I Have Been Here Before

Summary

1949 BBC live studio production of J. B. Priestley’s drama I Have Been Here Before.

Theatre play

I Have Been Here Before by J. B. Priestley (1894-1984) [more information]

Play synopsis

To a rural inn on a Yorkshire moor come Walter Ormund, a rich industrialist, and his young wife Janet, who are hoping to rebuild their relationship in these peaceful surroundings, where they plan to open a school. But Janet runs off with another man at the inn and her husband toys with the idea of suicide.

Production history

First produced by Lewis Casson at the Royalty Theatre, London, on 22 September 1937.

Date of transmission

Sunday 29 May 1949

Time

8.30-10.15pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Harold Clayton

Playwright

J. B. Priestley (1894-1984)

Sets / Settings

Barry Learoyd

Cast

Gwen Bacon	Sally Pratt
Arthur Hambling	Sam Shipley
Gerard Heinz	Doctor Görtler
Bernard Lee	Walter Ormund
John Robinson	Oliver Farrant
Helen Shingler	Janet Ormund

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 8.30pm on Thursday 2 June 1949.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

adultery / infidelity; marriage; north of England, as theme or setting; suicide

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 27 May 1949 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 30; article by Lionel Hale, ‘Can Television Add Anything?', p. 29