The Winslow Boy - BBC Saturday Night Theater

The Winslow Boy - BBC Saturday Night Theater - Terence Rattigan

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3 жыл бұрын

The Winslow Boy is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an incident involving George Archer-Shee in the Edwardian era.[1] The incident took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne
Set against the strict codes of conduct and manners of the age, The Winslow Boy is based on a father's fight to clear his son's name after the boy is expelled from Osborne Naval College for stealing a five-shilling postal order. To clear the boy's name was imperative for the family's honour; had they not done so, they would have been shunned by their peers and society. Similarly, the boy's life would have been wrecked by an indelible stain on his character which would have followed him throughout adulthood.
The play was inspired by an actual event, which set a legal precedent: the case of Stonyhurst College alumnus George Archer-Shee, a cadet at Osborne in 1908, who was accused of stealing a postal order from a fellow cadet. His elder brother, Major Martin Archer-Shee, was convinced of his innocence and persuaded his father (also called Martin) to engage lawyers. The most respected barrister of the day, Sir Edward Carson, was also persuaded of his innocence and insisted on the case coming to court. On the fourth day of the trial, the Solicitor General, Sir Rufus Isaacs, accepted that Archer-Shee was innocent, and ultimately the family was paid compensation.
Saturday Night Theatre was a long-running radio drama strand on BBC Radio 4. The strand showcased feature-length, middle-brow single plays on Saturday evenings for more than 50 years, having been launched in April 1943. The plays featured in the strand included stage plays, book adaptations and original dramatisations. For most of its history, programmes ran for 90 minutes and were largely entertainment-centred, such as thrillers, comedies and mysteries.
Saturday Night Theatre was noted as the major drama of the week on BBC Radio 4, until it was scrapped as a programme strand in 1996. Shorter plays continued to be broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturday evenings from 1996 until the relaunch of the channel's schedule in April 1998 by James Boyle, when single dramas were removed from the Saturday evening schedule. Since 1998, the main weekly play on the station has been The Saturday Play, a daytime programme that runs for 60-90 minutes.
There have since been campaigns to bring back Saturday Night Theatre, but in the context of BBC budget cuts, that have included the 2010 axing of Radio 4's Friday Play (established in 1998, when Saturday Night Theatre was abolished), any return looks unlikely.
Originally Broadcast 1/30/1965
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Пікірлер: 19

@jimmaccormaic6689 3 жыл бұрын

This brought back memories of my youth when I saw this on the stage. What a joy it is to come across it again, and what a joy to hear a serious topic written about so well and performed with such panache. Bravo!

@dianejablonski1092 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent storytelling! Thank you for continuing to entertain us.🇺🇸

@sharonannen8859 3 жыл бұрын

* My mother was an actress. She performed in this play in community theatre here in the States. *

@kimberlykasimoff1447 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent. I really enjoyed this radio drama. When they are this good, I wish that they could go on and on.

@TedaR 3 жыл бұрын

I can't believe I've only just now stumbled across your ch. What a treasure trove! Tysm for your obvious devotion to these great works & for helping to ensure that they live on. GKC was a true master of his craft & much beloved! New sub Nashville, TN Cheers yall! 😄🇺🇸

@stevenbowen7674 Жыл бұрын

Such fine use of the English language, unlike today's youth, and older; and I suspect on either side of the Atlantic. Great performances in such a distinguished play. Thank you indeed for providing. Never heard of The Windslow Boy until this.

@laankebygg3685 11 ай бұрын

A little bit more on George Archer-Shee (6 May 1895 - 31 October 1914) who was a Royal Navy cadet whose case of whether he stole a five-shilling postal order was decided in the High Court of Justice in 1910. Archer-Shee was successfully defended by barrister and politician Sir Edward Carson. The trial, which became a British cause célèbre, was the inspiration for the 1946 Terence Rattigan play The Winslow Boy, which has been the basis of two films. Following his acquittal, the boy's family was paid compensation in July 1911. Archer-Shee was commissioned in the British Army in 1913 and was killed aged 19, at the First Battle of Ypres on 31 October 1914. Sad he was killed at such an early age.

@ronstatham6625 10 ай бұрын

Should be a play about Sir Edward Carson an amazing life.

@helenferullo5706 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your top notch presentation of this wonderful story. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to these incrediblely gifted actors, and commend everyone involved.