The Lady from the Sea

Summary

This BBC Television presentation of Ibsen’s poetic drama The Lady from the Sea, in Max Faber’s adaptation, is the earliest television version of the playwright’s work to survive in the archives.

Theatre play

The Lady from the Sea by Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) [more information]

Play synopsis

'This symbolic play is centred around a lady called Ellida. She is the daughter of a lighthouse-keeper, and grew up where the fjord met the open sea; she loves the sea. She is married to Doctor Wangel, a doctor in a small town in West Norway (in the mountains). He has two daughters (Bolette and Hilde) by his previous wife (widowed), and he and Ellida had a son who died as a baby. This put big strains on the marriage. Wangel fearing for Ellida’s mental health has invited up Arnholm, Bolette’s former tutor and now the headmaster of a school, in hope that he can help Ellida. However, Arnholm thinks that it is Bolette waiting for him and he proposes. She agrees to marry her former teacher, because she sees this as her only opportunity to get out into the world.

Some years earlier Ellida was deeply in love and engaged to a sailor, but because he murdered his captain he had to escape. Nevertheless, he asked her to wait for him to come and fetch her. She tried to break the engagement but he had too great a hold over her. The sailor then returns all these years later to claim her. However she then has to choose between her love or her husband. Dr Wangel finally recognizes her freedom to choose since he understands that he has no other options. This goes in his favour as she then chooses him. The play ends with the sailor leaving and Ellida and Wangel taking up their lives together again’ (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lady_from_the_Sea, accessed 13 November 2012).

Production history

Premiered in Kristiania, Norway in 1889.

Date of transmission

Sunday 10 May 1953

Time

8.40pm (105 mins)

Series

Sunday-Night Theatre

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Harold Clayton

Adapted for the Stage by

Max Faber

Playwright

Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)

Designer

Roy Oxley

Cast

Sheila Beckett	Townsfolk
Hamlyn Benson	Ballested
Jane Berry	Arnholm
Douglas Campbell	A Stranger
Alan Casley	Townsfolk
Muriel Gleed	Townsfolk
Kim Grant	Townsfolk
Brian Harding	Hans Lyngstrand
Jane Harris	Dr Paul Wangel
Harry Hearne	Townsfolk
Winifred Hill	Townsfolk
Sarah Lawson	Boletta Wangel
Kendrew Mitson	Townsfolk
Arthur Owen	Townsfolk
Gwenllian Owen	Townsfolk
John Scott	Townsfolk
Juno Stevas	Townsfolk
Jane Wenham	Hilda Wangel
Stella Wilkinson	Townsfolk
Irene Worth (1916-2002)	Ellida Wangel

Additional details

Later transmissions

Repeated as a live broadcast at 7.30pm on Thursday 14 May 1953.

Notes

Details of cast and credits taken from the captions on the BBC archive recording.

Play tags

19th-century setting; Norwegian drama

Audiovisual sources

Title

The Lady from the Sea (BBC, 1953)

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

Enough of water hast thou ... (Magazine review)

Author/creator

Philip Hope-Wallace (Reviewer)

Reference

The Listener, 21 May 1953, p. 856

Title

Radio Times, 8 May 1953 (Magazine)

Linking notes

article by Lynton Hudson, p. 6; illustrated article, p. 14

Title

Sunday Night Theatre: The Lady from the Sea (BBC, 1953) (Blog article)

Author/creator

John Wyver (Author)

Reference

http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/sunday-night-theatre-the-lady-from-the-sea-by-henrik-ibsen-bbc-1953, published 30 December 2011

Title

Television: The Lady from the Sea (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Manchester Guardian, 11 May 1953, p. 5

Title

To-day’s BBC Programmes (Newspaper listing)

Reference

The Manchester Guardian, 14 May 1953, p. 11