The Magistrate

Summary

1958 BBC Television production of The Magistrate by Arthur W. Pinero.

Theatre play

The Magistrate by Arthur W. Pinero (1855-1934) [more information]

Play synopsis

A farce in which, at the prompting of his stepson, a respectable man, the magistrate Mr Posket, is caught up in a series of scandals. At one point he finds himself passing a severe sentence on his own wife. This was Pinero’s first attempt at farce after a number of serious plays.

Production history

Premiere performance: Court Theatre, London, 1885. Published in 1892.

Date of transmission

Saturday 20 December 1958

Time

9.05pm (90 mins)

Series

Saturday Playhouse

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Peter Dews

Playwright

Arthur W. Pinero (1855-1934)

Designer

Margaret Peacock

Cast

Frank Atkinson	Sergeant Lugg
Michael Bates	Colonel Lukyn
Joby Blanshard	Constable Harris
Hilda Braid	Beatie Tomlinson
Ann Castle	Charlotte
Sonia Fraser	Popham
Rose Hill	Agatha
Eric Jones	Mr Wormington
Harold Kasket	Achille Blond
Alan MacNaughtan (1920-2002)	Captain Horace Vale
William Mervyn	Mr Bullamy
Frank Pettingell	Mr Posket
Jack Rodney	Wyke
Alan Rowe	Isidore
Geoffrey Taylor	Inspector Messiter
John Warner	Cis Farringdon

Additional details

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

19th-century setting; Edwardian drama; farce

Print sources

Title

A Great Piece of Acting (Magazine review)

Reference

The Listener, 1 January 1959, pp. 34-35

Linking notes

with image

Title

Farce that no Longer Amuses: Was Television to Blame? (Newspaper review)

Reference

The Times, 22 December 1958, p. 5

Title

Radio Times, 12 December 1958 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 19