Glad Day: A Celebration for William Blake (1978)

Intro

Glad Day: A Celebration for William Blake is a one-off musical drama. It was produced by Thames Television and first broadcast on Tuesday 3 January 1978 (ITV, 10:30-11:30pm).

Although I do not have an image of Zoë in the programme, included here is one of her publicity photos from the year after it was broadcast. With special thanks to Zoë for the photo.

Overview

Glad Day: A Celebration for William Blake, in which Zoe plays Blake's wife and helpmate, Kate, combines biographical details with dreamlike sequences. The musical drama draws on poetry, song, dance and special effects to provide a fittingly imaginative tribute to Blake, the dynamic eighteenth-century poet, painter and visionary. Its quirky plot involves Blake, back from the dead, promoting his radical ideas in contemporary society. An investigator, Branch, is on a mission to track down the remarkable poet and originator of what he considers to be 'hundred percent subversive' thoughts.

Cast

Jonathan Pryce ... William Blake

Zoë Wanamaker ... Kate Blake

Antony Sher ... Branch

Roger Sloman ... Chief

Paul Copley ... Samuel Palmer

Chris Langham ... Henry Euseli

William Louther ... Dancer / Choreographer

Mike Westbrook, Kate Westbrook, Phil Minton, George Khan, Dave Chambers ... Musicians and friends of William Blake

Crew

Writer: Adrian Mitchell
Director: John Michael Phillips
Designer: Peter Le Page
Associate Producer: Lester Clark
Executive Producer: Diana Potter

Notes

Looking back on Glad Day, Zoë praises its fantastic cast, as well as its wonderful writer, Adrian Mitchell.

Merchandise

Unfortunately, the programme is not available on DVD or in any other format.