An Enemy of the People, Part 1

Summary

1961 BBC production of An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, presented in three parts for schools.

Theatre play

An Enemy of the People [En folkefiende] by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) [more information]

Play synopsis

'Doctor Thomas Stockmann is a popular citizen of a small coastal town in Norway. The town has invested a large amount of public and private money towards the development of baths [...]. The town is expecting a surge in tourism and prosperity from the new baths, which are said to be of great medicinal value, and as such a source of great local pride. Just as the baths are proving successful, Stockmann discovers that waste products from the town’s tannery are contaminating the waters, causing serious illness amongst the tourists. He expects this important discovery to be his greatest achievement, and promptly sends a detailed report to the Mayor, which includes a proposed solution which would come at a considerable cost to the town. To his surprise, Stockmann finds it difficult to get through to the authorities. They seem unable to appreciate the seriousness of the issue and unwilling to publicly acknowledge and address the problem because it could mean financial ruin for the town. [...] The townspeople — eagerly anticipating the prosperity that the baths will bring — refuse to accept Stockmann’s claims, and his friends and allies, who had explicitly given support for his campaign, turn against him en masse. He is taunted and denounced as a lunatic, an "Enemy of the People" '. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Enemy_of_the_People.

Production history

1882.

Date of transmission

Tuesday 17 January 1961

Time

2.05-2.35pm

Series

Schools

Channel

BBC Television

Credits

Producer

Stephen Harrison

Playwright

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)

Translator

Eva Le Gallienne

Designer

Gordon Roland

Cast

Polly Adams	Petra Stockmann
Jonathan Field	Billing, Reporter
David Langton	Captain Horster
Gillian Lind	Mrs Stockmann
David Markham	Dr Thomas Stockmann
John Mitchell	Ejlif Stockmann
John Parsons	Morten Stockmann
Wensley Pithey	Hovstad, Editor
Horace Sequeira	Morton Kill
Cyril Shaps	Aslaksen, Printer
Douglas Wilmer	Peter Stockmann, Mayor

Additional details

Later transmissions

Repeated on Wednesday 18 January 1961 at 11.05am.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

19th-century setting; American drama; Norway, as theme or setting; Norwegian drama

Programme context tags

schools television programming

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 12 January 1961 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 32; image, p. 22

Associated programmes

An Enemy of the People, Part 2 (1961)
An Enemy of the People [En folkefiende] by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)
BBC Television (Schools)

An Enemy of the People, Part 3 (1961)
An Enemy of the People [En folkefiende] by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)
BBC Television (Schools)