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

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

Film

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

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

In 1934, a recording for BBC Radio was adapted and produced by Cyril Wood.[6]

Stage

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

  1. 1 2 "Alfred Hitchcock Collectors' Guide: The Farmer's Wife (1928)". Brenton Film.
  2. ↑ Williams p.172
  3. 1 2 "The Farmer's Wife". 1 February 1955. p. 26 – via BBC Genome.
  4. ↑ Coleman p.27
  5. ↑ "Saturday Playhouse presents: The Farmer's Wife". 5 December 1959. p. 27 – via BBC Genome.
  6. ↑ "'The Farmer's Wife'". 12 February 1934. p. 28 – via BBC Genome.
  7. ↑ 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

  • Coleman, Terry. Olivier: The Authorised Biography. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005.
  • Williams, Gordon. British Theatre in the Great War: A Revaluation. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003.


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