The Sleeping Prince - BBC Saturday Night Theatre - Terence Rattigan

The Sleeping Prince: An Occasional Fairy Tale is a 1953 play by Terence Rattigan, conceived to coincide with the coronation of Elizabeth II in the same year. Set in London in 1911, it tells the story of Mary Morgan, a young actress, who meets and ultimately captivates Prince Charles of Carpathia, considered to be inspired by Carol II of Romania.

Kenneth Tynan wrote in the Daily Sketch:

"Once upon a time there was an actor called gruff Laurence Olivier, whose wife was an actress called pert Vivien Leigh, and a playwright called clever Terence Rattigan wrote a play for them, called The Sleeping Prince, with a gruff part for him and a pert part for her, and to nobody's surprise it ran happily ever after, with twice-weekly matinées."

The Spectator however, called it "the very best of its kind"

Marilyn Monroe bought the rights to the play and subsequently produced The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), with Rattigan also writing the screen adaptation. The film was directed by and costarred Olivier, who reprised his role as Prince Charles. Although a box office disaster in its day, the New York Times credits Olivier with extracting a "delightful, comic performance" from Monroe.

Stage
In 1963 the play was also adapted into a musical as The Girl Who Came to Supper, with music and lyrics by Noël Coward.

Originally Broadcast 1/7/1967

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