The Man Born to be King
Encyclopedia
The Man Born to Be King is a radio drama
based on the life of Jesus
, produced and broadcast by the BBC
during the Second World War. It is a play cycle consisting of twelve plays depicting specific periods in Jesus' life, from the events surrounding his birth to his death and resurrection. It was first broadcast by the BBC Home Service
on Sunday evenings, beginning on December 21, 1941, with new episodes broadcast at 4-week intervals, ending on October 18, 1942. The series was written by novelist and dramatist Dorothy L. Sayers
, and produced by Val Gielgud
, with Robert Speaight as Jesus.
The twelve plays in the cycle are:
The project aroused a storm of controversy, even before it was broadcast. Objections arose to the very idea — atheists complained of Christian propaganda, while devout Christians declared that the BBC would be committing blasphemy by allowing the Christ to be impersonated by a human actor — and also to Sayers' approach to the material.
Sayers, who felt that the inherent drama of the Gospel story had become muffled by familiarity and a general failure to think of its characters as real people, was determined to give the plays dramatic immediacy, featuring realistic, identifiable characters with human emotions and motivations. (And speech-patterns. The decision to have the characters speak in contemporary colloquial English was, by itself, the cause of much disquiet among those more used to hearing Jesus and his followers speaking in the polished and formal words of the King James Bible
.)
In the event, although it continued to be criticised by conservative Christians — one group going so far as to proclaim the fall of Singapore in February 1942 to be a sign of God's displeasure with the series — The Man Born to Be King was generally considered a great success, both as drama and as biblical representation.
The scripts of the series were first published in 1943, accompanied by a commentary by the author illuminating her attitude to the work and the reasoning behind particular aspects of her dramatisation. There have been many subsequent issues and editions.
The last version was the first in stereo. It starred John Westbrook
as Jesus, Gabriel Woolf
, Denys Blakelock, Denise Bryer, Trevor Martin
, Norman Shelley
and Robert Eddison
. This version was repeated from 6–21 December 2007 on BBC 7
, after Christmas in 2008-2009 and from 18 April-3 May 2011 on BBC7's replacement, BBC Radio 4 Extra.
The Raymond Raikes production reduced the episodes from one hour to forty-five minutes, and condensed the casts in various ways - for instance by making The Evangelist, the narrator figure, the same voice as John the disciple (an identification strongly supported by the text of the fifth play).
Heron Carvic
, originally suggested by the writer, played Caiaphas in every version of the cycle (as well as in the broadcast of Sayers' Lichfield Passion in 1947).
Alan Wheatley
played Judas in all but the 1965 production. Similarly John Laurie played his original parts of Gestas in four of the productions, and John the Baptist in three. Many other castings overlapped - Raf de la Torre, a regular in Sayers' religious plays, was Jesus in the first full revival, and then had small parts in both of the 1960s productions.
No copies of the original version are held by the BBC, although recordings do exist elsewhere- only "King of Sorrows" from the original broadcast is completely missing. The 1951/2 version is held on vinyl at the British Library
.
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
based on the life of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, produced and broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
during the Second World War. It is a play cycle consisting of twelve plays depicting specific periods in Jesus' life, from the events surrounding his birth to his death and resurrection. It was first broadcast by the BBC Home Service
BBC Home Service
The BBC Home Service was a British national radio station which broadcast from 1939 until 1967.-Development:Between the 1920s and the outbreak of The Second World War, the BBC had developed two nationwide radio services, the BBC National Programme and the BBC Regional Programme...
on Sunday evenings, beginning on December 21, 1941, with new episodes broadcast at 4-week intervals, ending on October 18, 1942. The series was written by novelist and dramatist Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy L. Sayers
Dorothy Leigh Sayers was a renowned English crime writer, poet, playwright, essayist, translator and Christian humanist. She was also a student of classical and modern languages...
, and produced by Val Gielgud
Val Gielgud
Val Henry Gielgud was an English actor, writer, director and broadcaster. He was a pioneer of radio drama for the BBC, and also directed the first ever drama to be produced in the newer medium of television....
, with Robert Speaight as Jesus.
The twelve plays in the cycle are:
- Kings in Judea
- The King's Herald
- A Certain Nobleman
- The Heirs to the Kingdom
- The Bread of Heaven
- The Feast of Tabernacles
- The Light and the Life
- Royal Progress
- The King's Supper
- The Princes of This World
- King of Sorrows
- The King Comes to His Own
The project aroused a storm of controversy, even before it was broadcast. Objections arose to the very idea — atheists complained of Christian propaganda, while devout Christians declared that the BBC would be committing blasphemy by allowing the Christ to be impersonated by a human actor — and also to Sayers' approach to the material.
Sayers, who felt that the inherent drama of the Gospel story had become muffled by familiarity and a general failure to think of its characters as real people, was determined to give the plays dramatic immediacy, featuring realistic, identifiable characters with human emotions and motivations. (And speech-patterns. The decision to have the characters speak in contemporary colloquial English was, by itself, the cause of much disquiet among those more used to hearing Jesus and his followers speaking in the polished and formal words of the King James Bible
King James Version of the Bible
The Authorized Version, commonly known as the King James Version, King James Bible or KJV, is an English translation of the Christian Bible by the Church of England begun in 1604 and completed in 1611...
.)
In the event, although it continued to be criticised by conservative Christians — one group going so far as to proclaim the fall of Singapore in February 1942 to be a sign of God's displeasure with the series — The Man Born to Be King was generally considered a great success, both as drama and as biblical representation.
The scripts of the series were first published in 1943, accompanied by a commentary by the author illuminating her attitude to the work and the reasoning behind particular aspects of her dramatisation. There have been many subsequent issues and editions.
Other versions
Four other versions were made by the BBC:- Directed by Noel Iliff 1947-1948, with Raf de la Torre as Jesus
- Directed by Peter Watts 23 December 1951, with Deryck Guyler as Jesus
- Directed by William Glen-Doepel l7 February, 1965, with Tom Fleming as Jesus
- Directed by Raymond Raikes World Service 1967, first aired domestically 19 January 1975
The last version was the first in stereo. It starred John Westbrook
John Westbrook (actor)
John Westbrook was an English actor.Born in Teignmouth, Devon, John Westbrook worked mainly in theatre and in radio. He also made occasional film and television appearances. His most famous role was as Christopher Gough in Roger Corman's The Tomb of Ligeia...
as Jesus, Gabriel Woolf
Gabriel Woolf
Gabriel Woolf is an English film and television actor.-Career:His roles include Sir Percival in the 1953 film,Knights of the Round Table and Sutekh in the 1975 Doctor Who serial Pyramids of Mars....
, Denys Blakelock, Denise Bryer, Trevor Martin
Trevor Martin
Trevor Martin is a British actor.He is perhaps known for playing the Doctor on stage at the Adelphi Theatre, London in Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday based on the popular television series Doctor Who...
, Norman Shelley
Norman Shelley
Norman Shelley was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers....
and Robert Eddison
Robert Eddison
Robert Eddison was a British actor, who is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...
. This version was repeated from 6–21 December 2007 on BBC 7
BBC 7
BBC Radio 4 Extra, formerly known as BBC 7 and BBC Radio 7, is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment...
, after Christmas in 2008-2009 and from 18 April-3 May 2011 on BBC7's replacement, BBC Radio 4 Extra.
The Raymond Raikes production reduced the episodes from one hour to forty-five minutes, and condensed the casts in various ways - for instance by making The Evangelist, the narrator figure, the same voice as John the disciple (an identification strongly supported by the text of the fifth play).
Heron Carvic
Heron Carvic
Heron Carvic was a British actor and writer who provided the voice for Gandalf in the BBC Radio version of The Hobbit, and played Caiphas the High Priest every time the play cycle The Man Born To Be King was broadcast....
, originally suggested by the writer, played Caiaphas in every version of the cycle (as well as in the broadcast of Sayers' Lichfield Passion in 1947).
Alan Wheatley
Alan Wheatley
Alan Wheatley was a radio announcer who turned to stage and screen acting in the 1930s and was much seen in British films, being a television actor during the black and white era....
played Judas in all but the 1965 production. Similarly John Laurie played his original parts of Gestas in four of the productions, and John the Baptist in three. Many other castings overlapped - Raf de la Torre, a regular in Sayers' religious plays, was Jesus in the first full revival, and then had small parts in both of the 1960s productions.
No copies of the original version are held by the BBC, although recordings do exist elsewhere- only "King of Sorrows" from the original broadcast is completely missing. The 1951/2 version is held on vinyl at the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
.