Grave Gifts

Summary: The BBC production of The Serpent Son, an adaptation of Aeschylus’ Oresteia trilogy by Frederic Raphael and Kenneth McLeish, was transmitted in three parts: Agamemnon, Grave Gifts and Furies. The trilogy was followed by Of Mycenae and Men, a related comic playlet, written for television.
Theatre play: Choephoroi by Aeschylus [more information]
Play synopsis: Choephoroi, the second play in the Oresteia trilogy, tells of the reunion of Agamemnon’s children Electra and Orestes, following their father’s murder at the hands of their mother Clytemnestra. Orestes avenges his murder by killing his mother.
Production history: First performed in 458 BC as part of the Oresteia trilogy alongside Agamemnon and Eumenides.
Date of transmission: Wednesday 14 March 1979
Time: 9.25pm
Series: Serpent Son
Channel: BBC2
Production company: BBC

Credits

Director

Bill Hays

Producer

Lighting

Playwright

Translator

Translator

Composer

Chorus Directed by

John McCarthy (credited as Chorus-Master for the Ambrosian Singers)

Designer

Costume Designer

Make-up Artist

Sound

Cast

Sheila Ballantine	Second Woman
Alan Halley	Doorkeeper
Eileen Helsby	Third Woman
Anton Lesser	Orestes
Peter Machin	Pylades
John Nolan	Apollo
Maureen O’Brien	Elektra
Natasha Parry	Priestess of Apollo
Diana Rigg	Klytemnestra
Flora Robson (1902-1984)	Kilissa
Ian Sharp	Priest
Billie Whitelaw	Leader of the Women

Additional details

Vision original: Colour
Play tags: Greek drama; tragedy

Audiovisual sources

Title: Grave Gifts (BBC, 1979)
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: A Classic Case of Violence (Review)
Author/creator: Rosalie Horner (Reviewer)
Reference: Daily Express, 8 March 1979, p. 27

Title: Artifact: Classics for Pleasure (Newspaper review)
Author/creator: Clive Hodgson and John Wyver
Reference: Time Out, 2-8 March 1979
Notes: with images from the production

Title: BBC Television Script Unit, Drama Writer’s File: Frederic Raphael (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: reference T48/487/1
Linking notes: contains correspondence pertaining to the translation

Title: Belfast Dreamer (Newspaper review)
Author/creator: Clive James (Reviewer)
Reference: The Observer, 11 March 1979, p. 20

Title: Bill Hays, Bright, Versatile and Cavalier Director of Stage and Television (Newspaper obituary)
Author/creator: Alan Plater (Author)
Reference: The Gaurdian, 14 March 2006

Title: Bill Hays, Maverick TV and theatre director (Newspaper obituary)
Author/creator: Alan Strachan (Author)
Reference: The Independent, 29 May 2006

Title: Greek plays: The Serpent Son (BBC, 1979) (Blog article)
Author/creator: Amanda Wrigley (Author)
Reference: http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/serpent-son-bbc-1979, published 5 November 2011

Title: One Man’s Television: [I do not withdraw...] (Newspaper review)
Author/creator: Bernard Davies (Reviewer)
Reference: Broadcast, 2 April 1979, pp. 12-13

Title: One Man’s Television: [You will no doubt expect...] (Newspaper review)
Author/creator: Bernard Davies (Reviewer)
Reference: Broadcast, 19 March 1979, pp. 8-9
Notes: with images from the production

Title: Postscript to The Serpent Son: Of Mycenae and Men (BBC, 1979) (Blog article)
Author/creator: Amanda Wrigley (Author)
Reference: http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/of-mycenae-and-men-bbc-1979, published 27 December 2011

Title: Radio Times, 10 March 1979 (Magazine)
Linking notes: programme listing

Title: Radio Times, 3 March 1979 (Magazine)
Linking notes: arresting image of Diana Rigg as Klytemnestra on front cover; listing, with image, on p. 55; article, ‘House of Horror’, by Henry Fenwick, pp. 72 ff.

Title: Radio Times, 7 April 1979 (Magazine)
Linking notes: letters, p. 79

Title: Rigged out for Tragedy (Newspaper article)
Reference: Daily Mirror, 7 March 1979, p. 19

Title: The Serpent Son (Camera script)
Author/creator: Frederic Raphael and Kenneth McLeish
Reference: A copy of this camera script exists in the personal archive of Amanda Wrigley.

Title: The Serpent Son. Aeschylus’ Oresteia (Book)
Author/creator: Frederic Raphael and Kenneth McLeish (Translators)
Reference: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979
Linking notes: reference to the television production on p. viii, with an image from the production on the cover

Title: The Sorry Serpent (Newspaper review)
Author/creator: Clive James (Reviewer)
Reference: The Observer, 18 March 1979, p. 20

Associated programmes

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