Fanny’s First Play [extract]

Summary: This 45-minute BBC presentation of an extract from G. B. Shaw’s Fanny’s First Play was billed as being from Henry Sherek’s Edinburgh Festival production (Radio Times, 7 September 1956, p. 26).
Theatre play: Fanny’s First Play by [George] Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) [more information]
Play synopsis: This play-within-a-play is set in Denmark Hill, London in 1911. It concerns the private performance of a play about how two young people break away from their families, separately, but both end up in prison. In 1916 Shaw replaced the ‘induction’ with a Prologue, and this was performed for the first time at the 1956 Edinburgh Festival production by Henry Sherek.
Production history: First produced in 1911, this play was Shaw’s 26th and the longest running, with 622 performances.
Date of transmission: Tuesday 11 September 1956
Time: 9.00pm (45 mins)
Series: Henry Sherek Presents
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

Douglas Seale

Television Presentation by

Barbara Burnham

Playwright

[George] Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Designer

Finlay James

Cast

Robin Bailey	Juggins
George Benson	Mr Gilbey
Lally Bowers	Mrs Gilbey
Brenda Bruce	Dora Delaney
Michael Denison	Lieutenant Duvallet
David Evans	Bobby
Jacqueline MacKenzie	Margaret Knox; also delivered the Prologue
Michael O’Halloran	Mr Knox
Jean Taylor Smith (1900-1990)	Mrs Knox

Title: Fanny’s First Play for TV - With Prologue at Last (Newspaper article)
Reference: The Manchester Guardian, 29 August 1956, p. 3

Title: Radio Times, 7 September 1956 (Magazine)
Linking notes: pp. 26 (listing) and 27 (article, with image from production)

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