Afternoon of a Nymph
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| "Afternoon of a Nymph" | |
|---|---|
| Armchair Theatre episode | |
| Directed by | Philip Saville |
| Teleplay by | Robert Muller |
| Original air date | September 30, 1962 |
Afternoon of a Nymph is an episode of the British Armchair Theatre series made by the ITV franchise holder ABC Weekend TV and first broadcast by the ITV network on 30 September 1962.[1] It was written by Robert Muller and features Janet Munro and Ian Hendry in the lead roles. It was directed by Philip Saville and produced by Sydney Newman.[2]
The production was precorded at a time when plays were typically broadcast live. The script was published.[3]
A young woman, Elaine, wants to be an actress but struggles against the demands of the profession.
Cast
- Janet Munro as Elaine
- Ian Hendry as David Simpson
- Peter Butterworth as Ronnie Grimble
- Patrick Holt as Rogers
- Jackie Lane as Ginger
- Aubrey Morris as Joe, make-up man
- Jeremy Lloyd as Lord Tony Bright)
Production
Afternoon of a Nymph was Muller's first play.[4] Sydney Newman recalled that Muller, a showbiz columnist, "thought he would like to try his hand at a TV play about the grind of an unknown curvy actress trying to succeed in the cutthroat showbiz world of randy men. I sicced Peter Luke onto Robert and eventually we got a dandy script, which, again, Philip Saville directed most imaginatively. "[5] Muller had interviewed a young Shirley Bassey in November 1958; according to her biographer John L. Williams, who described the interview as "exceptionally revealing" and Afternoon of a Nymph as "a damning account of the exploitation of a starlet", "it’s not hard to imagine that some of the inspiration for the play may have come from this encounter with a clearly troubled young Shirley."[6]