Abraham Lincoln [scenes]

Summary: BBC Television production of scenes from John Drinkwater’s play Abraham Lincoln.
Theatre play: Abraham Lincoln by John Drinkwater (1882-1937) [more information]
Play synopsis: This play ‘deals with those eventful years in America from the time Lincoln was asked to be President until the end of the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination in a theatre. Lincoln’s humanity and inflexible sense of duty are finely portrayed, but a feature contributing to the greatness of this play is the careful characterisation of minor parts, however small. Although Abraham Lincoln is not altogether historically accurate, John Drinkwater managed to achieve drama without taking any serious liberties with facts’ (Radio Times Television Supplement, 30 April 1937, p. 6).hn
Production history: First produced in Birmingham in 1918.
Date of transmission: Thursday 6 May 1937
Time: 3.35pm (25 mins)
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

Playwright

John Drinkwater (1882-1937)

Cast

Later transmissions: Repeated on Saturday 8 May 1937 at 9.35pm
Extant status: No archival copy is known to exist.
Play tags: 19th-century setting; America, as theme or setting; politics; wartime, as theme or setting

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