The Second Mrs Tanqueray

Summary

1962 BBC production of The Second Mrs Tanqueray by Arthur W. Pinero.

Theatre play

The Second Mrs Tanqueray by Arthur W. Pinero (1855-1934) [more information]

Play synopsis

'The play opens with a late night dinner between the widower Mr Tanqueray and some of his long time professional friends. All are upper-class members of British Society, and are very disturbed when they learn of the upcoming second marriage of Tanqueray to a Mrs Paula Jarman, a lower-class woman with a known sexual past. As the play progresses we see the misery of the mismatched couple and their shared efforts to foster a bond between the young but impeccably proper Miss Eillean Tanqueray and her young, unhappy stepmother. This is compromised when Mrs Tanqueray learns the identity of her stepdaughter’s fiancé; he is the man who ruined her, years ago. She reveals her knowledge to her husband, who prevents the marriage and alienates his daughter. This alienation spreads and husband and wife, father and daughter, step-parent and child are all angered and alone. When the daughter learns the reasons behind her disappointment she is struck with pity and makes a speech about trying again with her stepmother, only to go to her and find her dead, apparently by suicide.' Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Mrs_Tanqueray.

Production history

The Second Mrs Tanqueray was first performed on 27 May 1893, at the St James Theatre, London, with Mrs Patrick Campbell as Paula. She became a star on the strength of her performance. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Second_Mrs_Tanqueray.

Date of transmission

Friday 9 March 1962

Time

9.25-10.40pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Dorothea Brooking

Playwright

Arthur W. Pinero (1855-1934)

Designer

Barry Learoyd

Cast

Bernard Archard	Cayley Drummle
Beckett Bould	Morgan
Terence Brook	Gregory
Richard Carpenter	Sir George Orreyed
Fiona Duncan	Ellean
Seymour Green	Gordon Jayne
Christopher Hodge	Morse
Desmond Llewelyn	Frank Misquith, QC
Mary McMillen	Mary
Margaretta Scott	Mrs Cortelyon
Elizabeth Sellars	Paula
Gary Watson	Captain Hugh Ardale, VC
Peter Williams	Aubrey Tanqueray
Jennifer Wilson	Lady Orreyed

Additional details

Play tags

19th-century setting; sexuality (and morality, politics etc); suicide

Audiovisual sources

Title

The Second Mrs Tanqueray (BBC, 1962)

Archive

BBC Information and Archives [more information]

Address

White City
London
UK

Telephone

+44 (0)20 8008 2288

Website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/informationandarchives/

Access

BBC Information and Archives is not open to the public.

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 1 March 1962 (Magazine)

Linking notes

illustrated article, p. 51; listing, p. 53