Theatre Parade

"Theatre Parade" was a British television programme, one of the world's very first regular shows, running on the BBC Television Service from its inception in 1936 until 1938. The programme presented excerpts from popular London theatre productions of the time performed by the theatre cast from the BBC's studios at Alexandra Palace.

Among the notable productions included in the strand were the first ever television presentations of Lewis Carroll's famous works "Alice Through the Looking Glass" (a twenty-five minute excerpt, transmitted on 22 January 1937) and "Alice in Wonderland" (April 29, May 1 and 26 December 1937). The very first television adaptation of an Agatha Christie story was a production in this strand with two transmissions of "Wasp's Nest" on 18 June 1937. As with all television programmes of the time, the shows were performed live, and no visual record other than still photographs exists today.

References

*Vahimagi, Tise. "British Television: An Illustrated Guide". Oxford. Oxford University Press / British Film Institute. 1994. ISBN 0-19-818336-4.