Harlequinade

Summary: 1953 BBC live studio production of Terence Rattigan’s one-act farce Harlequinade.
Theatre play: Harlequinade by Terence Rattigan (1911-1977) [more information]
Play synopsis: A one-act farce which ‘concerns a professional theatre company presenting Romeo and Juliet. The opening night is in the town of Brackley in the English Midlands. The principal characters are Arthur and his wife Edna (who play Romeo and Juliet) and the stage manager Jack. Arthur is horrified to be confronted by his grown up daughter (Muriel) and grandchild, of neither of whose existences he had been aware. To discover that he’s a grandfather just before playing Romeo is too much for him. They later learn that he’s still married to Muriel’s mother (Flossie) and that he is bigamously married to Edna.' (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequinade_%28Rattigan%29.)
Production history: First presented at the Phoenix Theatre, London as part of a double-bill with The Browning Version on 8 September 1948.
Date of transmission: Sunday 14 June 1953
Time: 9.00-10.05pm
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

Hal Burton

Playwright

Terence Rattigan (1911-1977)

Sets / Settings

Barry Learoyd

Cast

Origination: Live from studio
Vision original: Monochrome
Notes: The three leading players - Marie Lohr, Eric Portman and Mary Ellis - created their roles in the 1948 premiere of the play.
Extant status: No archival copy is known to exist.
Play tags: comedy; farce; theatre or acting, as theme

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