"The Lady from the Sea" is a 1953 episode of '' Sunday Night Theatre'' that is significant as one of the earliest extant examples of British television drama, along with an earlier episode of the series titled "It is Midnight, Doctor Schweitzer" and the first two episodes of '' The Quatermass Experiment''. An adaptation of the 1888 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, it was performed twice, first on 10 May 1953 and again on the 14th. One of these live transmissions was recorded using the then-experimental

telerecording Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940 ...

process.

Cast

* Irene Worth as Ellida * Robert Harris as Wangel * Hamlyn Benson as Ballested * Eric Berry as Arnholm * Douglas Campbell as The Stranger * Paul Harding as Lyngstrand (as Brian Harding) * Sarah Lawson as Bolette * Jane Wenham as Hilda

Reception

John Wyver, reviewing the programme in 2011, said ''"even nearly sixty years on, few allowances have to be made for it to be enjoyed as small-screen drama of the first order"'' and ''"Irene Worth demands attention and captures the eye in just the way that I recall Vanessa Redgrave doing at the Roundhouse"''

References

External links

* British television plays Films based on works by Henrik Ibsen 1953 television plays Sunday Night Theatre {{tv-episode-stub