by Ronald Harwood
7th to 14th February 2009
See Also: The Dresser (1986) Read about the Play
Ronald Harwood invites you into the backstage world beyond the swish of the curtain
Most theatregoers are interested in insights into what happens backstage and playwrights who feature life in the wings and the dressing room find a ready audience for their work. Michael Frayn's Noises Off has recently been seen at the GWT and our next production, The Dresser, is another slice of backstage life.
Ronald Harwood has a strong claim to write about incidents in the career of a theatrical dresser because he took that real-life role with the great, but self- deluded, actor-manager of the mid twentieth century, Sir Donald Wolfit.
Harwood came to London as a teenager from his native South Africa, to train as an actor at RADA. He found entry to the profession no easier then than it is today so for five years, from 1954 to 1958, he was dresser to Sir Donald. The great actor in the play is never referred to by name, only as 'Sir' and the period of the play is moved backwards to the years of the second world war. Not only does the great actor-manager battle against the alien climate of the theatre Establishment, but also has to contend with the problems of touring his company during wartime.
Harwood had begun to write while working for Wolfit and in 1960 he began to concentrate solely on writing plays, non-fiction works and screenplays with a prolific output, much of it depicting the world of theatre. After the Lions is a play about Sarah Bernhardt, and Quartet, nominated for an Olivier award in 2000 for Best Comedy, is about ageing opera singers. The Dresser was nominated in New York for a 1982 Tony award as Best Play.
He turned his writing talents to the cinema screen and has found considerable success there. His recent screenplays have been The Pianist and the Nicole Kidman blockbuster Australia. His awards include the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature and a CBE.
Bill Bray
Directing is an interesting business
In its simplest form it's telling people what to do and where to do it.... similar, perhaps to how many people would view my day job of teaching six year olds.
Of course, the reality of both is rather different. Just as my young charges would respond in a less than positive way to barked orders and empty demands, so, I would imagine would their elders. However, I have come to realise that the roles of teacher and director do merge at points, the most marked being the being the ability to juggle an infinite number of balls whilst smiling and paddling frantically below the surface.
Being fairly new to directing my learning curve is steep but it has been made infinitely easier by the experienced and talented cast that has taken this play to another level.
The eponymous part of the dresser is played by John Wilson with Colin Hill as the mighty Sir. Angela Brignell, Sue Higginson, Peter Lang and Peter Gray are all well established theatre members and it is my delight to present Justine Greene in her debut role for the GWT. We are also very lucky to have such well respected actors as Paul Wharton and David Oatley willing to join us for just two lines said with their backs to the audience!
My paddling is now nearly over and I look forward to sharing our work with you, the most important members of the team: the audience.
VANESSA COATZ |
Colin Hill
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John Wilson , Colin Hill
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Angie Brignell, Colin Hill , John Wilson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
John Wilson
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Colin Hill , Angie Brignell
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
John Wilson , Colin Hill
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
John Wilson , Angie Brignell
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Peter Lang
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Colin Hill , Sue Higginson
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Colin Hill , Justine Greene
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Peter Gray
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated
Paul Wharton, David Oatley, Angie Brignell, Peter Lang, Sue Higginson , Colin Hill
All photos ©The Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre unless otherwise stated