Georgia Story

Summary: 1955 BBC production of Georgia Story by Constance Cox.
Theatre play: Georgia Story by Constance Cox (1912-1998) [more information]
Play synopsis: 'In the early 1830s Fanny Kemble, idol of the English stage, went to America on tour with her father Charles. In Philadelphia she met and married Pierce Butler, wealthy owner of a cotton plantation in Georgia. It was not until seven years later that Pierce took her to Georgia, and then Fanny learned what being a planter meant. Her horror at the treatment of the Negro slaves, and her attempts to improve their condition began to shake the foundations of her marriage.' Source: http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsC/cox-constance.html#8028.
Production history: Presented at the Lindsey Theatre, London, in July 1948.
Date of transmission: Sunday 2 January 1955
Time: 8.30-10.00pm
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

Campbell Logan

Playwright

Constance Cox (1912-1998)

Designer

John Cooper

Cast

Origination: Live from studio
Vision original: Monochrome
Later transmissions: Presented again on Thursday 6 January 1955 at 9.00pm.
Extant status: No archival copy is known to exist.
Play tags: 19th-century setting; America, as theme or setting; race relations; slavery; theatre or acting, as theme

Title: Early Georgian (Magazine review)
Author/creator: Ivor Brown (Author)
Reference: The Listener, 6 January 1955, pp. 35-36
Notes: On Georgia Story: ‘The two coloured parts, played by Mahala Davis and Dan Jackson, were duly given their muted, poignant simplicity. On the whole, the play was a straightforward ethical exercise, inevitably lacking the quality of surprise.'

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