Twelfth Night

Summary

This 1959 Associated-Rediffusion production for ITV of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night was one of A-R’s first drama productions for schools. The Spring Term production on 18 March 1959 was the last of a series of nine programmes (usually 28 mins) for 12-16 year olds which had been transmitted weekly from 21 January to 11 March 1959. Prior programmes examined different aspects of the play with illustrative extracts: for example, the first, entitled His Very Genius, introduced some of the characters in Twelfth Night, concluding with Scene 3 from Act 2, in which Malvolio interrupts the revellers.

Theatre play

Twelfth Night; or, What You Will by William Shakespeare [more information]

Play synopsis

A comedy in which Viola cross dresses, taking the man’s name of Cesario, and enters the service of Orsino, Duke of Illyria. Viola (Cesario) falls in love with Orsino, who longs for the love of a neighbouring countess. Her identical twin Sebastian arrives on the scene and he and Olivia fall in love and marry. Orsino realises that it is Viola that he loves and she agrees to marry him. In the end everyone, except the pompous steward Malvolio, is happy and Shakespeare speaks of the madness of love. The plot illustrates jealousy, mistaken identity, cross-dressing and features fights and duels.

Production history

Probably written in 1601. A performance of the play is dated to 1602. It was first printed in the Folio of 1623. (Source: Margaret Drabble, The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 5th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.)

Date of transmission

Wednesday 18 March 1959

Time

2.43-4.00pm

Series

Schools

Channel

ITV

Production company

Associated-Rediffusion (1955-1964)

Credits

Director

Roger Jenkins

Playwright

William Shakespeare

Musical Direction

Desmond Dupré

Designer

Bernard Goodwin

Introduced by

John Westbrook

Script Editor

Martin Worth

Cast

Hilda Braid	Maria
Hugh Cross
Ingrid Hafner	Olivia
Laurence Hardy	Sir Toby Belch
Murray Hayne	Orsino
Sally Home	Viola
Bernard Horsfall	Sir Andrew Aguecheek
Emrys James	Feste
Edward Rhodes
Geoffrey Taylor	Antonio
Keith Taylor
John Wood	Malvolio

Additional details

Programme context tags

schools television programming

Print sources

Title

Teaching and Television: ETV Explained (Book)

Author/creator

Guthrie Moir (Editor)

Reference

Oxford: Pergamon Press

Linking notes

Plate 5 offers four photographs which may derive from this production ('Making the props’, ‘Scenic artist at work’, ‘Director, producer and floor manager with artists...' and ‘Malvolio in the final dress rehearsal’).

Title

TV Times, 13 March 1959 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 30

Title

Twelfth Night, 1959 (Archive files)

Archive

BFI Reuben Library [more information]

Address

BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road
South Bank
London
SE1 8XT
UK

Email

Use the contact form at http://www.bfi.org.uk/form/contact-bfi-library

Website

http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/bfi-reuben-library/visiting-bfi-reuben-library

Access

The BFI Library is open from 10.30am to 7.00pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Access to special collections material is by appointment.

Reference

Special Collections, Associated-Rediffusion Television papers

Notes

The General file includes Associated-Rediffusion press materials for the production, ‘Teachers’ Notes’ booklets, documents on the series of nine programmes, internal memos, contracts (e.g. with overseas distributors and broadasters such as ABC in Australia, Rhodesia and Nyasaland). There is also a file on each of the nine programmes. The one for the production itself contains a copy of the script.