The Tragedy of Mr Punch

Summary

1938 BBC studio production of the comedy The Tragedy of Mr Punch by Russell Thorndike and Reginald Arkell.

Theatre play

The Tragedy of Mr Punch by Russell Thorndike and Reginald Arkell (1882-1959) [more information]

Play synopsis

Comedy which involves the psychoanalysis of Mr Punch, finding him a person who desires to be feared by others but who is constantly tormented by the thought that the more people you kill the more they will laugh.

Production history

First performed in 1920. Published in London by Duckworth & Co., 1923, and in New York by Boni and Liveright, 1924.

Date of transmission

Friday 29 April 1938

Time

9.30pm (30 mins)

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

George More O’Ferrall (1907-1982)

Playwright

Reginald Arkell (1882-1959)

Playwright

Russell Thorndike

Cast

Joan Brierley
Patricia Hayes
Campbell Logan
Graham Pockett
Hilary Pritchard
Eileen Thorndike
Russell Thorndike
Walter Tobias
Biddy Walker

Additional details

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 3.25pm on Saturday 7 May 1938 (running time 35 mins).

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

comedy

Print sources

Title

Broadcasting: a Ralph Reader Revue (Newspaper listing)

Reference

The Times, 29 April 1938, p. 28

Title

Radio Times, 22 April 1938 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 16