The Rising Sun

Summary

1939 BBC live studio production of the Dutch play The Rising Sun by Herman Heijermans, translated by Christopher St John.

Theatre play

The Rising Sun [De Opgaande Zon] by Herman Heijermans (1864-1924) [more information]

Play synopsis

The action takes place in a little town in Holland and concerns the struggles of a small general shop against the new rival store, ‘The Rising Sun’.

Production history

Written in 1908, translated into English as The Rising Sun in 1926, and performed in 1929.

Date of transmission

Sunday 20 August 1939

Time

9.05-10.30pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Jan Bussell

Playwright

Herman Heijermans (1864-1924)

Adapted for Television by

Christopher St John [pseud. Christopher Marie Marshall]

Cast

Chris Castor	Dorothy Mertens
Aubrey Dexter	Christian Jensen
Deidre Doyle	Anna
Wilfred Fletcher	Nathaniel
Warburton Gamble	Sand
Lawrence Hanray	Old Strong
Gerald Jerome	Abraham
Bernard Merefield	Deputy Attorney
Edward Orchard	Errand Boy
Rupert Siddons	Police Constable
Harcourt Williams (1880-1957)	Matthew Strong
Josephine Wilson	Sonia

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

A scheduled second performance on Friday 1 September did not take place because of the wartime closure of the television service.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

Dutch drama; Netherlands, as theme or setting

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 18 August 1939 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 16