Agamemnon
- Summary
- The BBC production of The Serpent Son, an adaptation of Aeschylus’ Oresteia trilogy by Frederic Raphael and Kenneth McLeish, was transmitted in three parts: Agamemnon, Grave Gifts and Furies. The trilogy was followed by Of Mycenae and Men, a related comic playlet, written for television.
- Theatre play
- Agamemnon by Aeschylus [more information]
- Date of transmission
- Wednesday 7 March 1979
- Time
- 9.25pm
- Series
- Serpent Son
- Channel
- BBC2
- Production company
- BBC
Credits
- Director
- Bill Hays
- Producer
- Richard Broke
- Lighting
- John Treays
- Playwright
- Aeschylus
- Translator
- Kenneth McLeish
- Translator
- Frederic Raphael
- Composer
- Humphrey Searle
- Chorus Directed by
- John McCarthy (credited as Chorus-Master for the Ambrosian Singers)
- Designer
- Tim Harvey
- Costume Designer
- Barbara Kidd
- Make-up Artist
- Jenny Shircore
- Sound
- Ray Angel
- Cast
Alfred Burke Leader of the Old Men Nickolas Grace Messenger Terrence Hardiman Aegisthus Oona Kirsch Iphigeneia Anton Lesser Orestes Patrick Magee Kalchas Frank Middlemass Watchman Helen Mirren Kassandra John Nolan Apollo Maureen O’Brien Elektra Denis Quilley Agamemnon Diana Rigg Klytemnestra Geoffrey Toone Third Old Man John Welsh Second Old Man
Additional details
- Vision original
- Colour
- Play tags
- Greek drama; tragedy
Audiovisual sources
- Title
- Agamemnon (BBC, 1979)
- Archive
- BBC Information and Archives [more information]
Address
White City
Telephone
London
UK+44 (0)20 8008 2288
Websitehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/informationandarchives/
AccessBBC Information and Archives is not open to the public.
Print sources
- Title
- A Classic Case of Violence (Review)
- Author/creator
- Rosalie Horner (Reviewer)
- Reference
- Daily Express, 8 March 1979, p. 27
- Title
- Artifact: Classics for Pleasure (Newspaper review)
- Author/creator
- Clive Hodgson and John Wyver
- Reference
- Time Out, 2-8 March 1979
- Notes
- with images from the production
- Title
- BBC Television Script Unit, Drama Writer’s File: Frederic Raphael (Archive file)
- Archive
- BBC Written Archives Centre (WAC) [more information]
Address
Peppard Road
Telephone
Caversham Park
Reading
Berkshire
RG4 8TZ
UK+44 (0)118 948 6281
Emailheritage@bbc.co.uk
Websitehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/wac
AccessThe WAC is open from 9.30am to 5.00pm on Wednesdays to Fridays throughout the year to academics, postgraduate students and writers by appointment.
- Reference
- reference T48/487/1
- Linking notes
- contains correspondence pertaining to the translation
- Title
- Belfast Dreamer (Newspaper review)
- Author/creator
- Clive James (Reviewer)
- Reference
- The Observer, 11 March 1979, p. 20
- Title
- Bill Hays, Bright, Versatile and Cavalier Director of Stage and Television (Newspaper obituary)
- Author/creator
- Alan Plater (Author)
- Reference
- The Gaurdian, 14 March 2006
- Title
- Bill Hays, Maverick TV and theatre director (Newspaper obituary)
- Author/creator
- Alan Strachan (Author)
- Reference
- The Independent, 29 May 2006
- Title
- Classics on TV: BFI Southbank programme, 19 June 2012 (Blog article)
- Author/creator
- Amanda Wrigley (Author)
- Reference
- http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/classics-on-tv-bfi-southbank-programme-19-june-2012, published 19 June 2012
- Title
- Greek plays: The Serpent Son (BBC, 1979) (Blog article)
- Author/creator
- Amanda Wrigley (Author)
- Reference
- http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/serpent-son-bbc-1979, published 5 November 2011
- Title
- One Man’s Television: [I do not withdraw...] (Newspaper review)
- Author/creator
- Bernard Davies (Reviewer)
- Reference
- Broadcast, 2 April 1979, pp. 12-13
- Title
- One Man’s Television: [You will no doubt expect...] (Newspaper review)
- Author/creator
- Bernard Davies (Reviewer)
- Reference
- Broadcast, 19 March 1979, pp. 8-9
- Notes
- with images from the production
- Title
- Postscript to The Serpent Son: Of Mycenae and Men (BBC, 1979) (Blog article)
- Author/creator
- Amanda Wrigley (Author)
- Reference
- http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/of-mycenae-and-men-bbc-1979, published 27 December 2011
- Title
- Radio Times, 3 March 1979 (Magazine)
- Linking notes
- arresting image of Diana Rigg as Klytemnestra on front cover; listing, with image, on p. 55; article, ‘House of Horror’, by Henry Fenwick, pp. 72 ff.
- Title
- Radio Times, 7 April 1979 (Magazine)
- Linking notes
- letters, p. 79
- Title
- Rigged out for Tragedy (Newspaper article)
- Reference
- Daily Mirror, 7 March 1979, p. 19
- Title
- The Serpent Son (Camera script)
- Author/creator
- Frederic Raphael and Kenneth McLeish
- Reference
- A copy of this camera script exists in the personal archive of Amanda Wrigley.
- Title
- The Serpent Son. Aeschylus’ Oresteia (Book)
- Author/creator
- Frederic Raphael and Kenneth McLeish (Translators)
- Reference
- Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979
- Linking notes
- reference to the television production on p. viii, with an image from the production on the cover
- Title
- The Sorry Serpent (Newspaper review)
- Author/creator
- Clive James (Reviewer)
- Reference
- The Observer, 18 March 1979, p. 20
Associated programmes
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