The Anatomist

Summary

1939 BBC studio production of James Bridie’s dark comedy The Anatomist.

Theatre play

The Anatomist by James Bridie (1888-1951) [more information]

Play synopsis

A dark comedy set in Victorian England, the play concerns the famous anatomist Dr Knox and the grave robbers Burke and Hare, and tells the story of the West Port murders.

Production history

Premiered in Edinburgh at the Lyceum in 1930; transferred to London in 1931.

Date of transmission

Friday 2 June 1939

Time

9.00-10.30pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Moultrie R. Kelsall (1901-1980)

Playwright

James Bridie (1888-1951)

Cast

Margaret Boyd	Jessie Ann
Andrew Cruickshank	Dr Knox
Robert Eddison	Raby
W. G. Fay	Burke
James Gibson	Davie Paterson
Ethel Glendinning	Amelia Dishart
Harry Hutchinson	Hare
Murrie Orr	Janet
Nan Scott	Mary Paterson
Bruce Seton	Walter Anderson
May Shaw	Mary Belle Dishart
Craighall Sherry	Landlord

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 3.00pm on Monday 5 June 1939.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

19th-century setting; comedy; medical drama; murder; Scottish drama

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 19 May 1939 (Magazine)

Linking notes

brief article by ‘The Scanner’, p. 14

Title

Radio Times, 26 May 1939 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 16