The Emperor Jones

Summary

1953 BBC production of The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neill.

Theatre play

The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neill [more information]

Play synopsis

'The tale of Brutus Jones, an African-American man who kills a man, goes to prison, escapes to a Caribbean island, and sets himself up as emperor. The play recounts his story in flashbacks as Brutus makes his way through the forest in an attempt to escape former subjects who have rebelled against him.' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor_Jones; accessed 10 January 2014)

Production history

First staged on 1 November 1920 by the Provincetown Players at the Playwrights’ Theatre in New York. Published in 1921.

Date of transmission

Tuesday 7 July 1953

Time

9.30-10.30pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Alvin Rakoff

Playwright

Eugene O’Neill

Music

Billy Shalanki ('percussion by Billy Shalanki and his Group’)

Choreographer

Boscoe Holder

Cast

Cecil Brock	The Prison Guard
John Harrison	Len Griffin
Gordon Heath (1918-1991)	Brutus Jones
Boscoe Holder	The Congo Witch-doctor
Dan Jackson	Jeff
Connie Smith	An Old Native Woman
Harry Towb	The Auctioneer
Neil Wilson	Henry Smithers

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

American drama; crime; race relations; West Indies, as theme or setting

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 3 July 1953 (Magazine)

Linking notes

illustrated listing, p. 24; article, p. 13