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Mrs. Patterson

Eartha Kitt stars as a teenage girl in a Kentucky shanty-town, who dreams of escaping from her boredom at home to the garish, alluring city of Chicago. (1956)

A play about race and adolescence set in the Deep South of America about 1920, written by African-American painter-playwright Charles Sebree and Greer Johnson.

Eartha Kitt stars as Teddy Hicks, a poor, illegitimate, black 15-year-old who spends her time daydreaming about living a life of luxury like her mother’s wealthy and well-travelled white employer, 'Mrs Patterson'. But the daydreams can’t suppress the reality of her life as a teenage girl in a Kentucky shanty-town and she agrees to run off to Chicago with Willie B., the boy-next-door.

This production was something of a landmark in an era when plays on British television were almost exclusively written by white authors and performed by white actors. (1956)

1 hour, 15 minutes

Last on

Sun 17 Jun 1956 20:30

About Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Four Collection programmes

Programmes are selected, in part, for their historical context and reflect the broadcast Β standards and attitudes of theirΒ time, which may not accord to some current Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shownΒ in their entirety but in some cases edits are required.

Credits

Role Contributor
Writer Charles Sebree
Writer Greer Johnson
Production Designer Stephen Taylor
Producer Anthony Pelissier
Theodora 'Teddy' Hicks Eartha Kitt
Anna Hicks Evelyn Dove
Mrs. Patterson Estelle Winwood
Bessie Bolt Elisabeth Welch

Broadcast

  • Sun 17 Jun 1956 20:30

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