Illuminations
@illuminations.bsky.social
Media producer of arts docs, screen performance; posts by John Wyver, Professor of the Arts on Screen, Univ of Westminster; broadcasting history, esp early TV, theatre, film, visual art
Images: Magic Rays of Light / de Stael, Le Saladier (detail), ‘54
Images: Magic Rays of Light / de Stael, Le Saladier (detail), ‘54
Pinned
Magic Rays of Light
On the evening of 26 January 1926, inventor John Logie Baird held a public demonstration in his workspace on London's Frith Street of a 'seeing by wireless' app…
www.bloomsbury.com
A month on from publication my book 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain' remains available from publishers Bloomsbury with discounts on the hardback, paperback and e-book versions.
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
Reposted by Illuminations
A very interesting day at Caversham today, and a reminder of the value of dedicated archivists - much of the most interesting material came from a file I hadn't thought to ask for, but which they knew would very probably be useful.
I'm looking forward to bringing this story to you in early April!
I'm looking forward to bringing this story to you in early April!
February 9, 2026 at 9:17 PM
A very interesting day at Caversham today, and a reminder of the value of dedicated archivists - much of the most interesting material came from a file I hadn't thought to ask for, but which they knew would very probably be useful.
I'm looking forward to bringing this story to you in early April!
I'm looking forward to bringing this story to you in early April!
I've written three detailed blog posts about the 1956 BBC television production of Arthur Benjamin's opera Mañana, which has popped up on BBC iPlayer and is there for a further three weeks.
The first post is about the context for the commission:
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-b...
The first post is about the context for the commission:
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-b...
Mañana, the backstory - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: Late on Sunday night, BBC Four brought to the screen the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin’s 75-minute opera Mañana. The transmission was 70 years to the day after its televisi...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 1:47 PM
I've written three detailed blog posts about the 1956 BBC television production of Arthur Benjamin's opera Mañana, which has popped up on BBC iPlayer and is there for a further three weeks.
The first post is about the context for the commission:
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-b...
The first post is about the context for the commission:
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-b...
Excellent from Heather Cox Richardson in this morning's Letters from an American, all the more powerful for not hammering home the parallels between McCarthy and Tr*mp.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-8...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-8...
February 8, 2026
On February 9, 1950, Senator Joe McCarthy (R-WI) stood up in front of the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia, at a gathering to celebrate President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 9:13 AM
Excellent from Heather Cox Richardson in this morning's Letters from an American, all the more powerful for not hammering home the parallels between McCarthy and Tr*mp.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-8...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-8...
Reposted by Illuminations
The Sunday dozen
Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles and Walt Disney; Jean Cocteau, Andrzej Wajda and Margaret Calvert; Daniel Defoe, Igor Levit, Morton Feldman, and more.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...
Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles and Walt Disney; Jean Cocteau, Andrzej Wajda and Margaret Calvert; Daniel Defoe, Igor Levit, Morton Feldman, and more.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...
The Sunday dozen - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: In this week’s choice of links that have interested and engaged me across the past week I have resolutely set my face against explicit engagements with the hideous politics of the w...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 8, 2026 at 12:14 PM
The Sunday dozen
Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles and Walt Disney; Jean Cocteau, Andrzej Wajda and Margaret Calvert; Daniel Defoe, Igor Levit, Morton Feldman, and more.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...
Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles and Walt Disney; Jean Cocteau, Andrzej Wajda and Margaret Calvert; Daniel Defoe, Igor Levit, Morton Feldman, and more.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...
Very grateful to @andrewmale.bsky.social for highlighting some of the early 30-line television content featured in 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain', and so pleased at the interest (and even sales!) this is stirring up.
It is also, utterly delightful. Exhibit A, this detail about an early “themed” TV broadcast in 1931. The Televisor, by the way, was an early TV receiver which showed images in portrait format. I’m imagining early TV as a century-old version of TikTok.
![Mrs Rhoda Flanders introduced various breeds of dogs. Spring 1931 also saw what
appears to have been the first half-hour broadcast with a common theme across three items. Mr ]. W. Bassett-Lowke, head of a firm of professional model-makers, lectured on naval history and was seen on a Televisor in his company's home town of Northampton. He was followed by character baritone Lionel Morgan performing songs of the sea, and the transmission was rounded out by a Baird staff member demonstrating seaman's knots.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pzrrpdporfdlinmlcqstyqpb/bafkreiat2jidg2aosxredylshtvwsjyxjonny7irorzgm2emxv6sm7q6da@jpeg)
February 8, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Very grateful to @andrewmale.bsky.social for highlighting some of the early 30-line television content featured in 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain', and so pleased at the interest (and even sales!) this is stirring up.
The Sunday dozen
Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles and Walt Disney; Jean Cocteau, Andrzej Wajda and Margaret Calvert; Daniel Defoe, Igor Levit, Morton Feldman, and more.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...
Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles and Walt Disney; Jean Cocteau, Andrzej Wajda and Margaret Calvert; Daniel Defoe, Igor Levit, Morton Feldman, and more.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...
The Sunday dozen - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: In this week’s choice of links that have interested and engaged me across the past week I have resolutely set my face against explicit engagements with the hideous politics of the w...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 8, 2026 at 12:14 PM
The Sunday dozen
Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles and Walt Disney; Jean Cocteau, Andrzej Wajda and Margaret Calvert; Daniel Defoe, Igor Levit, Morton Feldman, and more.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...
Jesus of Nazareth, Orson Welles and Walt Disney; Jean Cocteau, Andrzej Wajda and Margaret Calvert; Daniel Defoe, Igor Levit, Morton Feldman, and more.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-sunday-d...
Reposted by Illuminations
John Wyver on the absolutely perplexing disconnect between restored archive treasures on iplayer and the total lack of supporting publicity, or even explanation.
Dear BBC Archives...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
Dear BBC Archives... - Illuminations
In a way, you’re spoiling us – and we’re grateful. ‘Us’ being the nerdy types fascinated by television’s deep archive. For so long, because of rights restrictions and a general lack of interest, telev...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 8:09 AM
John Wyver on the absolutely perplexing disconnect between restored archive treasures on iplayer and the total lack of supporting publicity, or even explanation.
“Indoor” drone shots for the men’s luge and in game ads for the rugby: welcome to the future of screen sport.
February 7, 2026 at 5:22 PM
“Indoor” drone shots for the men’s luge and in game ads for the rugby: welcome to the future of screen sport.
Reposted by Illuminations
I am reading this book now and it's terrific. Wyver's enthusiasm for his subject is ridiculously infectious.
A month on from publication my book 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain' remains available from publishers Bloomsbury with discounts on the hardback, paperback and e-book versions.
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
Magic Rays of Light
On the evening of 26 January 1926, inventor John Logie Baird held a public demonstration in his workspace on London's Frith Street of a 'seeing by wireless' app…
www.bloomsbury.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:40 PM
I am reading this book now and it's terrific. Wyver's enthusiasm for his subject is ridiculously infectious.
Reposted by Illuminations
A month on from publication my book 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain' remains available from publishers Bloomsbury with discounts on the hardback, paperback and e-book versions.
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
Magic Rays of Light
On the evening of 26 January 1926, inventor John Logie Baird held a public demonstration in his workspace on London's Frith Street of a 'seeing by wireless' app…
www.bloomsbury.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:53 AM
A month on from publication my book 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain' remains available from publishers Bloomsbury with discounts on the hardback, paperback and e-book versions.
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
We expect nothing less, but television shots including drone images of the Men’s Downhill are simply amazing #WinterOlympics
February 7, 2026 at 10:48 AM
We expect nothing less, but television shots including drone images of the Men’s Downhill are simply amazing #WinterOlympics
Reposted by Illuminations
Dear BBC Archives...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
Dear BBC Archives... - Illuminations
In a way, you’re spoiling us – and we’re grateful. ‘Us’ being the nerdy types fascinated by television’s deep archive. For so long, because of rights restrictions and a general lack of interest, telev...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Dear BBC Archives...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
Reposted by Illuminations
This is very true. It's wonderful how much archive BBC material has been made available lately, but why go to the expense and effort of restoring it and clearing it for broadcast but then not bother to promote it or even explain what it is?
Dear BBC Archives...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
Dear BBC Archives... - Illuminations
In a way, you’re spoiling us – and we’re grateful. ‘Us’ being the nerdy types fascinated by television’s deep archive. For so long, because of rights restrictions and a general lack of interest, telev...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 8:21 AM
This is very true. It's wonderful how much archive BBC material has been made available lately, but why go to the expense and effort of restoring it and clearing it for broadcast but then not bother to promote it or even explain what it is?
On the tube this morning.
February 6, 2026 at 9:15 AM
On the tube this morning.
Dear BBC Archives...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
Dear BBC Archives... - Illuminations
In a way, you’re spoiling us – and we’re grateful. ‘Us’ being the nerdy types fascinated by television’s deep archive. For so long, because of rights restrictions and a general lack of interest, telev...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 6, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Dear BBC Archives...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
A letter to thank you for Mañana, the Ibsen collection and more,
to express my disappointment at how in certain ways you fail to treat these precious fragments with proper respect,
and to suggest how you could do things better.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/dear-bbc-arc...
Reposted by Illuminations
Yet more about the 1956 opera commissioned from Arthur Benjamin that is currently on BBC iPlayer. This third blog post consider the critical reception at the time, and raises some interesting questions about quite what 'television opera' is and might be.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-r...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-r...
Mañana, the reception - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: With the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin’s commissioned opera Mañana currently and pleasingly on BBCiPlayer, I have written blog posts about the backstory to the project and ...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Yet more about the 1956 opera commissioned from Arthur Benjamin that is currently on BBC iPlayer. This third blog post consider the critical reception at the time, and raises some interesting questions about quite what 'television opera' is and might be.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-r...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-r...
Reposted by Illuminations
Mañana, the production
The second (of three) blog posts about the 1956 BBC transmission of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera, which is currently on iPlayer. With a host of framegrabs, this is a discussion of the production.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-p...
The second (of three) blog posts about the 1956 BBC transmission of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera, which is currently on iPlayer. With a host of framegrabs, this is a discussion of the production.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-p...
Mañana, the production - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: In a previous post I sketched the backstory of the BBC-commissioned opera Mañana, composed by Arthur Benjamin and produced for television in February 1956. Thanks to the seventieth ...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Mañana, the production
The second (of three) blog posts about the 1956 BBC transmission of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera, which is currently on iPlayer. With a host of framegrabs, this is a discussion of the production.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-p...
The second (of three) blog posts about the 1956 BBC transmission of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera, which is currently on iPlayer. With a host of framegrabs, this is a discussion of the production.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-p...
Yet more about the 1956 opera commissioned from Arthur Benjamin that is currently on BBC iPlayer. This third blog post consider the critical reception at the time, and raises some interesting questions about quite what 'television opera' is and might be.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-r...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-r...
Mañana, the reception - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: With the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin’s commissioned opera Mañana currently and pleasingly on BBCiPlayer, I have written blog posts about the backstory to the project and ...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Yet more about the 1956 opera commissioned from Arthur Benjamin that is currently on BBC iPlayer. This third blog post consider the critical reception at the time, and raises some interesting questions about quite what 'television opera' is and might be.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-r...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-r...
Mañana, the production
The second (of three) blog posts about the 1956 BBC transmission of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera, which is currently on iPlayer. With a host of framegrabs, this is a discussion of the production.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-p...
The second (of three) blog posts about the 1956 BBC transmission of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera, which is currently on iPlayer. With a host of framegrabs, this is a discussion of the production.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-p...
Mañana, the production - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: In a previous post I sketched the backstory of the BBC-commissioned opera Mañana, composed by Arthur Benjamin and produced for television in February 1956. Thanks to the seventieth ...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 5, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Mañana, the production
The second (of three) blog posts about the 1956 BBC transmission of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera, which is currently on iPlayer. With a host of framegrabs, this is a discussion of the production.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-p...
The second (of three) blog posts about the 1956 BBC transmission of Arthur Benjamin's commissioned opera, which is currently on iPlayer. With a host of framegrabs, this is a discussion of the production.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-p...
'Streets of Minneapolis is both traditional and distinctly contemporary. It draws on the narrative starkness and moral framing of folk protest, but gains traction through digital circulation.'
theconversation.com/bruce-spring...
theconversation.com/bruce-spring...
Bruce Springsteen’s Streets of Minneapolis: how digital circulation boosts the impact of a protest song
The singer’s song about the killings in Minneapolis translates private loss into a collective experience rapidly shared through social media.
theconversation.com
February 5, 2026 at 10:44 AM
'Streets of Minneapolis is both traditional and distinctly contemporary. It draws on the narrative starkness and moral framing of folk protest, but gains traction through digital circulation.'
theconversation.com/bruce-spring...
theconversation.com/bruce-spring...
A month on from publication my book 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain' remains available from publishers Bloomsbury with discounts on the hardback, paperback and e-book versions.
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
Magic Rays of Light
On the evening of 26 January 1926, inventor John Logie Baird held a public demonstration in his workspace on London's Frith Street of a 'seeing by wireless' app…
www.bloomsbury.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:53 AM
A month on from publication my book 'Magic Rays of Light: The Early Years of Television in Britain' remains available from publishers Bloomsbury with discounts on the hardback, paperback and e-book versions.
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/magic-ray...
Ghosts of sculptures past
An inconsequential evening post about shadows left by sculptures on the floor of the south Duveen gallery at Tate Britain. Truly.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/ghosts-of-sc...
An inconsequential evening post about shadows left by sculptures on the floor of the south Duveen gallery at Tate Britain. Truly.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/ghosts-of-sc...
Ghosts of sculptures past - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: An inconsequential observation, and as such one that hardly warrants its own post. But I was at Tate Britain this morning, among crowds attracted by the final days of Lee Miller (un...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Ghosts of sculptures past
An inconsequential evening post about shadows left by sculptures on the floor of the south Duveen gallery at Tate Britain. Truly.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/ghosts-of-sc...
An inconsequential evening post about shadows left by sculptures on the floor of the south Duveen gallery at Tate Britain. Truly.
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/ghosts-of-sc...
Reposted by Illuminations
Quietly pleased with this post; I learned so much researching it.
With the rare and remarkable 1956 television opera Mañana by Arthur Benjamin currently on BBC iPlayer, I've researched the backstory to its commissioning and production (ahead of a later post in the form of a review).
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-b...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-b...
Mañana, the backstory - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: Late on Sunday night, BBC Four brought to the screen the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin’s 75-minute opera Mañana. The transmission was 70 years to the day after its televisi...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 3, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Quietly pleased with this post; I learned so much researching it.
Quietly pleased with this post; I learned so much researching it.
With the rare and remarkable 1956 television opera Mañana by Arthur Benjamin currently on BBC iPlayer, I've researched the backstory to its commissioning and production (ahead of a later post in the form of a review).
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-b...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/manana-the-b...
Mañana, the backstory - Illuminations
John Wyver writes: Late on Sunday night, BBC Four brought to the screen the 1956 BBC production of Arthur Benjamin’s 75-minute opera Mañana. The transmission was 70 years to the day after its televisi...
www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk
February 3, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Quietly pleased with this post; I learned so much researching it.