The Shoemaker's Holiday
by Thomas Dekker
Thomas Dekker - The Shoemaker's Holiday
BBC Third Programme
Broadcast: Sunday 30th November 1958
Considered a comic masterpiece of the Elizabethan era, Thomas Dekker's exuberant and robust London characters paint a vivid
portrait of the city's tradesmen and their wives. Follow industrious shoemaker Simon Eyre through the twists and turns of city life as he
becomes Lord Mayor of London. "The Shoemaker's Holiday" is celebrated for paving the way for the evolution of English citizen
comedy -- plays set in London and dealing with metropolitan society and its class mobility, sexual intrigue and pursuit of wealth and
status.
"The Shoemaker's Holiday, or the Gentle Craft" by Thomas Dekker was first performed at the Rose Theatre in 1599 by the Admiral's
Men and was adapted for radio by Raymond Raikes.
With Donald Wolfit [Simon Eyre, the Shoemaker], Felix Felton [Sir Roger Oteley, Lord Mayor of London], Phillip Leaver [Sir Hugh Lacy,
Earl of Lincoln], Denis Quilley [Rowland Lacy, Sir Hugh's Nephew], Vivienne Chatterton [Margery, Eyre's Wife], Charles Leno [Hodge,
Eyre's Foreman], Geoffrey Matthews [Firk, Eyre's Journeymen], John Bryning [Ralph, Eyre's Journeymen], Eva Haddon [Jane, Ralph's
Wife], Janette Richer [Rose Oteley, Daughter of Sir Roger], Betty Baskcomb [Sybil, Rose's Maid], Alistair Duncan [Master Hammon,
Citizen of London], Godfrey Kenton [Master Warner, Citizen of London], George Merritt [A Dutch Skipper], Denis Goacher [Dodger, a
Servant to the Earl of Lincoln], Antony Viccars [The Serving Man], and Charles Simon [The King].
Music composed and conducted by John Hotchkis, performed by the Welbeck String Orchestra, Leader: Vera Kantrovitch
Produced by Raymond Raikes.
Re-broadcast on Thursday 1st January 1959; Sunday 28th June 1959; Sunday 27th August 1961; Monday 11th March 1968; and Sunday
20th September 1970 (BBC Radio 4: The Sunday Play).
80 min.
Jim
