952, p. 7).

History

Part of a sequence of history plays broadcast under the title ‘The Wars of the Roses’ from 31/10/1952- 6/11/1952 on BBC Third Programme (see separate entries for each episode).

Textual information

A written transcript of the production is held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.

Reviews

In ‘The Wars of the Roses’ (Radio Times, 31 October 1952, p.11), producer Peter Watts explains how the plays are linked and airs some of the problems they present when produced as a sequence.

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)