Dear Don,

I did finally manage to hear the whole play on the BBC. It's "Pale Fire" à la Robert Frost perhaps although the dramatist's name is Forest.

I thought it worked fairly well, but was flummoxed by  gratuitously incongruous ending. Although Sybil Shade accuses Dr. Kinbote, as she calls him, of spying and deceit, at the end she comes to an amicable agreement with him: he may publish his edition of the poem and Professor Hurley may publish his too. Forsooth - - a happy ending!

The reasoning seems to be:

1) Sybil is to  Shade as Charles is to Disa
2) Shade pities Charles (not mad, but sad as remarked at party)
3) Therefore Sybil must take pity on him as well (pity being the password)?

Odd, but not uninteresting.

Carolyn