She Stoops to Conquer

Summary

1961 BBC production of She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, from the Midlands.

Theatre play

She Stoops to Conquer; or, The Mistakes of a Night by Oliver Goldsmith [more information]

Play synopsis

In this comedy the wealthy countryman Mr Hardcastle arranges for his daughter Kate to meet Charles Marlow, the son of a wealthy Londoner, hoping the pair will marry. Unfortunately Marlow is nervous around upper-class women, yet the complete opposite around women of lower-class, thus Kate ‘stoops to conquer’ by posing as a maid, hoping to put Marlow at his ease; he falls for her and they become engaged. The main sub-plot is the secret romance between Miss Constance Neville, another young woman who lives with the Hardcastles, and Marlow’s friend George Hastings, who also become engaged.

Production history

First performed in London in 1773.

Date of transmission

Sunday 26 November 1961

Time

7.55-9.10pm

Series

Sunday-Night Play

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

John Harrison

Playwright

Oliver Goldsmith

Designer

Margaret Peacock

Cast

Arthur Brough	Mr Hardcastle
Joe Greig	Landlord
Murray Hayne	Hastings
Pat Heywood	Maid
Harry Hutchinson	Diggory
Derek Jacobi	Marlow
John Kidd	Sir Charles Marlow
Dinsdale Landen	Tony Lumpkin
Hilary Liddell	Constance Neville
Marjorie Rhodes	Mrs Hardcastle
Daphne Slater	Kate Hardcastle

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

18th-century setting; class issues / differences; comedy

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 23 November 1961 (Magazine)

Linking notes

illustrated article, p. 14; listing, p. 17