Madhouse on Castle Street (partially found BBC television play; 1963)
Madhouse on Castle Street was a television play that was aired only once on January 13th, 1963, by BBC TV as a part of the BBC Sunday-Night Play series.
Premise
One of the lodgers of an English boarding house has locked himself in his room, leaving a note stating that he has decided to retire from the world. His sister and the boarders try to convince him to come out and explain himself.
Production
The play was written by Evan Jones. Then-unknown musician Bob Dylan was cast for the role of the main character after Saville saw him perform in New York City; however, Dylan lacked the ability to play the part. Saville, still wanting to include Dylan, gave him the role of a new character––Bobby–-who punctuated scenes with commentary in the form of song. The main character was rewritten into two new ones. The production staff planned to shoot the play in a single recording session, but this failed. The play's completion was delayed due to a blizzard.[1]
Availability
The BBC wiped the master tape of the play in 1968 and no other copies are known to exist.[1]
Reel-to-reel recordings of four songs performed by Dylan, recorded by viewers of the program, were turned into the BBC in 2005 and remastered for partial use in the documentary Dylan in the Madhouse.[2] Two full tracks, "Ballad of the Gliding Swan" and "Blowin' in the Wind", were released on the bootleg album Bob Dylan & Friends - Decades Live'61 To '94. The script is also known to still exist.[3]
Gallery
External Links
- IMDB page for Madhouse on Castle Street. Retrieved 18 Jan '18
- The first half of Dylan in the Madhouse. Retrieved 31 Jan '18
- The second half of Dylan in the Madhouse. Retrieved 31 Jan '18
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Farinaccio, Vince (2007). Nothing to Turn Off: The Films and Video of Bob Dylan. pp. 6–12. Retrieved 28 Jan '18
- ↑ Independent article on the recovery of the recordings. Retrieved 28 Jan '18
- ↑ Telegraph article on the public appeal by the BBC. Retrieved 18 Feb '18