RARE BBC Transcription - Shakespeare's Cymbeline (1957)
$
50
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Description
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Transcription Service
EXTREMELY RARE 3-Disc recording of
CYMBELINE
by William Shakespeare
Performed by the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company
with Peggy Ashcroft, Clive Revill, Joan Miller, Richard Johnson and Robert Harris
This auction is for a three-disc recording of a radio version of the highly praised 1957 Stratford-on-Avon production of Shakespeare's Cymbeline by the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company. This company was subsequently incorporated under a Royal Charter given by Queen Elizabeth II and is now known as the Royal Shakespeare Company.
This BBC Transcription Service recording is exceptionally rare. The use of the discs was restricted to broadcasting stations authorized by the BBC and had specific dates for when they were to be removed from service and destroyed. Nearly all of the sets for this production, as well as other plays in the BBC World Theatre Series of recordings, no longer exist. This particular set was broadcast four times at a small midwestern college FM station and had an expiry date of October 31, 1967. It has been in my private collection for nearly 40 years and is still in the BBC supplied buff-colored sleeves (the dates of the four broadcasts have been written on each sleeve). The performance, on three 12" 33 RPM LPs, lasts 2 hours and 14 minutes.
The cast for this recording includes the following actors and actresses, many of whom have had stellar careers:
Patrick Wymark (Narrator); Thane Brittany (Gentleman); Peter Cellier (First Lord); Barry Warren (Second Lord); Joan Miller (Queen); Richard Johnson (Posthumus); Peggy Ashcroft (Imogen); Robert Harris (Cymbeline); Mark Dignam (Pisanio); Clive Revill (Clotin); Molly Tapper (Helen); Geoffrey Keen (Iachimo); Donald Layne-Smith (Philario); Brian Bedford (Frenchman); James Wellman (Cornelius); Rex Robinson (Singer); William Elmhirst (Councillor); Donald Eccles (Caius Lucious); Cyril Luckham (Belarius); Robert Arnold (Guiderius); Brian Bedford (Arviragus); Derek Mayhew (Roman Captain); Julian Glover (Gaoler); and Simon Carter, Tony Robertson, Molly Tapper, Pamela Taylor, Eileen Atkins, Elizabeth Evans, Mavis Edwards, Edward Caddick, John Davidson, Henry Davies, John Grayson, Norman Miller, Gordon Wright, Antony Brown, John Murray Scott, Kenneth Gilbert, John Salway, Gordon Souter and Roy Spencer.
This recording features the absolutely stunning performance of Peggy Ashcroft in the role of Imogen, Cymbeline's daughter, and one of the bard's loviest creations. She was described as having the most moving voice on the English stage. While there is a variety of opinions about Cymbeline, most literary critics agree that the poetry is exquisite. This recording, aside from being particularly rare, would be of great interest to persons with some knowledge and concern with Shakespeare. It might be a wonderful addition to a public school, university theatre department or private library of theatre-oriented materials. As should be expected of vinyl discs of this age, there is some sporadic surface noise but not enough to detract from the quality of the performances.
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