Blood Wedding

Summary: 1959 BBC Television production of Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca. This was the third play in the current World Theatre series, and ti was the first time the play had been produced for British television; it was also the first time the Greek actor Katina Paxinou had appeared on television in this country.
Theatre play: Blood Wedding [Bodas de Sangre] by Federico García Lorca [more information]
Play synopsis: 'The story is based on a newspaper fragment which told of a family vendetta and a bride who ran away with the son of the enemy family. Lorca uses it to investigate the subjects which fascinated him: desire, repression, ritual, and the constraints and commitments of the rural Spanish community in which the play is rooted.' Source: http://us.macmillan.com/bloodwedding/FedericoGarc%C3%ADaLorca.
Production history: It was written in 1932 and first performed in Madrid in March 1933 and later that year in Buenos Aires.
Date of transmission: Tuesday 2 June 1959
Time: 9.30-11.00pm
Series: Television World Theatre
Channel: BBC Television
Production company: BBC

Producer

George R. Foa

Playwright

Federico García Lorca

Translator

George Leeson

Composer

Eduardo Torner

Musician

Julian Bream (Solo guitar)

Musician

Desmond Dupré (Second guitar)

Musician

Antonio Navarro (Flamenco guitar)

Designer

Guy Sheppard

Dances Arranged by

Dancer

Dancer

Dancer

Cast

Title: Mme Paxinou to Act in Lorca Play: BBC Production for Television (Newspaper article)
Reference: The Times, 19 May 1959, p. 3

Title: Performance on a Grand Scale: Mme Paxinou in Blood Wedding (Newspaper review)
Reference: The Times, 3 June 1959, p. 7

This record has been viewed 1002 times.

British Universities Film & Video Council