The Performance of My Life

Original version

BBC Radio 4 FM

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Drama

First-person monologues from renowned actors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In this series of single-voice narratives, celebrated stars of the late 19th and early 20th century theatre share memories of the performances that changed their lives forever.

Alone in their dressing room and away from the glare of the spotlight, this is the precious time when an actor has the chance to reflect on the most momentous events of their lives on the stage.

In this series of single-voice narratives, five of our most celebrated stars of the late 19th and early 20th century theatre share memories of the performances that changed their lives forever. 

The stories are, by turn, touching, hilarious, emotionally-charged, heart-warming and poignant. Each of them, in their own way, is delightfully counterintuitive - familiar characters maybe, but each with an unfamiliar story to tell.

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The Performance of My Life: Mrs Watts Goes Missing

Mrs Watts Goes Missing

BBC Radio 4 - The Performance of My Life, Mrs Watts Goes Missing

Janie Dee is the pioneering actress Ellen Terry in Mrs Watts Goes Missing by Roy Apps.

In Mrs Watts Goes Missing by Roy Apps, Janie Dee is the pioneering Shakespearian actress Dame Ellen Terry, who has just embarked on the performance of her life.

Alone in their dressing room and away from the glare of the spotlight, this is the precious time when an actor has the chance to reflect on the most momentous events of their lives on the stage.

In this series of single-voice narratives, five of our most celebrated stars of the late 19th and early 20th century theatre share memories of the performances that changed their lives forever. 

The stories are, by turn, touching, hilarious, emotionally-charged, heart-warming and poignant. Each of them, in their own way, is delightfully counterintuitive – familiar characters maybe, but each with an unfamiliar story to tell.
 
In Mrs Watts Goes Missing, the year is 1876 and we find ourselves at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London’s West End in the company of Dame Ellen Terry. The leading Shakespearian actress of her age, Ellen Terry spent close on seven decades on the stage.

Writer: Roy Apps
Reader: Janie Dee
Director: Celia de Wolff
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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The Performance of My Life

Mrs Watts Goes Missing

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