The Magistrate

Summary

1951 BBC studio production of The Magistrate by Arthur W. Pinero.

Theatre play

The Magistrate by Arthur W. Pinero (1855-1934) [more information]

Play synopsis

A farce in which, at the prompting of his stepson, a respectable man, the magistrate Mr Posket, is caught up in a series of scandals. At one point he finds himself passing a severe sentence on his own wife. This was Pinero’s first attempt at farce after a number of serious plays.

Production history

Premiere performance: Court Theatre, London, 1885. Published in 1892.

Date of transmission

Sunday 18 February 1951

Time

8.30-9.45pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Campbell Logan

Playwright

Arthur W. Pinero (1855-1934)

Sets / Settings

Barry Learoyd

Cast

Jack Allen	Captain Horace Vale
Vivienne Bennett	Agatha Posket
Alban Blakelock	Mr Wormington
George de Warfaz	Achille Blond
Jonathan Field	Wyke
Richard Goolden	Mr Posket
Harry Hearne	Constable Harris
Charles Heslop	Colonel Lukyn
Jack Howarth	Mr Bullamy
James Kenney	Cis Farringdon
Tilsa Page	Beatie Tomlinson
Dorothy Primrose	Charlotte
Milo Sperber	Isidore
Deering Wells	Inspector Messiter
Edward Wheatleigh	Sergeant Lugg

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again on Thursday 22 February 1951 at 8.30pm.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

19th-century setting; Edwardian drama; farce

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 16 February 1951 (Magazine)

Linking notes

long article with photograph, p. 47; listing, p. 48