The Other Dear Charmer

Summary

1953 BBC live studio production of Robert Kemp’s play The Other Dear Charmer, screened to mark Burns’ Night.

Theatre play

The Other Dear Charmer by Robert Kemp (1908-1967) [more information]

Play synopsis

This play concerns the doomed love affair between Robert Burns and Mrs Nancie Maclehose, whilst also exploring the cultural differences between the more genteel and more robust aspects of Scottish life. It focusses on their affair during Burns’ visit to Edinburgh in 1787-1788.

Production history

First staged at Glasgow Citizens Theatre and produced on radio in 1951.

Date of transmission

Tuesday 27 January 1953

Time

8.15-9.45pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Director

James Crampsey

Producer

Harold Clayton

Playwright

Robert Kemp (1908-1967)

Sets / Settings

Richard R. Greenough

Cast

Neil Ballantyne	Mirren
Fiona Clyne	Mary Peacock
George Davies	Lord Craig
Joan Fitzpatrick	Jenny Clow
Tom Fleming	Robert Burns
Helena Gloag	Miss Nimmo
Moultrie R. Kelsall (1901-1980)	Revd J. Kemp
Bryden Murdoch	Robert Ainslie
Iris Russell	Mrs Agnes Maclehose

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

18th-century setting; poetry and literature, as theme; Scottish drama

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 23 January 1953 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 26; brief article, p. 15; article by playwright Robert Kemp, p. 6