The Masque of Kings

Summary: 1946 BBC live studio production of Maxwell Anderson’s historical drama.
Theatre play: The Masque of Kings by Maxwell Anderson (1888-1959) [more information]
Play synopsis: The action of the play takes place in the year 1889, in the study of the Emperor Franz Joseph in the Hofburg Palace, Vienna; in the apartments of the Crown Prince Rudolph; and in a hunting-lodge at Mayerling.
Production history: Premiered at the Shubert Theatre, New York, 6 February 1936.
Date of transmission: Sunday 20 October 1946
Time: 8.30-10.00pm
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

Royston Morley

Playwright

Maxwell Anderson (1888-1959)

Sets / Settings

Barry Learoyd

Cast

Lilian Arland	A maid
John Bailey	Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria
Jill Balcon	Baroness Mary Vetsera
George Bishop	Count Taafe
Stafford Byrne	Herr Sceps
Norman Claridge	Count Hoyos
Harold Goodwin
Nicholas Hill	Servant
Carl Jaffé	Captain Koinoff
Kenneth Mason
Mary Newcombe	Empress Elizabeth of Austria
John Oxford	Archduke John of Tuscany
Oliver Packer
Frederick Ross	Loschek
Christopher West
Arthur Wontner	Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria

Origination: Live from studio
Vision original: Monochrome
Later transmissions: Presented again at 3.00pm on Friday 25 October 1946.
Extant status: No archival copy is known to exist.
Play tags: 19th-century setting; American drama; Austria, as theme or setting

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British Universities Film & Video Council