The Little Ship

Six-part children's TV series with an educational theme set in Elizabethan London and written by schoolteacher Joy Thwaytes. 

The idea was to take its young audience inside the Globe Theatre while side-stepping any idea of documentary. "Shakespeare needn't be a bore" Thwaytes was quoted as saying in a TV Times article, "but it depends on how you treat him. I decided the best way was to let viewers see the Globe through the eyes of a boy who gets there by accident." The little ship of the title is a model made by Giles Kendall (Jimmy Ray) of his father's ship, The Pheonix. A shy country boy of 14, Giles is searching Southwark for his father or news of his ship when he meets Dr Pietro (Peter Collingwood), a self-proclaimed alchemist. Hoping to buy the model, the wily Pietro pretends he can find Giles' father. Outside in the street there is a sudden scuffle; Giles rushes out in time to help Sam Gilburne (Colin Wall), a 15-year old boy who has been set upon by two young ruffians - and that is the start of Giles' adventures. Sam, a boy actor, takes a liking to Giles and shows him round the Globe Theatre. There Giles finds both friends and enemies such as Richard Burbage (Nicholas Brady), the entire company and, of course, Shakespeare himself. 

The series was first broadcast on January 5th 1960 at 5.25pm.

Published on December 31st, 2018. Written by Laurence Marcus for Television Heaven.