On This Day, August 31: BBC Saturday Night Theatre and Quiet Please
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August…
August 31 Update
This report documents the historical provenance, broadcast scheduling, commercial sponsorship, credited cast, production personnel, alternate circulating titles, and pure narrative synopses for broadcasts transmitting on August 31 across BBC radio theatrical masterworks, psychological horror, and modern space parody, four distinguished productions of BBC's Saturday Night Theatre spanning twenty-two years (1946, 1957, 1963, 1968), Wyllis Cooper's poetic fantasy Quiet, Please (1947), and Rory Rammer, Space Marshal (1946–2006):
1. Broadcasts
| Title | Network, Airdate & Showtime | Sponsor & Commercial Ads | Credited Cast & Performers | Director, Writers & Crew | Genres | Story Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "The Meteor Surfers of Callisto with ARTC" | ARTC Audio Drama 2006-08-31 |
Sustaining Sci-Fi Parody |
Ron N. Butler, Benedict | Ron N. Butler (Writer) | ["Sci-Fi", "Comedy", "Parody", "Rory Rammer", "ARTC"] |
Space Marshal Rory Rammer and his sidekick 'Skip' Sagan investigate reckless daredevils riding cosmic space-dust waves around Jupiter's moons. |
| "A Ribbon of Lincoln Green with Ernest Chappell" | Mutual (WOR) 1947-08-31 3:30 PM EDT |
Sustaining Fantasy / Suspense |
Ernest Chappell, Roy | Wyllis Cooper (Dir/Writer) | ["Fantasy", "Suspense", "Quiet Please", "Wyllis Cooper", "Ernest Chappell"] |
A man discovers that a keepsake ribbon from his youth possesses a supernatural connection that bends time back to medieval England. |
| "Charles, the King with BBC Radio Drama" | BBC Home Service 1946-08-31 9:15 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
Valentine Dyall, Browne | Maurice Colbourne (Author) | ["Drama", "History", "British", "Saturday Night Theatre", "BBC"] |
A historical dramatization chronicles King Charles I's trial and resolute stand against Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. |
| "Madame Sans-Gêne with BBC Radio Drama" | BBC Home Service 1957-08-31 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
Joan Young, Wolfit | Victorien Sardou (Author) | ["Drama", "Comedy", "History", "Saturday Night Theatre", "BBC"] |
An outspoken Parisian laundress becomes a duchess in Napoleon's court, retaining her working-class wit and defying imperial etiquette. |
| "Seahorse with BBC Radio Drama" | BBC Home Service 1963-08-31 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
Patrick Troughton, Hervey | Bruce Stewart (Writer) | ["Drama", "Suspense", "Maritime", "Saturday Night Theatre", "BBC"] |
The crew of a North Sea salvage tugboat becomes trapped in an intense psychological standoff over the ownership of a sunken prize. |
| "Enid Bagnold's The Chalk Garden with BBC Radio Drama" | BBC Radio 4 1968-08-31 8:30 PM BST |
Sustaining BBC Radio Drama |
Sybil Thorndike, Evans | Enid Bagnold (Author) | ["Drama", "Theatre", "British", "Saturday Night Theatre", "BBC"] |
An enigmatic governess with a mysterious past brings discipline and emotional healing to an eccentric grandmother's troubled household. |