Reluctant Heroes

Summary

This BBC production of Colin Morris’ Reluctant Heroes was the fifth Whitehall farce to be presented in 1956. This production reunited seven of the original stage cast. The BBC had, in 1952, televised an act from the play.

Theatre play

Reluctant Heroes by Colin Morris (1916-1996) [more information]

Play synopsis

The plot of this farce centres on three army recruits who are suffering in their initial training.

Production history

The first performance at the Whitehall Theatre, London took place in September 1950. (Was this the first performance of the play anywhere?) Reluctant Heroes ran for 1610 performances altogether at the Whitehall.

Date of transmission

Sunday 23 December 1956

Time

8.30pm

Series

Sunday-Night Theatre; Brian Rix Presents

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Director

Brian Rix (1924-)

Television Presentation by

Alan Chivers

Playwright

Colin Morris (1916-1996)

Sets / Settings

Rhoda Gray

Cast

Garth Adams	Sergeant McKenzie
Anthony Broughton	Scots Soldier
Diana Calderwood	Penny Raymond
Hazel Douglas	Pat Thompson
Helen Jessop	Gloria Dennis
Basil Lord	Medical Orderly
Peter Mercier	Tone
Colin Morris (1916-1996)	Captain Percy
Larry Noble	Morgan
Brian Rix (1924-)	Gregory
John Slater	Sergeant Bell

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

comedy; farce; wartime, as theme or setting

Print sources

Title

Christmas past at the BBC: the second half of the 1950s. Part 1 (Blog article)

Author/creator

Amanda Wrigley (Author)

Reference

http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/christmas-past-bbc-1950s-1, published 28 December 2012

Title

Forward View (Newspaper article)

Author/creator

Maurice Richardson (Reviewer)

Reference

The Observer, 23 December 1956, p. 7

Title

Radio Times, 21 December 1956 (Newspaper review)

Linking notes

pp. 16 and 17, listing and article