Tovarich

Summary

1954 BBC live studio production of Jacques Deval’s comedy Tovarich, in the adaptation by Robert E. Sherwood.

Theatre play

Tovarich by Jacques Deval (1890-1972) [more information]

Play synopsis

'A smashing hit in the capitals of Europe and in New York, this amiable and engaging play sentimentally tells the tale of the White Russians impoverished in Paris. Prince Mikail and Grand Duchess Tatiana were formerly of the court of the late Czar. A gaily melancholy pair, they hate the Bolsheviks, but refuse to surrender the money to aid an abortive counter revolution. They take work as servants in the home of a wealthy French banker, and, as is inevitable, their identity leaks out when Gorotchenko comes to dinner. The banker and his wife are highly embarrassed, but the Prince and Grand Duchess are able to cope with the situation. After dinner Gorotchenko comes to the kitchen where they are working, proves himself a likeable and polished fellow interested in the happy future of Russia, and so Mikail and Tatiana turn over the money to him to use for the glory of their mutual fatherland. It is a touching moment when Tatiana extends her hand to Gorotchenko and calls him Tovarich.' (Source: http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/3967/tovarich; accessed 10 April 2015.)

Production history

First produced in a translation by Robert Sherwood on Broadway in 1933.

Date of transmission

Sunday 24 January 1954

Time

8.55-10.40pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Eric Fawcett

Playwright

Jacques Deval (1890-1972)

Adaptor of Script

Robert E. Sherwood (1896-1955)

Sets / Settings

Roy Oxley

Cast

Peter Cushing	Prince Mikhail Alexandrovitch Ouratieff
Isolde James	Madame Chauffourier-Dubieff
Harold Jamieson	Martelleau
Agnes Lauchlan	Madame Van Hemert
Andrew Laurence	Count Feodor Brekenski
Gerald C. Lawson	Concierge
Richard Marner	Commissar Gorotchenko
George Merritt	Chauffourier-Dubieff
Clive Morton	Charles Dupont
Michael Newell	Georges Dupont
Beatrice Rowe	Louise
Frances Rowe	Fernande Dupont
Ruth Shiell	Hélène Dupont
Ann Todd	Grand Duchess Tatiana Petrovna

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 7.30pm on Thursday 28 January 1954.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

comedy; France, as theme or setting; French drama; Russia (Soviet Union etc), as theme or setting

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 22 January 1954 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing and brief article, p. 14

Title

Revivals and Miracles (Magazine review)

Author/creator

Anthony Curtis (Author)

Reference

The Listener, 28 Janaury 1954, p. 195