An educational series presenting dramatic excerpts from classical Greek tragedy and Shakespearean romance.
Presented by Michael Hawkins, this series offered viewers dramatised versions of two major literary works. The first four episodes adapt the Oresteia trilogy by Aeschylus, which charts the curse upon the House of Atreus. The story begins with the return of King Agamemnon (Nigel Green) from the Trojan War and his subsequent murder by his wife Clytemnestra (Jill Balcon). The cycle continues with their son Orestes (Neville Jason) avenging his father’s death. The final four episodes present an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. The play follows the destructive jealousy of King Leontes of Sicilia (Nigel Green), who wrongly accuses his wife Hermione (Jill Balcon) of infidelity with his friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia (Bernard Brown).
The Angry Gods was an unapologetically highbrow production, representing an early effort by commercial television to fulfil its public service obligations. Instead of creating new drama, the series acted as a televised primer for the classics, using a hybrid format of narration and staged scenes to make complex works by Aeschylus and Shakespeare accessible. Its two distinct parts, one drawn from Greek myth and the other from Shakespearean romance, were unified by a title that frames both stories as tales of divine retribution. The production was austere, relying on the power of the original texts and the quality of its cast, which featured distinguished stage actors bringing theatrical weight to the small screen.
Broadcast: ITV – Associated Rediffusion, 8 Episodes, Wednesdays, 18 January – 15 March 1961
Based on the works of: Aeschylus, William Shakespeare
Director: Pat Baker
Presenter: Michael Hawkins
Commentary by: Martin Worth
Main Cast: Nigel Green (Agamemnon / Leontes), Jill Balcon (Clytemnestra / Hermione), Bernard Brown (Aegisthus / Polixenes), Neville Jason (Orestes), Julian Glover (First Lord), Jane Merrow (Perdita), Rachel Gurney (Paulina)
