Tiger at the Gates

Summary

1960 Granada Television production for ITV of Tiger at the Gates, Christopher Fry’s translation of Jean Giraudoux’s La Guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu.

Theatre play

The Trojan War Will Not Take Place [La Guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu] by Jean Giraudoux [more information]

Play synopsis

'Within the framework of the Iliadic myth of the Trojan War, Giraudoux criticizes diplomacy and the behaviour of the national leaders and intellectuals who brought about World War I and the lead-up to World War II.' Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trojan_War_Will_Not_Take_Place.

Production history

Giraudoux’s play was translated into English by Christopher Fry in 1955 with the title Tiger at the Gates.

Date of transmission

Tuesday 25 October 1960

Time

9.35-11.05pm

Series

Play of the Week

Channel

ITV

Production company

Granada Television (1956-)

Credits

Director

Paul Almond

Playwright

Jean Giraudoux

Adapted for Television by

William Bast

Translator

Christopher Fry (1907-2005)

Designer

Seamus Flannery

Cast

John Bonney	Paris
Peter Bull	Demokos
Barbara Chilcott	Cassandra
Noel Coleman	Busiris
Robert Desmond	A Topman
Robert Eddison	Priam
Charles Gray	Ulysses
Christopher Guinee	Messenger
Carole Lesley	Helen
Keith Michell	Hector
Richard Palmer	Troilus
Bryan Pringle	Ajax
Keith Pyott	Mathematician
Brian Rawlinson	Olpides
Jeannette Sterke	Andromache
Veronica Turleigh	Hecuba

Additional details

Play tags

First World War, as theme or setting; French drama; Greek myth; Second World War, as theme or setting; wartime, as theme or setting

Print sources

Title

TV Times, 21 October 1960 (Magazine)

Linking notes

cover image; article, with image, p. 18; listing, p. 37