Adaptations of The Flight of the Heron

The Flight of the Heron by D. K. Broster has been adapted various times for radio, TV and the stage. Most of these adaptations are now lost to the sad obscurity of old media, but I’ve recorded all the detail I can find about them on this page.

Radio

Searching through the archives of the Radio Times makes plain that The Flight of the Heron has made many appearances on the radio. The usually sparse amount of detail in these records means it’s sometimes difficult to tell which are adaptations, properly so called, and which are simply readings of parts of the book, or programmes discussing it. There have definitely been three radio adaptations:

Other appearances on the radio include:

Altogether, Bryden Murdoch appears to have played Ewen on the radio three times; I admire his taste!

Television

There have been two TV adaptations of The Flight of the Heron.

The first was an eight-episode series made by Scottish Television in 1968, directed by Brian Mahoney and starring Ian McCulloch as Ewen and Jon Laurimore as Keith[8]. An unofficial DVD of this series is available to purchase here. More information about the programme can be found here (p. 40), and there’s an interview with Ian McCulloch about his role here. Finally, here is a rather adorable picture of this adaptation’s Ewen and Keith—screencap by Hyarrowen:

The book was adapted for television again in 1976 by BBC Scotland, with a six-episode series directed by Alastair Reid and starring David Rintoul as Ewen and Tom Chadbon as Keith[9]. This adaptation is available on Youtube by episode: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6].

Stage

A stage adaptation was produced by Turtle Key Arts in 1997; the show featured traditional Gaelic songs and new music composed by Stephen Nash, with Gaelic singer Margaret Stewart Harding participating[10]. I’m not aware that anything more from or about this production is available now, which is a great shame as it sounds very cool!

Miscellaneous

A thoroughbred racehorse born in 1941 (to parents Cameronian and First Flight) was named Flight of the Heron[11]. Although the record is no longer available, I’m reliably informed that Flight of the Heron had a foal named Gleam in the North after the book’s sequel.