Before the Party

Summary

1958 Associated Television production of Before the Party by Rodney Ackland, a play based on a Somerset Maugham short story.

Theatre play

Before the Party by Rodney Ackland (1908-1991) [more information]

Play synopsis

In this play, which adapts a short story by Somerset Maugham, Laura returns from the Gold Coast after her husband dies. It turns out that he was abusive and she killed him. Her family insist she tell her lover David, husband-to-be, the full story.

Production history

First staged on 2 February 1934.

Date of transmission

Friday 24 October 1958

Series

Television Playhouse

Channel

ITV

Production company

Associated Television (ATV, 1955-1982)

Credits

Director

Lionel Harris

Playwright

Rodney Ackland (1908-1991)

Writer

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) (this play adapts a short story by Maugham)

Sets / Settings

Paul Mayo

Cast

Lewis Casson	Aubrey Skinner
Jessica Dunning	Laura Whittington
Robert Flemyng	David Marshall
Dorothea Rundle	Nanny
Valerie Taylor	Kathleen Skinner
Sybil Thorndike	Blanche Skinner

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

adaptation of short story; marriage; murder

Print sources

Title

TV Times, 17 October 1958 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article, p. 21; article, p. 35