Planet Podcasts
Radio

Theatre Royal

Syndicated

Syndicated · 1940–1950

45 EpisodesFortnightlyPGSince 1940

The run

Network
Syndicated
Years active
1940–1950
Surviving broadcasts
45
Genre
detective

THEATRE ROYAL This fine British anthology series, features plays based on the best of literature, films and English theater. Produced in two series, Sir Lawrence Olivier and Sir Ralph Richardson serve as hosts, narrators and many times portray the leading roles. The program apparently was developed as a vehicle to capitalize on Olivier’s name and talent. His career spanned over 50 years and continues into the 21st century, as in 2004, 15 years after his death, he was starring as Dr. Totenkopf in a Hollywood fantasy film titled, Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow . This was accomplished by the producers who selected footage of Lord Olivier from various films and used to create a villainous leader of killer robots in the film. Jude Law, who stars in the film, said film-makers used Olivier because few other actors possessed his authority. Digitised by the Old Time Radio Researchers and streamed from the Internet Archive item “OTRR_Theatre_Royal_Singles”; these recordings are in the public domain.

1954 · 81953 · 4

Source collection

Old Time Radio Researchers Group

Rights

Public domain — no renewed US copyright

Cataloguing

Air dates and notes from the Archive item record

Every broadcast below carries its own provenance sheet — transfer quality, file source and rights.Archive record: OTRR_Theatre_Royal_Singles

The shape of the run

What survives, year by year

9 dated broadcasts across 15 years on the air, with 13 years where nothing is known to survive. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.

JFMAMJJASOND
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
Clean transferListenableRough but complete No surviving recording

Episodes

Start here

Listen to the run in order

Restored broadcasts from 1953, in original transmission order.

  1. 1. Theatre Royal 53-10-04 (01) Queen of Spades · 4 Oct 1953
  2. 2. Theatre Royal 53-10-25 (04) The Happy Hypocrite · 25 Oct 1953
  3. 3. Theatre Royal 53-11-14 (07) The Purse · 14 Nov 1953
  • 01

    Theatre Royal 53-10-04 (01) Queen of Spades

    4 Oct 1953 · 29 min

    Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).

  • 02

    Theatre Royal 53-10-25 (04) The Happy Hypocrite

    25 Oct 1953 · 29 min

    Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).

  • 03

    Theatre Royal 53-11-14 (07) The Purse

    14 Nov 1953 · 29 min

    Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).

  • 04

    Theatre Royal 53-12-19 (11) Zodomirsky's Duel

    19 Dec 1953 · 28 min

    Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).

  • 05

    Theatre Royal 54-01-02 (14) The Country of the Blind

    2 Jan 1954 · 28 min

    Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).

  • 06

    Theatre Royal 54-01-30 (18) Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

    30 Jan 1954 · 29 min

    Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).

  • 07

    Theatre Royal 54-02-20 (21) The Inspector General

    20 Feb 1954 · 29 min

    Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).

  • 08

    Theatre Royal 54-03-13 (24) Mr Micawber's Difficulties

    13 Mar 1954 · 25 min

    Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).

Same night on the air

4 Oct 1953

Everything else the archive still holds from the night of 4 Oct 1953.

The Six Shooter
The Six Shooter cover art
The Six Shooter

Stampede

4 Oct 1953 · 28 min

Originally broadcast on NBC, 4 October 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.

Stroke Of Fate
Stroke Of Fate cover art
Stroke Of Fate

Robert E. Lee

4 Oct 1953 · 25 min

Broadcast 4 October 1953. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.

Also on Syndicated

Syndicated in 1940–1950

Other series the network carried while Theatre Royal was on the air.

Same seasons

detective on the air then

Series in the same genre whose runs overlapped this one.

What it became

The private eye at the microphone

First-person narration, a case that walks in the door, and a city that talks back. Marlowe, Sam Spade and Johnny Dollar turned detection into a listening form.

Lineage is written by our editors, not inferred from listening data.

Descendants

Working in the tradition of Theatre Royal

Modern series carrying this form forward.

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