Heartbreak House

Summary

1977 BBC Television production of George Bernard Shaw’s Heartbreak House.

Theatre play

Heartbreak House by [George] Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) [more information]

Play synopsis

In Heartbreak House, which is subtitled A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes, Ellie Dunn arrives at Captain Shotover’s eccentric house in Sussex on the eve of the First World War. It is a bold mix of farce and tragedy, satirizing the English leisured classes.

Production history

First published in 1919 and first played at the New York’s Garrick Theatre in 1920.

Date of transmission

Thursday 19 May 1977

Time

9.25-11.25pm

Series

Play of the Month

Channel

BBC1

Production company

BBC

Credits

Director

Cedric Messina

Producer

Alan Shallcross

Playwright

[George] Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Designer

Tony Abbott

Costumes

Rita Reekie

Make-up

Maureen Winslade

Cast

Lesley-Anne Down	Ellie Dunn
John Gielgud	Captain Shotover
Joyce Grant	Nurse Guinness
Barry Jackson	Burglar
Daniel Massey	Hector Hushabye
Barbara Murray	Lady Utterword
Richard Pearson	Mazzini Dunn
Siân Phillips	Hesione Hushabye
Donald Pickering	Randall Utterword
David Waller	Mangan

Additional details

Play tags

adultery / infidelity; farce; tragedy; wartime, as theme or setting

Audiovisual sources

Title

Heartbreak House (BBC, 1977)

Archive

BBC Information and Archives [more information]

Address

White City
London
UK

Telephone

+44 (0)20 8008 2288

Website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/informationandarchives/

Access

BBC Information and Archives is not open to the public.

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 12 May 1977 (Magazine)

Linking notes

long, illustrated article, p. 64; listing, p. 53