Did You Know?

To the left is a photograph of Andrew Allan in the radio booth. He was described as being formal in his dress and his interactions with those around him, while working for the CBC and expected those with whom he worked to follow suit. He was referred to as “Mr. Allan” by the Stage actors whom addressed one another just as formally, as many cast members have expressed during an interview which took place after the death of Allan.
(See below for the full interview).

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The following is an excerpt from Andrew Allan: A Self-Portrait, in which Allan recounts a pivotal conversation he had with a young lady on a train, who unknowingly dissuaded him from abandoning the Stage series in 1950:

“You’re Andrew Allan, aren’t you?” she said. I was. “You’re the reason I’m here. (…) “We live on a farm, way up north of Edmonton (…) We’re just plain people, I guess. We haven’t got any books to speak of, or pictures, or music or anything. But I have a little radio in my room. Every Sunday night, I go up and listen to your plays. (…) I began to read books because of your plays – all kinds of books I never thought I’d be interested in. And now I’m on my way to Vancouver to stay with my aunt – and in the fall I’m starting at the university. And that’s all because of your plays.” (Allan 116)
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(Above) A photograph of a group rehearsal of a radio play produced by Allan. His troupe rehearsed in the old CBC Concert Studio on McGill street, in Toronto. The plays were “rehearsed on Saturday morning[s] without the orchestra, and in the afternoon, with the orchestra. On Sunday[s] (…) the cuts [were absorbed and after a short break they] were on the air.” (Andrew Allan, A Self-Portrait, 1974,p.109)

(Above) A group of Foley artists who produced the sound effects heard in the background to Allan and Sinclair’s productions of radio plays. As all productions were live-broadcast, careful attention to the timing of sounds effects was required to enhance the radio broadcast.

Pictured above is the interior of "Studio G", where many of the early radio dramas were recorded. It was located on Jarvis street, in Toronto, Ontario.

(Above) A letter from Allan suggesting edits to Sinclair’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard II, March 8^th, 1951. Allan granted his playwrights great creative freedom in their adaptations and original works, merely suggesting edits, which the playwright could accept or deny.

(Above) The Stages series is arguably CBC’s most successful radio drama series. At the top of each manuscript, the word Stage is followed by a number, as in Stage 44, Stage 45, Stage 46 and so on. Contrary to popular belief, this does not refer to the physical location where that particular play was recorded, but rather the year in which it was broadcast. The name was selected by Andrew Allan, who was inspired by Vat 69, the name of a brand of fine Scottish whiskey.

Shakespeare + Canada

Did You Know?