
Originally broadcast on NBC, 4 October 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.
The run
THEATRE ROYAL This fine British anthology series, features plays based on the best of literature, films and English theater. Produced in two series, Sir Lawrence Olivier and Sir Ralph Richardson serve as hosts, narrators and many times portray the leading roles. The program apparently was developed as a vehicle to capitalize on Olivier’s name and talent. His career spanned over 50 years and continues into the 21st century, as in 2004, 15 years after his death, he was starring as Dr. Totenkopf in a Hollywood fantasy film titled, Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow . This was accomplished by the producers who selected footage of Lord Olivier from various films and used to create a villainous leader of killer robots in the film. Jude Law, who stars in the film, said film-makers used Olivier because few other actors possessed his authority. Digitised by the Old Time Radio Researchers and streamed from the Internet Archive item “OTRR_Theatre_Royal_Singles”; these recordings are in the public domain.
Source collection
Old Time Radio Researchers Group
Rights
Public domain — no renewed US copyright
Cataloguing
Air dates and notes from the Archive item record
The shape of the run
9 dated broadcasts across 15 years on the air, with 13 years where nothing is known to survive. Brightness is transfer quality; empty cells are months lost to time.
Episodes
Start here
Restored broadcasts from 1953, in original transmission order.
4 Oct 1953 · 29 min
Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
25 Oct 1953 · 29 min
Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
14 Nov 1953 · 29 min
Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
19 Dec 1953 · 28 min
Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
2 Jan 1954 · 28 min
Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
30 Jan 1954 · 29 min
Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
20 Feb 1954 · 29 min
Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
13 Mar 1954 · 25 min
Broadcast on Syndicated. Transferred from the Internet Archive's Old Time Radio Researchers collection (public domain).
Same night on the air
Everything else the archive still holds from the night of 4 Oct 1953.

Originally broadcast on NBC, 4 October 1953. Restored from the Old Time Radio archives.

Broadcast 4 October 1953. Public-domain transfer from the Old Time Radio Researchers certified set at the Internet Archive.
Also on Syndicated
Other series the network carried while Theatre Royal was on the air.
Same seasons
Series in the same genre whose runs overlapped this one.
What it became
First-person narration, a case that walks in the door, and a city that talks back. Marlowe, Sam Spade and Johnny Dollar turned detection into a listening form.
Lineage is written by our editors, not inferred from listening data.
Descendants
Modern series carrying this form forward.
If you liked this
Chosen by the same editors.