Marigold [extracts]

Summary: BBC live studio presentation of extracts from a stage revival by Lance Lister at the London Theatre of the Scottish comedy Marigold by L. Allen Harker and F. R. Pryor. This was the first drama to be televised officially by the BBC after the opening of the television service from Alexandra Palace on 2 November 1936. Lance Lister contributed a short on-camera introduction to the first broadcast.
Theatre play: Marigold by L. Allen Harker (1863-1933) and F. R. Pryor [more information]
Play synopsis: Set in 1842, the play concerns a young girl who runs away from home to see Queen Victoria in Edinburgh.
Production history: Text published as a French’s Acting Edition (London: Samuel French, 1928). A film adaptation starring Sophie Stewart, directed by Thomas Bentley, was released in 1938.
Date of transmission: Friday 6 November 1936
Time: 3.27pm (49 mins)
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC
Theatre company: [choose none of these]

Producer

George More O’Ferrall (1907-1982)

Stage Producer

Lance Lister

Playwright

L. Allen Harker (1863-1933)

Playwright

F. R. Pryor

Introduced by

Lance Lister

Cast

John Bailey	Archie Forsyth
Jean Clyde	Mrs Pringle
Iain Macdonald-Murray	The Piper
Wyndham Milligan	Nigel Lumsden
Katharine Page	Marigold (in the two 30 November 1936 repeat performances)
Graham Pockett	Mordaunt
Geoffrey Steele	Robert Townsend
Sophie Stewart (1908-1977)	Marigold (on 6 November 1936)

Later transmissions: Two live repeats were given at 3.22pm (36 mins) and 9.31pm (34 mins) on 30 November 1936; the part played by Sophie Stewart in the first broadcast was taken in these two repeats by Katharine Page. The repeats are listed as from ‘The Royalty Theatre production’.
Extant status: No archival copy is known to exist.
Play tags: comedy; royalty; Scottish drama

Title: Adventure in Vision: The First Twenty-Five Years of Television (Book)
Author/creator: John Swift (Author)
Reference: London: John Lehmann, 1950
Linking notes: Plate XI, with short description

Title: In the beginning: Marigold (BBC, 1936) (Blog article)
Author/creator: John Wyver (Author)
Reference: http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/in-the-beginning-marigold-bbc-1936, published 18 September 2011

Title: In the beginning: The Tiger (BBC, 1936) (Blog article)
Author/creator: John Wyver (Author)
Reference: http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/in-the-beginning-the-tiger-bbc-1936, published 17 September 2011

Title: Marigold (Archive file)
Archive: BBC Written Archives Centre (WAC) [more information]
Address
Peppard Road
Caversham Park
Reading
Berkshire
RG4 8TZ
UK
Telephone
+44 (0)118 948 6281
Email
heritage@bbc.co.uk
Website
http://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/wac
Access
The WAC is open from 9.30am to 5.00pm on Wednesdays to Fridays throughout the year to academics, postgraduate students and writers by appointment.
Reference: T5/316

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