Cedric Messina (14 December 1920 in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

— 30 April 1993 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) was a South-African born British television producer and director who worked for the BBC and is best remembered for his involvement in television productions of classic drama.

Early life and career

Born to Sicilian and Welsh immigrant parents, Messina attended school in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

and joined the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

(SABC) in the 1930s.Oliver Wak
"Cedric Messina"
British Television Drama, 24 June 2012 He first worked for the BBC as a radio announcer and drama producer for a time in 1947, later permanently moving to the UK and joining BBC Radio in the later role during 1958. Joining BBC Television in 1962, he was responsible for ''

Dr Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'' as producer and director for a time before being given responsibility for ''

Theatre 625 ''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production a ...

'' on the new

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. Becoming the producer of ''

Play of the Month ''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wor ...

'' in 1966 he supervised more than 80 productions until 1977, and also produced opera for television.

Later career

In 1975, while on location at Glamis Castle for a ''Play of the Month'' production of ''The Little Minister'' by

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

, Messina thought he had found the ideal location for Shakespeare's ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'', an idea which soon grew to the BBC undertaking the entire Bardic canon. The

BBC Television Shakespeare The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...

was the result, and Messina was responsible for the first two seasons (twelve plays) broadcast between 1978 and 1980. The series gained mixed reviews, and the perceived problems were often thought the responsibility of Messina himself.

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', the first screened production, was set "not in Verona, but in that semi-abstract, semi-concrete, wholly uninteresting city known to students as Messina." Susan Willis, in her book on the BBC Shakespeare cycle, writes: "That we have the televised Shakespeare series at all is entirely due to Messina; that we have the series we have and not perhaps a better, more exciting one is also in large part due to Messina." He was chosen to produce ''

The Falklands Play ''The Falklands Play'' is a dramatic account of the political events leading up to, and including, the 1982 Falklands War. The play was written by Ian Curteis, an experienced writer who had started his television career in drama, but had incre ...

'' by

Ian Curteis Ian Bayley Curteis (1 May 1935 – 24 November 2021) was a British dramatist and television director. Life and career Curteis was born in London on 1 May 1935, and began his career as an actor, joining Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop in the m ...

. TC1 at

BBC Television Centre Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for ...

was booked for late January and early February 1987, but the £1 million production was postponed and then cancelled;Oliver Wak
"Disputed territory: drama and the Falklands"
British Television Drama, 2 April 2012 Messina continued to defend both the play and author with no consideration for the effect it might have on his career.David Gile

''The Independent'', 17 May 1993 ''The Falklands Play'' was eventually televised in 2002 in a cut version. Messina's last production, for the BBC as always, was ''

The Happy Valley ''The Happy Valley'' is a British television drama, first shown on BBC1 on 6 September 1987 in the ''Sunday Premiere'' strand. It was written by David Reid, directed by Ross Devenish, and produced by Cedric Messina. It stars Holly Aird as Ju ...

'' (1987) with

Holly Aird Imogen Holly Aird (born 18 May 1969) is an English television actress known for playing forensic pathologist Frankie Wharton in the BBC1 drama series '' Waking the Dead'', having previously starred in productions such as ''Soldier Soldier'' a ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Messina, Cedric 1920 births 1993 deaths BBC television producers People from Port Elizabeth South African emigrants to the United Kingdom