The End of the Beginning

Summary

1947 BBC live studio production of Sean O’Casey’s one-art farce The End of the Beginning.

Theatre play

The End of the Beginning by Seán O’Casey (1880-1964) [more information]

Play synopsis

A one-act farce set in rural Ireland. A couple argue about whether men’s or women’s work is more difficult, and swap places. At one point the husband and his friend practise their song which they are about to perform at a show: Down Where the Bees are Humming. There is also some comic business with the cow attached to a rope, passed down the chimney and attached to a chair. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_the_Beginning_(play); accessed 10 January 2014)

Production history

Published in 1935. Produced at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 1937.

Date of transmission

Sunday 26 October 1947

Time

9.25-10.00pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Kenneth Milne Buckley

Playwright

Seán O’Casey (1880-1964)

Cast

Harry Fine	Darry Berrill
Robert [Bob] Mooney	Barry Derrill
Sally Travers	Lizzie Berrill

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 3.00pm on Tuesday 28 October 1947.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

comedy; farce; gender roles; Irish drama; Republic of Ireland, as theme or setting

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 24 October 1947 (Magazine)

Linking notes

brief article, p. 29; listing, p. 31