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Post by partytentdown on Jul 20, 2022 21:50:34 GMT
Back in the dark ages of the early 2000s I remember the BBC filming and broadcasting 'A Day in the Death of Joe Egg' starring Eddie Izzard and Victoria Hamilton which was on in the West End at the time. I'm not sure why this particular play was chosen to be filmed, but it was a great record of a great production. Maybe it was part of a series? I remember finding it quite amazing that I could watch this amazing play as a teen living miles away from London, before the internet and NT Live etc were really things.
But - as far as I know, it was never shown again. Why would they go to all that expense and never show it? You'd think it would get wheeled out occasionally. I think I did video tape it but that is long gone.
Or did I imagine the whole thing?
Can anyone advise what was going on, or what the thinking behind this was?
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Post by alicechallice on Jul 21, 2022 7:13:06 GMT
I’m afraid I can’t answer any of your questions but I can tell you that it can be found on YT.
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Post by og on Jul 21, 2022 8:32:58 GMT
A quick google brings up this article from 2002: www.digitalspy.com/tv/a6548/a-day-in-the-death-of-joe-egg/Sounds to me like Joe Egg was a pilot for a potential new series of content for BBC Four (which itself started in 2002). Could be any number of reasons, but it may well have been deemed too expensive to complete a series of filmed plays for BBC Four or perhaps Joe Egg didnt get the viewers/interest they were wanting to commission a full run. |
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Post by jaggy on Jul 21, 2022 10:58:31 GMT
They also filmed and broadcasted Three Sisters with Kristin Scott Thomas and Kate Burton around that time. I don’t think that was broadcast again either and can be hard to track down.
Obviously, the Donmar’s Company and Cabaret were also filmed. They haven’t been broadcast again. I think Cabaret was going to be released on DVD but Kander or Ebb (forget which one) put a stop to it because they apparently loathed Horrocks‘ performance.
Really wish they’d put all of these on iPlayer or something.
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Post by anthony40 on Jul 21, 2022 11:19:25 GMT
I remember both Company with Adrian Lester and Cabaret. There was also My Night With Reg- which later got turned into a tele-movie.
There was also a Shakespeare play with Fiona Shaw as the female lead in what was traditionally male part- I just can't remember what.
It does seem a shame that they've not been released
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Post by jaggy on Jul 21, 2022 11:26:35 GMT
I remember both Company with Adrian Lester and Cabaret. There was also My Night With Reg- which later got turned into a tele-movie. There was also a Shakespeare play with Fiona Shaw as the female lead in what was traditionally male part- I just can't remember what. It does seem a shame that they've not been released Richard II is the Shakespeare you’re thinking of which I think was released on DVD. They also did a TV movie of her Hedda. |
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Post by Jon on Jul 21, 2022 11:29:08 GMT
I assume rights clearance is the main reason a lot of these plays and musicals haven't been repeated.
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Post by jaggy on Jul 21, 2022 12:26:51 GMT
I assumed it was a rights issue. I can see Joe Egg and Cabaret being effected by that but Three Sisters and Company less so. We’ve had two other recordings of Company (plus other Sondheim shows) and many recordings of Three Sisters. Maybe it’s the contracts that were drawn up at the time?
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Post by talkingheads on Jul 21, 2022 21:32:11 GMT
Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell with Peter O'Toole was filmed for the BBC, thankfully it's on YouTube:
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Post by partytentdown on Jul 21, 2022 21:41:58 GMT
Thanks for the info! I do sometimes wonder if maybe this stuff is sitting in a vault somewhere and the BBC people just don't remember it exists.
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Post by partytentdown on Jul 21, 2022 21:48:48 GMT
I’m afraid I can’t answer any of your questions but I can tell you that it can be found on YT. Just having a watch. What a great play. Victoria Hamilton is magnificent in it. If anyone is looking for something to watch, I recommend! |
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Post by alicechallice on Jul 21, 2022 22:17:46 GMT
I’m afraid I can’t answer any of your questions but I can tell you that it can be found on YT. Just having a watch. What a great play. Victoria Hamilton is magnificent in it. If anyone is looking for something to watch, I recommend! I really don’t like that bit where they break character in fits of giggles though, call me old-fashioned! |
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Post by partytentdown on Jul 22, 2022 8:20:31 GMT
Just having a watch. What a great play. Victoria Hamilton is magnificent in it. If anyone is looking for something to watch, I recommend! I really don’t like that bit where they break character in fits of giggles though, call me old-fashioned! I think it was very ahead of its time when it was first done! |
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Post by Jan on Jul 22, 2022 9:08:10 GMT
This discussion reminds me of the ITV series in the 1970s "Laurence Olivier Presents" where the great man picked some 20th century plays which were produced as TV versions. He was in most of them himself, but not all as far as I recall.
Hindle Wakes (Stanley Houghton)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Saturday, Sunday, Monday (Eduardo Filippo)
Daphne Laureola (James Bridie)
The Collection (Pinter)
Come Back, Little Sheba (William Inge)
I think the series was probably inspired by the earlier TV version of his NT stage success Long Day's Journey into Night.
I'd really like to see a new stage production of Hindle Wakes which was a staple of Amateur Dramatic societies for many years - come on Finborough !
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Post by singingbird on Jul 22, 2022 9:11:46 GMT
Something I find endlessly frustrating is that, whenever there's a TV documentary about any aspect of theatre, we get to see brief clips of rehearsal and performance footage from all sorts of productions, past and present. I want to know where all this material comes from! I SO wish there was an archive where it was all available and we could search it and watch it at our leisure. I think all sorts of treasures must be sitting in various vaults and private collections...
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Post by sfsusan on Jul 22, 2022 15:01:32 GMT
whenever there's a TV documentary about any aspect of theatre, we get to see brief clips of rehearsal and performance footage from all sorts of productions, past and present. I want to know where all this material comes from! Aren't there usually credits for the clips? I think I remember seeing attributions like "scenes from XXX courtesy of ....". Maybe an IMDB entry for the documentary would yield sources? |
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Post by finboroughtheatre on Jul 22, 2022 17:46:53 GMT
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Post by singingbird on Jul 23, 2022 11:36:37 GMT
whenever there's a TV documentary about any aspect of theatre, we get to see brief clips of rehearsal and performance footage from all sorts of productions, past and present. I want to know where all this material comes from! Aren't there usually credits for the clips? I think I remember seeing attributions like "scenes from XXX courtesy of ....". Maybe an IMDB entry for the documentary would yield sources? Excellent ideas - thank you! |
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Post by nick on Jul 23, 2022 13:28:35 GMT
Something I find endlessly frustrating is that, whenever there's a TV documentary about any aspect of theatre, we get to see brief clips of rehearsal and performance footage from all sorts of productions, past and present. I want to know where all this material comes from! I SO wish there was an archive where it was all available and we could search it and watch it at our leisure. I think all sorts of treasures must be sitting in various vaults and private collections... I think I'm right in thinking that many productions are recorded for posterity but not for broadcast so not likely to be widely available. Many are available here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Video_Archive_of_PerformanceThere are also many TV documentaries from which clips can be culled. Two that spring to mind, that I have, are a doc showing the rehearsals for the original West End Production of Hair which probably has 15/20 minutes of the cast performing. Another one is a feature in BBC News's technology programme, Click, which has a long feature about the projection system used in the Menier Chocolate Factory's production of Pippin. Local news programmes are also a good source. I have copies of some Granada TV local news programmes from the 1970s which feature quite extensive clips of both Liverpool and Manchester Theatres. Finally when Arena started in the mid 70s it alternated between Theatre and Art and Design. The theatre strand has things like visiting Scarborough to look at the new Alan Ayckbourn play and, to quote: "What is Great Acting? Claire Bloom and Kenneth Tynan discuss three performances. Amongst them Peggy Ashcroft in an extract from BECKETT'S Happy Days and Judi Dench in SHAW'S Too True to be Good, plus a rare treat, filmed on Broadway - Irene Worth in her triumphant success in TENNESSEE WILLIAMS'S Sweet Bird of Youth." "Goodbye to a Building takes a glimpse at Britain's most modern theatre complex. Meanwhile, 100 yards down the road stands the Old Vic - probably the most famous English theatre in the world.Barbara Jefford , Laurence Olivier Joan Plowright , Kenneth Tynan Billie Whitelaw and many of the people behind the scenes say goodbye to the building and wonder what will become of it." "A Dream Come True the Manchester Royal Exchange. The theatre structure sits among the dignified pink marble columns of its host building rather like a lunar module of the arts. It is a dramatic three-tiered structure of glass and steel, seven-sided like a 50-pence piece. It will seat over 700 people in raked seating, at ground level and in two suspended galleries above.The Royal Exchange Theatre's first season, opening with Sheridan's The Rivals, will bring an impressive list of talents to Manchester. It will include TOM COURTENAY, ALBERT FINNEY, SIR ALEC GUINNESS, LEO MCKERN and TREVOR PEACOCK" etc etc There's a lot of good stuff hidden away in the TV archives. |
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Post by artea on Jul 23, 2022 21:32:39 GMT
As if by magic bbc four is repeating the roads to freedom - sartre for the first time since broadcast 1970. There will be a lot of close-ups and a lot of words.
There are going to be more.
Bbc radio also must have an astounding archive. The place to look for out-of-fashion is r4x 06.30 saturday. The most vivid exciting eloquent production I heard so far this year was Curtmantel by Christopher Fry. 1982 approx radio adaptation of 1969 maybe commission by rsc. Prob never revived. Henry 1 v Eleanor of aquitaine v becket v royal children. Secular state v religious state. Power and compromise and ambition and conflict. Doing good for people v killing off people through outrageous personal ambition resulting in war. A great drama with lots of contemporary resonace - enemies of the people anyone- in wonderful poetry beautifully spoken with so much power in 1970s approx RSC style which will never be heard again.
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Post by Jan on Jul 24, 2022 13:36:09 GMT
So sorry. We've already done Hindle Wakes back in 2012 ! Oh ? How did I miss that ? Unbelievable. |
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Post by joem on Jul 25, 2022 13:52:40 GMT
This discussion reminds me of the ITV series in the 1970s "Laurence Olivier Presents" where the great man picked some 20th century plays which were produced as TV versions. He was in most of them himself, but not all as far as I recall. Hindle Wakes (Stanley Houghton) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Saturday, Sunday, Monday (Eduardo Filippo) Daphne Laureola (James Bridie) The Collection (Pinter) Come Back, Little Sheba (William Inge) I think the series was probably inspired by the earlier TV version of his NT stage success Long Day's Journey into Night. I'd really like to see a new stage production of Hindle Wakes which was a staple of Amateur Dramatic societies for many years - come on Finborough ! The Collection is available on dvd and I remember having seen him in Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Joan Plowright was in that too. BBC, and ITV for that matter, should have an on-demand website (maybe shared?) and put absolutely everything they've ever done on it. Would be an absolute treasure trove. |
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Post by Jan on Jul 25, 2022 16:57:24 GMT
This discussion reminds me of the ITV series in the 1970s "Laurence Olivier Presents" where the great man picked some 20th century plays which were produced as TV versions. He was in most of them himself, but not all as far as I recall. Hindle Wakes (Stanley Houghton) Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Saturday, Sunday, Monday (Eduardo Filippo) Daphne Laureola (James Bridie) The Collection (Pinter) Come Back, Little Sheba (William Inge) I think the series was probably inspired by the earlier TV version of his NT stage success Long Day's Journey into Night. I'd really like to see a new stage production of Hindle Wakes which was a staple of Amateur Dramatic societies for many years - come on Finborough ! The Collection is available on dvd and I remember having seen him in Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Joan Plowright was in that too. BBC, and ITV for that matter, should have an on-demand website (maybe shared?) and put absolutely everything they've ever done on it. Would be an absolute treasure trove. The BBC can’t do that because they destroyed lots of the recordings. I recall a good TV version of The Norman Conquests with Tom Conti. |
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Post by lynette on Jul 25, 2022 17:18:44 GMT
I was once told that you can apply to see some progs that are not available to the public but this was before streaming took off. I expect you still can apply ..and pay..to see stuff.
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Post by nick on Jul 26, 2022 11:22:22 GMT
I was once told that you can apply to see some progs that are not available to the public but this was before streaming took off. I expect you still can apply ..and pay..to see stuff. ITV have an online archive that researchers (programme makers and academics but not general public) can use. Same at the BFI although it's not online - you have to visit their premises. The BBC have an online archive that is open to production staff (internal and external) but not academics that is used to research clips for new TV programmes. None of them have open public access. The ITV and BFI one's are limited while the BBC has pretty much everything they own. If the rights could be worked out (and that's a huge IF) then there's no technical reason why they couldn't be made available on subscription to the public. But I think it is a long way off, if ever. |
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