Lady Frederick

Summary

1953 BBC live studio production of Somerset Maugham’s Lady Frederick.

Theatre play

Lady Frederick by W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) [more information]

Play synopsis

Set in 1885, this is the story of a high society lady of a certain age who tries to discourage a persistent young suitor. It features the notable scene in which the woman receives her would-be lover in the morning and permits him to watch her put on her make-up.

Production history

First performed in 1907.

Date of transmission

Tuesday 10 November 1953

Time

8.55-10.25pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Director

Owen Reed

Producer

Leonard Brett

Playwright

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)

Sets / Settings

Stephen Taylor

Cast

Margaret Anderson	Rose Carlisle
Michael Ashwin	Captain Montgomerie
Noel Davis	Albert
Esther Lawrence	Angelique
Barbara Leake	Madame Claude
Michael Meacham	Marquis of Mereston
Gordon Phillott	Thompson
Christopher Queet	Sir Gerald O’Mara
Kynaston Reeves	Admiral Carlisle
Marjorie Stewart	Lady Frederick Berolles
Edwin Styles	Mr Paradine Fouldes
Ruth Taylor	Marchioness of Mereston

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

19th-century setting; Edwardian drama

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 8 November 1953 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing and photo, p. 26; article by Peter Forster, ‘Boxing, Beauty and the War’, p. 14