King Henry the Fourth

Synopsis: Fifth episode in an 8-part radio serialisation of Shakespeare’s two parts of King Henry IV. Arranged for broadcasting by Robert Gittings. With Ralph Richardson as Falstaff and Laurence Olivier as narrator. Produced by John Burrell with incidental music composed and conducted by Herbert Menges.
Series: King Henry the Fourth
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Radio
Transmission details: 28 Jun 1945 at 21:45 (Channel: BBC Home Service)
Duration: 45 mins
Availability: Unknown

General: Laurence Olivier acts as Sir Pierce of Exton, the narrator, or chronicler, for the broadcast episodes. A character borrowed from Richard II, he is a "man in retirement ... - he is a sardonic and personal commentator on all the events of the reign" (Robert Gittings, ‘Shakespeare Serialised’, Radio Times, 4 May 1945).
Textual information: A written transcript of the production is held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.
Reviews: Source: Radio Times
Robert Gittings introduces his adaptation in ‘Shakespeare Serialised’ . According to Gittings, Ralph Richardson as Falstaff "suggests a fatness, of body and spirit, beyond anything that stage-padding could achieve" (Radio Times, 4 May 1945).

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Ralph Richardson	Sir John Falstaff
Sybil Thorndike	Mistress Quickly
Charles Leno	Man
Diana Maddox	Page
Diana Maddox	Third Girl
George Rose	Snare
Harcourt Williams	Lord Bardolph
Humphrey Heathcote	Lord Mowbray
Humphrey Heathcote	Gower
John Rae	Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland
Joyce Redman	First Girl
Laurence Olivier	Sir Piers Exton
Margaret Leighton	Second Girl
Mark Dignam	Lord Chief Justice
Michael Hitchman	Scroop, Archbishop of York
Michael Raghan	Travers
Sidney Tafler	Lord Hastings
Sybil Thorndike	Rumour, the presenter
Weyman Mackay	Fang