She Stoops to Conquer [scenes]

Summary

1966 Rediffusion presentation of scenes from She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith for ITV’s Drama for Sixth forms season titled Conflict, introduced by John Gielgud.

Theatre play

She Stoops to Conquer; or, The Mistakes of a Night by Oliver Goldsmith [more information]

Play synopsis

In this comedy the wealthy countryman Mr Hardcastle arranges for his daughter Kate to meet Charles Marlow, the son of a wealthy Londoner, hoping the pair will marry. Unfortunately Marlow is nervous around upper-class women, yet the complete opposite around women of lower-class, thus Kate ‘stoops to conquer’ by posing as a maid, hoping to put Marlow at his ease; he falls for her and they become engaged. The main sub-plot is the secret romance between Miss Constance Neville, another young woman who lives with the Hardcastles, and Marlow’s friend George Hastings, who also become engaged.

Production history

First performed in London in 1773.

Date of transmission

Friday 28 October 1966

Time

2.35-3.00pm

Series

Schools

Channel

ITV

Production company

Rediffusion (1964-68)

Credits

Director

George More O’Ferrall (1907-1982)

Producer

Donald Carter

Playwright

Oliver Goldsmith

Adapted for Television by

Ivor Brown ('episodes selected and introduction written by’)

Introduced by

John Gielgud

Cast

Tony Beckley	Young Marlow
Ann Bell	Miss Hardcastle
Peter Clay	Hastings
Joe Gibbons	Servant
Bobbie Oswald	Maid
Lockwood West	Hardcastle

Additional details

Later transmissions

A ‘half-term repeat’ was given on Friday 4 November 1966.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

18th-century setting; class issues / differences; comedy

Programme context tags

schools television programming

Print sources

Title

TV Times, 20 October 1966 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 51