British Universities Film & Video Council

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Polonius

Synopsis
Radio broadcast on an excerpt from Hamlet that focuses on the character of Polonius. Arranged for radio by Herbert Farjeon and produced by Mary Hope Allen. With Leslie Stokes as speaker.
Series
Radio Theatre: Shakespeare’s Characters
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Radio
Transmission details
9 Apr 1944 at 14:30 (Channel: BBC General Forces Programme)
Duration
30 mins
Availability
Unknown

Credits

Producer
Mary Hope Allen
Writer
William Shakespeare
Adaptor for Radio
Herbert Farjeon
Cast
Marius GoringHamlet
Milton RosmerClaudius
Lydia SherwoodGertrude
John RuddockPolonius
Sara JacksonOphelia
Hubert GreggLaertes
Leslie StokesSpeaker
Preston LockwoodReynaldo

Additional Details

Production type
Other
Plays
Hamlet
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

General
According to the programme notes in London Calling, "Mr. Farjeon had always been interested in the big figures among the secondary characters in Shakespeare’s plays. In this series he expands upon their personalities, illustrating his theories by some of the scenes in which these characters appear" (No. 302: 1945, p. 20)
History
Episode 10 in the series.
Broadcast on the External Service on the following dates and regions:
11 April 1944 - N. American
11 April 1944 - African
12 April 1944 - Pacific

This was also the second episode in a revival of the series on the External Service:
20/8/1945 North American Service, 1:30 GMT (21:30 EWT)
21/8/1945 Eastern Service, 12.45 GMT
24/8/1945 Pacific Service, 5:30 GMT
20/8/1945 African Service, 20:00 GMT
Textual information
A written transcript of the production is held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.
Reviews
Source: London Calling
Annotated radio scripts of all the 18 episodes in the series are being held at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection.

Production Company

Name

BBC World Service

Record Stats

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