The Farmer's Wife (play)
The Farmer's Wife is a romantic comedy play by the British writer Eden Phillpotts, based on the scenario of his novel Widecombe Fair (1913).[1] It was first staged in Birmingham in 1916. Its London premiere was at the Royal Court Theatre in 1924.[2][3] By 1926 when Laurence Olivier went on tour in the lead role, the play had already been performed 1,300 times.[4]
Synopsis
[edit]After his wife dies, a farmer goes through an elaborate attempt to persuade one of his various female neighbours to marry him without realising that the ideal woman is already working as his housekeeper.
Adaptations
[edit]Film
[edit]The source novel was itself made into a separate film in 1928, directed by Norman Walker. The play was twice adapted to film: the 1928 silent film The Farmer's Wife, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Jameson Thomas and Lillian Hall-Davis, and the 1941 sound film The Farmer's Wife, directed by Leslie Arliss and starring Basil Sydney and Patricia Roc.[1]
Television
[edit]Two versions of the play were made for UK television: in 1955, adapted and directed by Owen Reed,[3] and in 1959, directed by Patrick Dromgoole as part of the Saturday Playhouse series.[5]
Radio
[edit]In 1934, a recording for BBC Radio was adapted and produced by Cyril Wood.[6]
Stage
[edit]The Farmer's Wife was adapted into a 1951 Broadway musical entitled Courtin' Time with a creative team including lyricist Jack Lawrence, composer Don Walker, and writer William Roos.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Alfred Hitchcock Collectors' Guide: The Farmer's Wife (1928)". Brenton Film.
- ^ Williams p.172
- ^ a b "The Farmer's Wife". 1 February 1955. p. 26 – via BBC Genome.
- ^ Coleman p.27
- ^ "Saturday Playhouse presents: The Farmer's Wife". 5 December 1959. p. 27 – via BBC Genome.
- ^ "'The Farmer's Wife'". 12 February 1934. p. 28 – via BBC Genome.
- ^ Dan Dietz (2014). "1951-1952 Season: Courtin' Time". The Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 77-79. ISBN 9781442235052.
Works cited
[edit]- Coleman, Terry. Olivier: The Authorised Biography. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005.
- Williams, Gordon. British Theatre in the Great War: A Revaluation. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003.
External links
[edit]- The Farmer's Wife at Faded Page (Canada)
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