Cedric Messina (14 December 1920[1] in Port Elizabeth, South Africa — 30 April 1993 in London)[2] was a South-African born British television producer and director who worked for the BBC and is best remembered for his involvement in television productions of classic drama.
Born to Sicilian and Welsh immigrant parents, Messina attended school in Johannesburg and joined the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in the 1930s.
[4] The BBC Television Shakespeare was the result, and Messina was responsible for the first two seasons (twelve plays) broadcast between 1978 and 1980.
Clive James complained that Romeo and Juliet, the first screened production, was set "not in Verona, but in that semi-abstract, semi-concrete, wholly uninteresting city known to students as Messina.
TC1 at BBC Television Centre was booked for late January and early February 1987,[7] but the £1 million production was postponed and then cancelled;[8] Messina continued to defend both the play and author with no consideration for the effect it might have on his career.