Hay Fever

Summary

1938 BBC studio production of Noël Coward’s comedy Hay Fever, presented on Christmas Day.

Theatre play

Hay Fever by Noël Coward (1899-1973) [more information]

Play synopsis

'Best described as a cross between high farce and a comedy of manners, the play is set in an English country house in the 1920s, and deals with the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish behaviour when they each invite a guest to spend the weekend. The self-centred behaviour of the hosts finally drives their guests to flee while the Blisses are so engaged in a family row that they do not notice their guests’ furtive departure’ (source Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hay_Fever; accessed 22 March 2014).

Production history

Written in 1924 and premiered at the Ambassadors Theatre, London on 8 June 1925.

Date of transmission

Sunday 25 December 1938

Time

9.05-11.00pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Reginald Smith

Playwright

Noël Coward (1899-1973)

Sets / Settings

Malcolm Baker-Smith

Cast

Veronica Brady	Clara
John Byron	Sandy Tyrrell
Kitty de Legh	Judith Bliss
Maurice Denham	David Bliss
Fabia Drake	Myra Arundel
Olga Edwardes	Sorel Bliss
Noel Howlett	Richard Greatham
Jenny [Jeannie?] Laird	Jackie Coryton
Guy Verney	Simon Bliss

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 3.00pm on Friday 30 December 1938.

Notes

This was the first full-length Noël Coward play to be televised.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

comedy; farce

Print sources

Title

Broadcasting Programmes: Christmas in Europe (Newspaper listing)

Reference

The Times, 24 December 1938, p. 5

Title

Radio Times, 23 December 1938 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 38