Part 1 of an epic play The British Empire by John Spurling
with John Turner as Burton, Thelma Whiteley as Isabel Burton, Marly Cruickshank as Letty Landon, Bill Paterson as Captain Maclean, Zia Mohyeddin as Nana Sahib,
John Hollis as George Augustus Robinson and Geoffrey Beevers as Dr Brydon

The British Empire has no single hero, but a succession of semi-heroes, semi-villains, whose intentions and actions echo and contrast with one another through half-a-century and 59 scenes. Courage and treachery, efficiency and ineptitude, philanthropy and inhumanity are its themes. These people lived and these things happened between 1820 and 1885; they are part of a symphonic drama and not a documentary.
Forty-five other historical characters played by GORDON REID, PHILLIP VOSS, DAVID BRIERLEY, PATIENCE TOMLINSON, CRAWFORD LOGAN, ANTHONY NEWLANDS, PETER TUDDENHAM, JOE DUNLOP, MAHDAV SHARMA, MANNING WILSON, SEAN BARRETT, RENU SETNA,
GEORGE PARSONS, DAVID GOODERSON, RONALD HERDMAN, JAMES KERRY, MICHAEL SPICE, ZIA MOHYEDINN, ALAN DUDLEY, STEVE HODSON, MIRANDA FORBES, SPENCER BANKS, ALEX JENNINGS, LOUIS MAHONEY, LIONEL NGAKNE, MINOO GOLVALA and ALBERT MOSES
Technical team DAVID GREENWOOD, DAVID CHILTON and VANESSA ELLNER
Directed by RICHARD WORTLEY
(Part 2: Thurs 7.45 pm)

7.50-8.0* During the Interval
A sequence of English music from the 13th and 14th centuries, performed on a variety of instruments by PHILIP ASTLE and PAUL WILLIAMSON
With PAUL HILLIER (baritone)
(gramophone record)