World Theatre (TV series)

World Theatre
GenreDrama, Anthology
Based onStage Plays
Written byWilliam Shakespeare, Georg Büchner, James Maxwell, Federico García Lorca, Ben Jonson, Donald Wolfit
Directed byStuart Burge, James Maxwell, Rudolph Cartier, Michael Elliott
Starring
ComposersPaul Dessau, George Hall
Country of originEngland
No. of series1
No. of episodes8 (2 missing)
Production
Production locationEngland
Running time105, 95, 90 minutes
Production companyBBC
Original release
NetworkBBC Television
Release5 May (1959-05-05) –
11 August 1959 (1959-08-11)

World Theatre is a 1959 Drama play series featuring various plays adapted for television. The series was produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC Television from 5 May 1959 - 11 August 1959.[1]

Plot summary

World Theatre features a bunch of stage plays adapted for television.

Cast

  • Olive McFarland as Kattrin, Gerd
  • John Southworth as Androgyno, Bethold
  • Dilys Hamlett as Julie, Agnes
  • James Maxwell as Camille Desmoulins, Ejnar
  • Patrick Wymark as Danton, Mayor
  • Peter Sallis as Barere, Simon, Prisoner, Doctor, Provost
  • John Moffatt as Casca, Joseph Surface
  • Madge Brindley as Citizen, Old Neighbour
  • John Wentworth as Metellus Cimber, Sir Politick would-be
  • Fulton Mackay as Lacroix, Villager
  • Esmond Knight as Corvino, John Barthwick, MP
  • June Bailey as Aurore, Former Countess, Woman from the Headland
  • Anita Giorgi as Rosalie, Gypsy Women
  • Harald Jensen as National Convention President, Young Gentlemen, Villager
  • Roy Spence as Soldier, Villager
  • Neil Robinson as Man, Servant to Joseph Surface
  • Allan McClelland as Moon, Old Peasant's Son
  • Colin Jeavons as St. Just, Executioner, Jack Barthwick
  • Leonard Cracknell as Lucius, Man
  • Rowena Torrance as Wedding Guest, Wheeler

Episodes

The series ran for 8 episodes over one series that aired on Tuesdays.[2][3] The episodes "Danton's Death" and "Blood Wedding" sadly no longer exist in the BBC Archives and are believed now to be lost.[4]

Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
1 'Julius Caesar'[5] William Shakespeare Stuart Burge 5 May 1959 Survives
Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
2 'Danton's Death'[6] Georg Büchner, James Maxwell 19 May 1959 Missing
Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
3 'Blood Wedding'[7] Federico García Lorca 2 June 1959 Missing
Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
4 'Volpone'[8] Ben Jonson, Donald Wolfit 16 June 1959 Survives
Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
5 'Mother Courage and Her Children'[9] Eric Bentley, Bertolt Brecht, Eric Crozier Rudolph Cartier 30 June 1959 Survives
Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
6 'Henry IV'[10] Luigi Pirandello 14 July 1959 Survives
Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
7 'The School for Scandal'[11] Richard Brinsley Sheridan 28 July 1959 Survives
Ep Title Writer Director Original airdate Archive
8 'Brand'[12] Henrik Ibsen, Michael Meyer Michael Elliott 11 August 1959 Survives

Production

During the filming of the episode "Brand" the production of the play was staged with impressively bleak and vast mountain sets designed by Richard Negri and required really highly complex lighting for the different open air conditions for the specified sets for the play, including the sea storm and avalanche. Patrick McGoohan who played the titled main character in the play it was apparently a very difficult role for Patrick McGoohan to successfully realise mainly due to his character that he was playing being a man who is presented in a state of heightened religious fervour from the first scene of the play when he appears on an arduous mountain pilgrimage. Meyer described the final act of the play leading up towards the avalanche, as being a great theatrical experience. He also said Ibsen was a master of the final act, but he never wrote a greater one than in Brand.[13] The play was also performed live on television at the Lyric Opera House Hammersmith.

Critical Reception

Critics and reviewers praised the naturalistic, conversational performances of Wymark and Peter Sallis in contrast to McGoohan's more stylised performance for the play Brand.[14] Patrick McGoohan also won a BAFTA award for his performance in the episode "Brand".

DVD Release

The only episode that has been released on DVD is the episode "Brand", which was released by Network DVD on the 28 July 2003. The DVD also features an interview with Peter Sallis where he recalled about his experience in the episode "Brand".[15][16][17] When the DVD was released Brian Watson largely approved of the DVD and described it as "This is one Hell of a play, and a must for Prisoner enthusiasts".[18]

See Also

References

  1. ^ "Coventry Evening Telegraph · 05 May 1959". newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "World Theatre". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ "The School for Scandal". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 28 July 1959.
  4. ^ "World Theatre (1959)". tvbrain.info.
  5. ^ "World Theatre presents: Julius Caesar". BBC Genome Project. 5 May 1959. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  6. ^ "World Theatre presents: Danton's Death". BBC Genome Project. 19 May 1959. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  7. ^ "World Theatre Presents: Blood Wedding". BBC Genome Project. 2 June 1959. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  8. ^ "World Theatre presents: Volpone". BBC Genome Project. 16 June 1959. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  9. ^ "Television World Theatre presents: Mother Courage and her Children". BBC Genome Project. 30 June 1959. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Television World Theatre: Henry IV". BBC Genome Project. 14 July 1959. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  11. ^ "The School for Scandal". BBC Genome Project. 28 July 1959. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  12. ^ "World Theatre presents: Brand". BBC Genome Project. 11 August 1959. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  13. ^ "World Theatre: Brand (BBC, 1959)". screenplaystv.wordpress.com. 27 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Television". wymark.org.uk.
  15. ^ "Brand [1959] [DVD]". amazon.co.uk.
  16. ^ "Of Moby Dick, Brand, Patrick McGoohan, and Cheese Lover Wallace By David Barrie" (PDF). sixofone.co.
  17. ^ "Peter Sallis and Patrick McGoohan". summerwine.net. 22 September 2021.
  18. ^ "The Unmutual Reviews: Brand (DVD) Review by Brian Watson". theunmutal.co.uk.
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