Martine

Summary

1952 BBC production of Martine by Jean-Jacques Bernard.

Theatre play

Martine by Jean-Jacques Bernard (1888-1972) [more information]

Play synopsis

A ‘poignant tale of a summer romance in the French countryside. [...] The situation is classically simple. Julien, a young man returning from active service in Syria, meets a peasant girl, Martine, on a blisteringly hot afternoon in the French countryside. Their mutual attraction ripens into something more when they discover they are village neighbours. For Julien, an ambitious journalist awaiting the arrival of a prospective fiancee, their dalliance is a pleasing summer interlude; for Martine it arouses dreams and desires that can never be fulfilled. But what makes the play so moving is the way it quietly exposes the gulf between Julien and Martine in terms of class and education.' Source: Michael Billington’s review of a 2014 production at the Finborough, published in the Guardian at http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/apr/27/martine-review-finborough-theatre.

Production history

Dated to 1922.

Date of transmission

Sunday 11 May 1952

Time

9.15-10.30pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Director

Kenneth Tynan

Producer

Michael Barry

Playwright

Jean-Jacques Bernard (1888-1972)

Composer

Julian Bream (incidental music)

Sets / Settings

Barry Learoyd

Cast

Maxine Audley	Jeanne
Stanley Baker	Alfred
Claire Bloom	Martine
Denholm Elliott	Julien
Beatrice Varley	Madame Mervan

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

class issues / differences; First World War, as theme or setting; France, as theme or setting; French drama

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 9 May 1952 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article, p. 41; listing, p. 42