The Play’s the Thing

Summary: 1957 Associated-Rediffusion production for ITV of P. G. Wodehouse’s English adaptation of Ferenc Molnár’s comedy The Play’s the Thing. Clive Brook had played the same part on the London stage.
Theatre play: The Play’s the Thing by Ferenc Molnár (1878-1952) [more information]
Play synopsis: 'Turai and his collaborator bring a young composer, Albert Adam, on a surprise visit to a castle on the Italian Rivera with their prima donna, Ilona, Albert’s fiancee. The pointed and deadly barbs fly fast and furiously among this group of charming sophisticates. When Albert overhears his beloved being wooed in her boudoir, Turai tells him it is all a silly mistake, explaining to the besotted young man that the passionate scene was merely a rehearsal for a new play. To support his fabrication, Turai stays up all night to write a play, including the overheard love talk. The next day during a public rehearsal the suggestive dialogue is reborn as an innocent, harmless bit of theatre-play’ (http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2402/plays-the-thing-the).
Production history: Dated to 1925; P. G. Wodehouse adapted it into English in 1926.
Date of transmission: Wednesday 28 August 1957
Time: 9.00-10.15pm
Series: Play of the Week
Channel: ITV
Production company: Associated-Rediffusion (1955-1964)