I remember seeing a BBC production of this famous play by J.M. Barrie back in the 1950 s I think – and the story fascinated me then as it does now – the story even fascinated Alfred Hitchcock who wanted to make a film of it but was never able to find the way to do it, or the way to finance it.

In 1987  BBC Scotland again produced ‘Mary Rose’ and this time on quite a lavish scale – they even built a special Scottish Island surrounded by water in the Studio – it even had a small fishing boat row to the island and was complete with trees and shrubs and rocks AND the Rowen Tree so central to the story

Amanda Root played Mary Rose

Anthony Calf played Simon

Mary Rose – on the island

Mary Rose

Mary Rose – on the island

Mary Rose – on the island

Mary Rose by the Rowen Tree

Mary Rose

Mary Rose – What a great studio set this is

Mary Rose – and aerial view of the island – one of the very best studio sets for Television at that time

J.M. Barrie’s eerie supernatural drama of youth, love and loss, written in the aftermath of the Great War, was first staged in 1920 – and a young Alfred Hitchcock was one of the many who fell under its spell.