Summer's Lease (TV series)

Summer's Lease
Genre	Drama
Based on	Summer's Lease by John Mortimer
Directed by	Martyn Friend
Starring	John Gielgud Susan Fleetwood Rosemary Leach
Composer	Nigel Hess
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	4
Production
Producer	Colin Rogers
Running time	55 minutes
Production company	BBC
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	1 November (1989-11-01) – 22 November 1989 (1989-11-22)

Summer's Lease is a British television drama series which aired in four parts on BBC Two in 1989. ^[1] It is based on John Mortimer's novel of the same title, adapted by the author. Sir John Gielgud won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance and the soundtrack, composed by Nigel Hess was named by the Television and Radio Industries Club Best Television Theme.

Cast

• Susan Fleetwood as Molly Pargeter (4 episodes)
• John Gielgud as Haverford Downs (4 episodes)
• Michael Pennington as Hugh Pargeter (4 episodes)
• Rosemary Leach as Nancy Leadbetter (4 episodes)
• Caroline Waldron as Henry Pargeter (4 episodes)
• Veronica Lazar as Baronessa Dulcibene (4 episodes)
• Suzanne Hay as Sam Pargeter (4 episodes)
• Samantha Glenn as Jack Pargeter (4 episodes)
• Siria Betti as Giovanna (4 episodes)
• Denis Lill as Ken Corduroy (3 episodes)
• Gabrielle Anwar as Chrissie Kettering (3 episodes)
• Mel Martin as Rosie Fortinbras (2 episodes)
• Frederick Treves as Nicholas Tapscott (2 episodes)
• Annette Crosbie as Connie Tapscott (2 episodes)
• Feodor Chaliapin Jr. as Prince Tosti-Castelnuovo (2 episodes)
• Graham McGrath as Chrissie's Friend (2 episodes)
• Pupo De Luca as The Messenger (2 episodes)
• Siri Neal as Chrissie's Friend (2 episodes)
• Leslie Phillips as William Fosdyke (1 episode)
• Jeremy Kemp as Buck Kettering (1 episode)
• Elizabeth Bennett as Mrs. Marcia Tobias (1 episode)
• Bernice Stegers as Louise Corduroy (1 episode)
• Carole Mowlam as Sandra Kettering (1 episode)

Reception

In a 1991 review, John J. O'Connor of The New York Times called the series "more successful as travelogue than drama." O'Connor summarised that despite some excellent performances, the characters "are not terribly interesting." ^[2]

Accolades

At the 1991 Primetime Emmy Awards, Sir John Gielgud won the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special, and was also nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. Roberts p.184
2. O'Connor, John J. (10 May 1991). "TV Weekend; 'Summer's Lease': Gielgud in Chiantishire". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
3. "John Gielgud". Television Academy. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
4. "Awards Search". Bafta. Retrieved 19 April 2025.

Bibliography

• Jerry Roberts. Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press, 2009.

External links

• Summer's Lease at IMDb