There have been a few stage adaptations (mostly loosely so and mostly in the 19th century) and one adaptation in each of radio and television. There have been no films, although one of the stage adaptations has been filmed a number of times.
Radio
In 2001, the BBC broadcast a 20-episode serialisation of Mary Barton.[13]
Television
The BBC broadcast a four-episode series in 1964. All four episodes (‘Fire’, ‘Violence’, ‘Murder’, and ‘Trial’), are believed lost,[14] although it has been hypothesised that copies may still exist in BBC Archives. [15] Directed by Michael Imison, it featured Lois Daine (Mary Barton), George A. Cooper (John Barton), Barry Warren (Jem Wilson), Gwendolyn Watts (Margaret Legh), Brian Peck (Will Wilson) and Patrick Mower (Harry Carson).
In 2012, there were reports that the screenwriter Heidi Thomas (who wrote the script for the BBC serialisation of Cranford) was working on a TV adaption of Mary Barton for the BBC, but nothing seems to have come of this.[16]
Theatre
The first adaptation occurred soon after publication, by the playwright John Courtney at the Old Vic, then called the Victoria Theatre, in 1851. While the novel targeted middle and upper class readers, Courtney’s production engaged a specifically working-class audience - according to the playbill, it was ‘written expressly for this Theatre’, meaning the local working class community.[17][18]
In the years following, there were then a number of stage productions, based more or less loosely on the plot and themes of the novel: Colin Hazlewood, Our Lot in Life, 1862; Dion Boucicault, The Long Strike, 1866 (at the Lyceum, in which the political plot was removed and which also incorporated elements of Lizzie Leigh); J P Weston, The Lancashire Strike, 1867; George Sims, The Last Chance, 1885; and, best-known, Stanley Houghton, Hindle Wakes, 1912, of which there have been four film versions.[19]
In 2016 Rona Munro wrote a 2-act version, which premiered at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. It was directed by Sarah Frankcom and designed by Liz Ascroft, and featured Kellie Bright in the lead role.[20][21]
