The Other Dear Charmer

Summary

BBC production of Robert Kemp’s The Other Dear Charmer, presented from the BBC’s television studio in Scotland.

Theatre play

The Other Dear Charmer by Robert Kemp (1908-1967) [more information]

Play synopsis

This play concerns the doomed love affair between Robert Burns and Mrs Nancie Maclehose, whilst also exploring the cultural differences between the more genteel and more robust aspects of Scottish life. It focusses on their affair during Burns’ visit to Edinburgh in 1787-1788.

Production history

First staged at Glasgow Citizens Theatre and produced on radio in 1951.

Date of transmission

Tuesday 27 January 1959

Time

8.00pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Pharic Maclaren

Playwright

Robert Kemp (1908-1967)

Musical Arrangements by

Andrew Bryson

Musician

Andrew Bryson

Designer

Robert Macgowan

Cast

Rona Anderson	Nancie
George Davies	Lord Craig
Tom Fleming	Robert Burns
Helena Gloag	Mary Nimmo
Gwynneth Guthrie	Mary Peacock
Moultrie R. Kelsall (1901-1980)	Mr Kemp
Effie Morrison	Mirren
Bryden Murdoch	Robert Ainslie
Mary Walton	Jenny Clow

Additional details

Play tags

18th-century setting; poetry and literature, as theme; Scottish drama

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 23 January 1959 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article and listing, with photograph, on p. 15

Title

Stun the Wowsers (Newspaper review)

Author/creator

Maurice Richardson (Reviewer)

Reference

The Observer, 1 February 1959, p. 17

Title

The Other Dear Charmer: BBC’s Burns Play (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Manchester Guardian, 28 January 1959, p. 5