Chronicle (1966)

Thomas Becket (1969x3)

: 01, 1969

The conflict between Henry II and Thomas Becket has for centuries fascinated historians and dramatists alike. The dramatists, and indeed the majority of people, have seen Becket as a saint who stood out bravely for the freedom of the Church against the oppression of the King; but a different view is put tonight. There are nine contemporary lives of Becket, and from these and his letters Nesta Pain has constructed a dramatised documentary in which more than ninety per cent of the dialogue is known to have been spoken at the time. It traces the career of Thomas Becket from his appointment as Archbishop, through his exile in France, to his eventual murder in Canterbury Cathedral.