what’s on? see ëlcoward.net and … · spring in a revival directed by michael blakemore ... act...
TRANSCRIPT
CHATFREE TO
MEMBERS OFTHE SOCIETY
Price £2 ($4)OCTOBER 2008 - THE NEWSLETTER OF THE NOËL COWARD SOCIETY
President: HRH The Duke of Kent, KG, GCMG, GCVO, ADCVice Presidents: Tammy Grimes • Penelope Keith CBE • Barry Day OBE • Stephen Fry
NOËL COWARD Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit is planned
for Broadway next
spring in a revival
directed by
Michael Blakemore
(Noises Off, Kiss Me
Kate, Is He Dead?),
aimed for a March
opening at a Shubert
theater yet to be
determined.
No cast has been
finalised. Producers
Jeffrey Richards, Jerry
Frankel and Steve
Traxler.
Blithe Spirit was first
presented in the US at
the Morosco Theater in
1941. More details on:
www.playbill.com
Tonight at 8:30All ten plays that made
up the original
compendium that is
Tonight at 8:30 are to be
seen at the Shaw
Festival next season
including the rarely
produced Star
Chamber.
It will mark the first
time that all of the plays
have been produced in
repertory by a
professional company
since the London debut
of the play at the
Phoenix Theatre in the
1935-36 season,
according to Shaw
Artistic Director Jackie
Maxwell.Continued...
his November sees the arrival of the latest film adaptation of a Coward drama. Easy Virtue last
saw the silver screen in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1928 silent drama with Isabel Jeans in the starring
role. The play was first seen at the Broad Theatre, Newark in November 1925 with Jane Cowl in
the role of Larita - played in this film adaptation by Jessica Biel. The press release says:
“The Twenties have roared….the Thirties have yet to swing, when after a whirlwind romance
young Englishman John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) marries the sexy, glamorous racing driver, Larita
(Jessica Biel). Convinced his family will be as enchanted as him by his new bride John returns to his
family home with Larita. It is clear from the start, however, that John’s mother Mrs. Whittaker (Kristin
Scott Thomas) is offended by everything about her new daughter-in-law: she is a beautiful, older,
independent divorcee and American! Larita tries her best to fit in but fails to tiptoe through the
minefield laid by her mother-in-law. Quickly realizing Mrs. Whittaker’s game she sees that she must
fight back if she’s not going to lose John. A battle of wits ensues and sparks soon fly...”
The reviews, following the film’s launch at the Shaw Festival in Ontario were, in the case of Variety,
guardedly complimentary - an American journalist waving a British flag!
“A fine cast makes sure Noël Coward’s champagne remains bubbly in “Easy Virtue,” an
effervescent entertainment that marks a welcome return for “Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the
Desert” director Stephan Elliott after a nine-year absence. This peppy Ealing Studios offering may
have trouble asserting itself in a market that increasingly demands must-see credentials, but with
Jessica Biel more than keeping up with such British stalwarts as Kristin Scott Thomas and Colin Firth
at snapping out the tasty dialogue, the picture could yet cultivate an audience among those who go for
pictures with a smart English pedigree.”
Easy Virtue premieres in the UK in late October and goes into the nation’s cinemas in November.
The cast alone is sure to attract many who would not normally embrace a Coward adaptation - there is
clearly much here to be enjoyed!
For more information and full production notes see: www.noëlcoward.com/easy_virtue.html
Page 12
Noël Coward An Audio Biography
Just released on BBC Audio CD - Sheridan Morley
presents the life and times of Sir Noël Coward. Sir
Laurence Olivier, Lord Mountbatten, John Gielgud,
John Mills, Sybil Thorndike and Joyce Carey are
just some of the voices heard paying tribute to the
elegant star in this audio biography, written and
narrated by Noël Coward's Literary Executor, the
late broadcaster and critic Sheridan Morley. Extracts
from interviews with Coward and his friends,
several of his songs and moments from his plays
come together to form an insightful, amusing and
fascinating picture of one of the twentieth century's
theatre greats.
STAR QUALITY - The World ofNoël Coward
A major retrospective exhibition in
San Francisco's Museum of Performance & Design.
April 17 to August 29, 2009
http://www.sfpalm.org/home.html
Brief EncounterThe hit Kneehigh company revival is still at
The Cinema, Haymarket. Its run has been
extended to Nov 16. There then follows a
UK tour.
Hay FeverThe Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch is in the
middle of a successful revival of this
Coward classic -
booking until 18
October. Captioned
performance -
Saturday 11 October
at 2.30pm
Sign Language
Interpreted
performance -
Wednesday 15
October at 8pm - Interpreted by Martin
Roberts
Audio Described - Wednesday 15 October
at 8pm - Described by Jon Polden
Simon Green singsCoward at Christmas
A Cabaret for Noël
Simon is at the 59 E59
Theatre in New York -
December 14th through
January 4th. This program
blends great Coward
classics and some re-
discovered comedy gems.
For ticket information call
212/279-4200
To order online: www.ticketcentral.com
Home Chat is the newsletter
of The Noël Coward Society
wholly owned by
Noël Coward Ltd. which is
part of the charitable trust:
The Noël Coward Foundation.
Officers of the Society are:
Chairman: Barbara Longford
Secretary: Denys Robinson
Treasurer: Stephen Greenman
North American Director:
Ken Starrett
Representative for Australia:
Robert Wickham
Representative for France:
Hélène Catsiapis
Unless otherwise stated all
images and text are copyright
to NC Aventales AG
All correspondence to:
The Editor,
29 Waldemar Avenue,
Hellesdon, Norwich,
NR6 6TB, UK
johnknowles@noëlcoward.net
Tel: +44 (0) 1603 486 188
Editors:
John Knowles and Ken Starrett
Design and Production:
John Knowles
Publication and Distribution:
Stephen Greenman (UK)
Ken Starrett (US)
Music Correspondent:
Dominic Vlasto
Contributions are invited from
members of the Society.
The editor reserves the right
to edit all copy, images and
decide on inclusion of items.
Details included in
‘What’s On?’ are as received,
with our thanks, from:
Samuel French UK and
Canada (Play Publishers and
Author’s Representatives),
Ken Starrett (US),
Alan Brodie Representation
(Professional Productions),
NCS members and
theatre companies.
For details of rights for
professional productions:
www.alanbrodie.com
For amateur productions
www.samuelfrench.com or
www.samuelfrench-
london.co.uk
For publishing rights:
www.methuen.co.uk
For music rights:
www.warnerchappell.co.uk
Produce on QuarkXpress 8
on a Mac QuadPro G5
PowerPC
details of some recent and future productions and events see www.noëlcoward.net and www.noëlcoward.com for more... WHAT’S ON?
FILM, MUSIC AND DRAMA
T
REPORT ON THE BURGH ISLAND WEEKEND WITH PHOTOGRAPHS IN OUR SUPPLEMENTThe Noël Coward House Party at Burgh Island - PHOTO Andrew Weeks
Dana Ivey Honoured
NCS member Dana Ivey has received an Honorary Doctorate from her Alma Mater, Rollins College in
Winter Park, Florida. She majored in theatre at Rollins. Following the presentation, Ms. Ivey
received a standing ovation. She said, “I am a strong believer in a liberal arts education. I believe it
prepares anyone for a better life. I'm extremely grateful to the school that prepared me for my future.
This is a day I will never forget and an honour I will always cherish.” Winter Park Mayor David
Strong also presented her with a key to the city.
Biography of Claudette Colbert
NCS member Bernard F. Dick is a professor of communication
and English at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. His
latest book is Claudette Colbert: She Walked in Beauty, the first
major biography of Ms. Colbert in over twenty years. This
delightful and informative book chronicles her long career and her
early life in Paris and New york. Many of the photos in this book
are from an archive called Photofest, operated by NCS member
Howard Mandelbaum. The book is available on
www.amazon.com. Other books by Mr. Dick include biographies
of film producer, Hal Wallis and actress, Rosalind Russell.
West Coast News -Coward at ACT in Seattleby Kathy Williams
n June 19th, ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) resounded with wild applause and a
standing ovation for the opening night of A Marvelous Party: The Noël Coward
Celebration. This effervescent musical revue showcased the talents of five Seattle-
centric artists: Director and co-creator David Ira Goldstein, co-creators Mark Anders
and Anna Lauris, actor David Silverman, and musical director Richard Gray.
A Marvelous Party introduces neophytes to Coward’s life
and music with quotes, quips, and bits of biography interwoven
among 35 songs, as well as bringing joy to ardent Coward fans
with a couple of his esoteric music hall numbers “What Ho!
Mrs. Brisket” and “Would You Like to Stick a Pin in My
Balloon?” - plus a one-woman tour-de-force by Ms. Lauris, who
sings and dances the parts of half a dozen characters in the six-
song medley of “The Coconut Girl” from, The Girl Who Came
to Supper, Coward's final score in 1963. She ends Act I with a
bang (cartwheels across the stage, followed by a split).
Act I covers many of Coward’s famous songs (including “Mad Dogs and Englishmen”, which, by
the way, one may now purchase online as a ringtone from the Apple iTunes store) in a setting of
backstage/music hall. Shifting locales, Act II offered a swanky nightclub cabaret of classics most of
which Coward sang in Las Vegas. Superb dancing and musicianship throughout —Anders and Gray
played two pianos, four hands, seamlessly blending Coward’s tunes with classical and pop references.
In a nod to Coward’s knack for the contemporary mot juste,
the cast wrote an extra verse for the send-up of Cole Porter’s
“Let’s Do It”, referencing Seattle luminaries and places, which
had most of the audience howling, but was a bit
incomprehensible to an out-of-towner. Even so, the good mood
was irresistible.
The core ensemble
(Goldstein, Anders, and Lauris)
has wowed audiences from
Boston to Laguna Beach, California with Coward’s music. Silverman
and Gray rounded out the cast in Seattle with fine performances. Let’s
hope they bring the Party to a theatre near you sometime soon.
For more details, see the Media Rack (a web page on the Coward
Estate web site), which includes three reviews of ACT’s production:
http://www.noëlcoward.com/html/mediarack.html
... continued from Page 1
The plays will be
presented in three
groups, one at each of
the Festival’s three
theatres, and on two
occasions it will be
possible to see all ten on
a single day, in an event
christened “Mad Dogs
and Englishmen.”
Kate Lynch will
direct Star Chamber
(only performed once as
part of the Tonight at
8:30 premier) as the
lunchtime offering at
the Royal George.
Maxwell said she got
the idea for mounting
Tonight at 8:30 while
seeing Lynch direct
Hands Across the Sea
through Shaw's intern
director program.
Maxwell then read all
ten plays and realised
each was a little jewel,
and that they ran the
gamut, from comedy to
drama to musicals.
Brief EncounterHouston Grand Opera
An Opera in Two Acts
Music by André
Previn
Libretto by John
Caird
The world premiere of
André Previn’s Brief
Encounter, based on
David Lean’s classic
film adaptation of a play
by Noël Coward.
Brief Encounter
stars Elizabeth Futral
and Nathan Gunn as
Laura and Alec, and
Kim Josephson as
Laura’s bewildered
husband. Patrick
Summers conducts.
May 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 2009
OAnna Lauris, David Silverman, Mark Anders
and Richard Gray
Mark Anders, left, Anna Lauris
and David Silverman
Mark Anders & Anna Lauris
Page 2 Page 11
ach year as
the courses
end at the
Guildhall
School of
Music & Drama a
Gold Medal Award
for Drama is
announced. This
year the winner is
Gwilym Lee the
very first Noël
Coward Scholar at
the school. The Noël
Coward Scholarship
is funded by the
Noël Coward
Foundation and
offered by the
Guildhall to one
student following
interviews for their
three-year drama course.
Gwilym joined the acting programme at the Guildhall after
reading English at Cardiff University. Those of you who
attended the Oxford Conference organised by NCS at St.
Catherine’s College, Oxford Future Definite: a Celebration of
the work of Noël Coward in September, 2006, may remember
that Gwilym was one of the 12 students supported by the Noël
Coward Foundation who attended the conference and, under the
tutelage of James Copp and Marcy Kahan, gave a wonderful
reading of Coward’s 10th ‘forgotten’ play from Tonight at 8:30 -
Star Chamber
Gwilym, aged 24, is from Birmingham. He took the lead role
of Vindice in the Guildhall School's production of The
Revenger's Tragedy earlier this year. He appears in the BBC TV
series Mutual Friends, a comedy drama starring Keeley Hawes,
Alexander Armstrong and Marc Warren, and will also shortly be
seen in ITV's Lewis.
The Guildhall School's Drama Gold Medal is awarded at the
end of the three-year BA Acting course. Many of its recipients
have gone on to high-profile careers. Previous winners include
Marcia Warren, Lesley Sharp, Stephen Campbell Moore, Jodie
Whittaker and Michelle Dockery.
Gwilym is currently rehearsing for Oedipus at The National
Theatre in London in the part of ‘The Messenger’ and
understudying ‘Oedipus’ himself, played by Ralph Fiennes. He
E
played Edward, Prince of Wales in the RSC’s Richard III
directed by Elijah Moshinsky. His awards include: Guildhall
Drama Gold Medal, 2008; The Noël Coward Scholarship and
was successful in the BBC Radio Drama, Carlton Hobbs
Bursary Competition.
During an interview with Gwilym he was keen to express
his deep gratitude to the Noël Coward Foundation for providing
the financial support to enable him to attend the Guildhall
School - without it he feels he could never have taken advantage
of the opportunities the Guildhall School offered.
When I asked whether, in his mind, there was any particular
reason why he was selected to receive the Coward scholarship -
he drew one particular parallel between himself and Coward -
the fact that they had both been child actors. Coward’s
childhood acting record is well-known - Gwilym was a member
of the Birmingham Central Television Workshop between 1995-
2001 appearing as the child James Hunter in Animal Ark a
children's drama about a vet's daughter that appeared on UK
screens for two series between 1997 and 1998.
Gwilym is a refreshingly unassuming man who feels he is
lucky to have been able to pursue a career in acting - one that he
was not initially certain was right for him. His talent has clearly
been recognised by many along the way. He looks set to follow
in the footsteps of those who have won honours at the Guildhall
School - I feel sure ‘The Master’ would be delighted.John Knowles
Gwilym with Stephen Fry and fellow students
at the Oxford NCS Conference
Drama Gold Medal awarded to First Noël Coward Scholar
WEBSITE NEWS - a short update on the latest on the other Noël Coward websites...
The Coward Estate www.noëlcoward.com (also www.noëlcoward.co.uk). Recently updated: What’s On?, play synopses andMedia Rack pages and the development of Home, News and What’s On? pages for mobile devices. Planned enhancements are to
update the look and feel of the site and provide greater visual clarity.
The Coward Foundation www.noëlcoward.org Recent additions: Gwilym Lee the first Noël Coward Scholar at the GuildhallSchool of Music and Drama who recently gained the school’s Drama Gold Medal. Planned enhancements include the development
of the design and content this Autumn to reflect the achievements of those institutions and individuals who have benefitted from the
work of the Noël Coward Foundation.
The Music of Noël Coward www.noëlcowardmusic.com Current: website has a domain and two holding pages. Planned to bedeveloped into an attractive and accessible website that celebrates the music of Noël Coward - with audio and video clips and links
to online stores for CD, sheet music and books and to the NCMI by Alan Farley and Dominic Vlasto.
UK COWARD BirthdayCelebrations Booking now!
Saturday 13th December, 2008
Annual General Meeting of the
Noël Coward Society
Flower-laying at the Theatre
Royal, Drury Lane
and Lunch at The Garrick Club
Come and join us at the Annual General
Meeting of the Society at the Noël Coward
Theatre in St. Martin’s Lane (by kind
permission of Sir Cameron Mackintosh), on
Saturday 13th December, 2008. Coffee will
be served at the theatre from
10:00 am before the meeting at 10.30 am.
LUNCH MENU
Warm Tart of Arbroath Smokies & Potted
Shrimps with a Baby Leaf Salad
Roast Pheasant with Apples, Bacon & Apple
Brandy Sauce
Game Chips & Braised Red Cabbage
Steamed Pear & Ginger Upside Down
Pudding with Devon Clotted Cream
Coffee & Chocolates
A half a bottle of wine, per person,
is also included - either
Ardèche Chardonnay, Louis Latour 2006 or
Château de Roques, Château Lezongars
2004
LETTERS and more...
ance Salway has sent in the item to the left on the Moira Lister Archive at the
National English Literary Museum (NELM) that promotes the reading and
appreciation of all forms of imaginative South African literature in English.
Meanwhile Gary R. Planck tells this interesting tale of the high seas...
“While on a transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York aboard the
Queen Mary 2 a few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see, on the walls of the
corridor surrounding the ship's Illuminations Theatre, huge black and white
photographs of celebrities from years gone by who had frequented the Queen
Elizabeths, Mary, and other Cunard Line ships. Among these photos are ones of Ivor
Novello, David Niven, Somerset Maugham, Rex Harrison, Marlene Dietrich,
Claudette Colbert, and, of course, Noël Coward. Shown standing in hat, topcoat, and
scarf while leaning against a stack of “his luggage,” here is pictured one of the line's
most frequent voyagers who, according to writer Elspeth Wills, personifies
“cocktails, caviar and Cunard.” The pictures and their descriptions also appear in
Ms. Wills’ small book, STARS ABROAD, available for purchase in the QM2's
bookshop. On board our ship was American theatre producer and former Vice
President and General Manager of New York City's Radio City Music Hall, Steven
Rivellino, who gave three lectures, one about the Music Hall, “The Showplace of the
Nation.” In narrating the story of the theatre's disastrous marathon opening night on
December 27, 1932, Mr. Rivellino reminded his listeners that in the audience that
rainy evening was Noël Coward. However, he failed to mention that some four years
later, on February 12, 1937, Mr. Coward ran a Benefit for Flood Relief at the Music
Hall, creating another marathon production, this one from 12:30 AM to 5:00 AM
which was also broadcast around the country by radio. As Master of Ceremonies he
introduced such performers and friends as Gladys Cooper, Beatrice Lillie, Gertrude
Lawrence, and many other stars then appearing in the New York City area.”
SAIL AWAYThis photograph sent in by a
member recalls the celebration
of Sail Away’s 200th
performance on Broadway in
1962. Elaine Stritch recalls that
Noël was “her friend, my
director and part of the reason
for my success. He was like a
father-figure to me although I
also found him very attractive.”
“After Broadway we took
Sail Away to London for six
months and I had a huge
success.”
Sir Donald Sinden
wearing the distinctive
Garrick Club tie
so much about John Michael’s work with Coward’s music
on the international cabaret circuit and also of his stage
performances - it will be our honour and delight to be
serenaded by a renowned Australian troubadour, especially
as he is celebrating 25 years as a professional exponent of
Coward’s music.”
John Michael’s special affinity for Coward’s witty and
nostalgic material came to international prominence in
1991. He was invited to perform at the grand re-opening of
Singapore’s Raffles Hotel, which had been closed for two
years for a $200 million renovation. Twenty international
tours later, including gala performances aboard QE2 and a
special invitation to fire Hong Kong’s Noonday Gun
(immortalised by Coward in Mad Dogs and Englishmen
and fired by him in 1986) cemented Swinbank’s reputation
as ‘Australia’s foremost Coward exponent’
The entry to the AGM and the flower-laying at Drury
Lane is free of charge and includes drinks at the Foyer
Bar. However, we should like to know how many people to
expect, so please complete the accompanying booking
form and send it to Denys Robinson.
PLEASE NOTE that US members who wish to attend
should contact Denys Robinson at 4 Parkside, Vanbrugh
Fields, London SE3 7QQ Tel: 020 8265 8879 or email:
Please note that there is a restriction on numbers
attending The Garrick
Club, so bookings will be
taken on a first come, first
served basis. The cost of
the lunch and cabaret at
The Garrick is £95 per
member or guest.
The price includes
each member’s share of
the club’s charge for
opening, exceptionally, on
a Saturday.
Sir Donald Sinden is our guest of honour this year
and will be laying flowers on the statue of Noël Coward at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, at 12 noon. Join Sir Donald and
other NCS members at the flower-laying and for drinks
afterwards in the Foyer Bar at Drury Lane. Sir Donald is a
member of The Garrick Club and will be our host there for
lunch later at 1:30 pm. In the June 2008 edition of Home Chat
we provided details about The Garrick Club. Sir Donald has
kindly agreed to give members a brief tour of the paintings
owned by the club.
British stage actor Sir Donald Sinden starred in many
outstanding British films of the 1950s including The Cruel Sea,
Mogambo, Doctor in the House, Above Us The Waves, Doctor
at Large, The Siege of Sidney Street, Twice Round the Daffodils.
He later starred in the television series Two's Company (1974),
Never the Twain (1981), and Playing Shakespeare (1988), and
was heard as the voice of Doc in the 1995 animated feature
Balto. A Royal Shakespeare Company stalwart since the 1960s,
among many notable stage appearances are The Wars of the
Roses opposite Dame Peggy Ashcroft and for the 1976 Stratford
season and then at the Aldwych in 1977, he gave an outstanding
comedy performance partnered with Dame Judi Dench as
Beatrice and Benedick in the ‘British Raj’ revival of Much Ado
About Nothing. He also won the Evening Standard Best Actor
award that year for his outstanding performance as King Lear.
Other memorable RSC performances were Twelfth Night; The
Relapse and London Assurance. Donald Sinden wrote his
autobiography in 1982, entitled A Touch of the Memoirs.
John Michael Swinbank, a long-standing
member of the Society is joining us from Perth, Western
Australia - he will entertain us with songs from his Coward
repertoire. The Australian based singer renowned for his
distinctive interpretation of the British composer’s songs will
make his UK debut at this occasion. On Coward’s birthday itself
John Michael and long-time accompanist, Tim Cunliffe will
open a season of their cabaret Noël et Noël at the New End
Theatre in Hampstead. Barbara Longford says, “We have heardA section of a promotional photograph from the first production of Private Lives - probably the finest photograph
ever taken of Noël and Gertie in their greatest success together. With thanks to Robert Gardiner
Page 10 Page 3
L
John Michael Swinbank & Edgar Metcalf
Victor and Sibyl - are that they are much smaller parts. They are
not the star turns, of course, but the parts, although slight, are
large. Noël first offered the role of Victor to Laurence Olivier,
convinced that only a good actor could play a bore. Roger
Barclay as Victor and Candida Benson as Sibyl really shone in
these lesser roles and both performed with bravura. All the
members to whom I spoke afterwards had loved this production.
I have never before seen Private Lives in a small and quite
intimate setting and I think it plays so very well in such a
surrounding. But without doubt, this is the finest light comedy
of the Twentieth Century".
Before the performance we had supper at The Orangery,
built from 1704-5, during the reign of Queen Anne. It is her
principal memorial, situated just north of the Palace and was
supposed to serve as a greenhouse for exotic plant and citrus
trees, but was also used as a ‘summer supper house’ and place
of entertainment. Members were utterly delighted to meet some
friends of Noël’s - Blanche Blackwell, Lady Daubeny and
Michael Cox all joined us for the occasion, as the photograph
below shows.
Barbara Longford
STARS AT MIDNIGHTn the last edition of Home Chat we featured a piece on the three Midnight
Revues in aid of the Actors’ Orphanage that were organised by Noël Coward.
Shown to the right is the cover, designed and donated by Doris Zinkeisen, of
the first of the three shows on 28th May 1953. Prior to this in 1937 the
children of the Actors’ Orphanage performed at a Royal Performance that
contained excerpts from a pantomime that included Granville Bantock’s brother
Paul, sadly lost during the war. The full Pantomime, Cinderella, followed after
Christmas in 1938 and was presented by Noël Coward and the Committee of the
Actors’ Orphanage and directed by Leslie Henson. The programme covers for its
performance at both the Bijou and the Gaiety Theatre in the Strand are shown.
Carole Barzilay remembers these pantomimes with great affection. She
writes... For me the happiest time at Langley was rehearsing and presenting the
annual Pantomime. Our final one, in 1938, was Cinderella, and I was lucky to
have the part of Prince Charming. We performed it for two weeks in our own
Bijou Theatre, then, as for the previous year, Noël arranged for us to do 3 fund-
raising matinees at the Gaiety Theatre in the Strand. I remember the excitement
of the coach trip and arriving to hear Leslie Henson’s gravelly voice saying,
“Relax Babies,” as he ushered us into the dressing rooms, and kindly Gladys
Henson and other well-known stars putting our stage make-up on. The stage and
auditorium and orchestra all seemed huge at first, but everyone, including
Debroy Somers, the conductor, encouraged and supported us and it all went very
well. Then to cap it all, Noël got us into the Royal Variety Command
Performance, to do just the ballroom scene! We were agog to see so many
famous stars at the dress rehearsal (I remember Anna Neagle with a basket of
oranges, dressed as Nell Gwyn), but of course we didn’t get to watch the show.
We were told not to look at the Royal Box, but I got in a quick peek as I held up
the glass slipper before the curtain fell. Then Noël Coward appeared backstage
to congratulate us all, and to me he said, “Well done! You have great stage
presence.” (I wasn’t quite sure what that meant but it felt good, and I was so
proud to tell my parents later!)
It was some years later and in a very different setting that he spoke to me
personally again. I was in ‘sick-bay’ at the Edwin Gould Foundation, New York,
where I had spent 3 days with tonsillitis, but due to come out that day. Not
expecting a visitor, I had curled up my long hair with rags (strips of white
cotton) tied in big bows all over my head, when he appeared at my door and
exclaimed, “Ah! Widow Twankey!” before chatting to ease my embarrassment
and shook my hand before leaving. How great of him to take time from his busy
life to visit us in the Bronx, to let us know he still cared for our welfare. I still get
a warm glow whenever I see or hear his name! He was such a lovely person.Carol Barzilay
(June Lester)
IProgramme and ticket for the 1953 ‘Stars At
Midnight’ in aid of the Actors’ Orphanage
Page 4 Page 9
Programme for the Royal Performance in aid of
The King George’s Pensions Fund 1937
and poster for Cinderella at the Gaiety Theatre
Programmes for the Cinderella Pantomime at the Bijou
Theatre at Langley and the Gaiety Theatre in the Strand
Private Lives at the Palacen Tuesday 19th August, 48 members met on the
Terrace of The Orangery in Kensington
Gardens, to have supper and watch an open air
performance of Private Lives. Alas, it was a
typically English Summer’s evening and ‘rain
stopped play’. The cast, no doubt all of whom had more than a
nodding acquaintance with the ‘Noël Coward Diaries’, decided
to rise above it and continued with exquisite sang froid and
when Victor asked Amanda to “Come outside, the view is
wonderful”, the rain was already enveloping us all. Lines from
‘I’ve Been to a Marvellous Party’ sprang to mind, as it was in
the fresh air, and we went as we were and we stayed as we
were……….
However, most fortunately for us all, the performance was
only halted for a few minutes and we were treated to what was,
for me, one of the finest productions of the play I have seen.
The director was NCS member, Robert Perkins, also an actor,
who in 2000 played the role of Victor for Terry Hands. The
production company, Carpe Momento, worked in cooperation
with the Historic Royal Palaces Summer Theatre Season.
Sophie Ward was quite captivating as Amanda. She was utterly
self-assured and confident in the role, with great clarity of
diction and variable and well modulated speech perfectly
convincing for the period. The fact that she is slim, elegant and
beautiful should go without saying, but alas, these days
directors often cast the oddest females in glamorous roles. On
this occasion, I think everyone in the audience could imagine
why Elyot was so in love with her. She was particularly
amusing towards the end of Act III, after her reverie about
loving travelling and “arriving at strange places, and seeing
strange people, and eating strange foods”…when Elyot
interjects “And making strange noises afterwards”. Amanda
spluttered her coffee violently over the stage. It seemed so real.
Simon Dutton was a more than adequate Elyot, with a lovely
voice and sense of timing, but if one was looking for perfection
one would seek an actor with more charisma or edge, someone
with whom you could imagine yourself dashing off during your
honeymoon evening with another.
Many people’s conception of the roles of the other couple -
O
Sophie ward and Roger Barclay (Amanda and Victor) and Simon Dutton and Sophie Ward (Elyot and Amanda) in Private Lives at Kensington Palace
Candida Benson played the part of Sybil.
Nick Myskin, Blanche Blackwell and Michael Cox at Private Lives
Page 8 Page 5
For what seemed like an age she delivered a tirade of abuse
about Britain and the British, hardly pausing for breath. The girl
next to me, knowing I was one of the English students, turned to
me and said, “Surely you are not going to stand for that?”
Getting no reply, for I was very embarrassed, she stood up and
very eloquently told the teacher to shut up. “Don’t be abusive,”
she said, “get on with American history or I’ll take the matter
up with the Principal.” A boy stood up at the back and
supported her. Miss Reynolds then apologised and started the
lesson. I was in her class for the ensuing year and there was no
repetition; in fact she was to help me as time went by. At this
stage I knew nothing about British/Irish history and was
therefore very embarrassed but I did learn some basic facts from
an Irish boy who was later to become a close buddy. The girl
who came to my rescue was Mary Ann, my first American
friend and someone who was to set me on course for the
wonderful world of music.
My first English lesson was entirely different, the teacher
being absolutely charming. Again I introduced myself and sat
down at a vacant desk. After a while she said, “Class we are
extremely fortunate to have one of the English boys join us -
please stand up Granville.” There was a chorus of ‘ “Hi
Granville.” Then she said, “I am going to ask him to read a
page from this book, please come here Granville.” I was acutely
shy; we had never done this at Silverlands. There were thirty-
five strange faces staring at me. I read out the whole page and
when I had finished she asked me to sit down, saying, “Thank
you, we all enjoyed that.” “Now class,” she continued, “before
Christmas I want every single one of you to speak just like that,
with no slurring - just good, solid, English.” A boy at the back
immediately stood up, “Please teacher,” he said, “I didn’t
understand a single word.” It became a weekly event for the
students really did like to hear me speak.
The music class turned out to be just singing ‘God Bless
America’ and the craft class was playing around with a lump of
clay. After two years I still couldn’t sing and I had made just
three rabbits from my lump of clay. It was difficult to change
subjects so I simply carried on; it was a terrible waste of
learning time, though maths class was a different story. I sat
next to a Japanese boy (actually, his father was Japanese and his
mother half-American), whose parents worked in New York, but
doing what exactly I never found out.
His name was difficult to pronounce so we called him Mick;
he and I became close friends. His English was perfect, having
spent much time travelling the USA with his parents, and he was
excellent at maths, finding it as easy as I found difficult - he
helped me no end. He loved swing music, particularly Benny
Goodman, so come the weekend we would travel downtown on
the elevated railway and seek out the venue. If it wasn’t Benny
Goodman it would be Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey. New
York was wonderful; bright lights, coffee and hot dogs, Coke
and popcorn - and the war was three thousand miles away.
Franklin Roosevelt won the election for a third term. This
was really great news for I knew we had a true friend right at the
top, especially as there were voices in high places who were not
so friendly towards us, saying that America must not be drawn
into another European war. I was very worried about my mother
in England because the Germans were now bombing by night
and things looked very bad indeed. Letters kept arriving and
each time they did I would think of another ship safely crossing
the Atlantic, but so many were being sunk by U-boats. We were
so very fortunate, with kind and generous Americans
everywhere and New York appearing to be so safe. We were
allowed to go anywhere, and we could, for just a nickel on the
elevated railway.
Next time - Christmas 1940 and when Charlie Chaplin came
to visit the orphans at the Foundation.
GETTING IT WRONGell it can happen to anyone and this
advertisement or rather apology that, in its
original form is a large 30 by 20 cms, is clearly
a final act of reconciliation after William
Marchant and his publishers had dealt
unsuccessfully with the bruised ego of the famed jazz singer -
following the publication of his book about his relationship with
Noël Coward, The Privilege of His Company. Marchant met
Coward in 1950 in Westport, Connecticut when he was directing
his first play for a one-week summer-stock production. Coward
went out of his way to encourage and help Marchant. It was the
beginning of a friendship that was to last until Coward’s death.
Though sometimes as many as three or four years passed
between meetings. When the two men came together again the
feeling for Marchant was always the same, “The paternal stance
he assumed with me...continued throughout the rest of his life...
I was his son as well as his friend.” Ms Welch must still be
singing above in the choir - she had the most heavenly voice!
WCOWARD FLIES BEA
A photograph taken by the late Stephen Marshall when he
worked for BEA as their House Magazine Editor
A BRIEF ENCOUNTER at Carnforth Station
his Summer we enjoyed the Dales - no reference here to the ubiquitous British radio soap
where Jim’s state of health dominated my mother’s post-war life - but to the Yorkshire sort -
long and deep and verdantly gorgeous and, despite the weather most of Britain enjoyed this
August, sporting a decently clement cloak of sunshine.
From a base at the Ancient Unicorn Inn in the old stone-built village of Bowes (noted for
containing the Victorian school that was used by Dickens as the model for Dotheboys Hall) we
ventured to Carnforth to visit something I had always wanted to see - the spiritual home of Brief
Encounter. The fact that only 523 seconds of the film were actually shot here detracts not from the
desire to go, or the care with which the film and its history is presented at the Visitor’s Centre.
From our first steps up the famous incline to the aptly named Joyce clock (the original one used
in the film, regularly wound and oiled by a local volunteer) we were instantly monochromed, in dark
contrast we made our way to the imagined strains of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto (in C minor,
2nd movement, Opus 18) to the Milford Junction Refreshment Room, not the original of course, that
was a film set - but to a faithfully reproduced version of the ‘real’ thing that in turn closely
resembled the original Carnforth Station Buffet that was at the time elsewhere on the station. We
were following in the footsteps of Alec and Laura and the
awful Dolly Messiter to be greeted by volunteers, Margaret
Blake and Dianne Henderson who personify Yorkshire
warmth and friendliness and tend the displays and shop -
part of a brightly lit area that has a small cinema constantly
showing the film surrounded by walls of carefully framed
information and memorabilia about the stars and the film.
The only living main cast member is Margaret Barton who
played Beryl. She attended the Brief Encounter 60th
anniversary event and is closely connected to the station,
signing copies of the DVD for sale in the shop.
T
The displays reveal a lot of
interesting and unusual facts:
Celia Johnson wasn’t looking
forward to the filming on
Carnforth Station, in a letter she
says,”...we have to go up North
for 4 weeks’ location on some
horrible railway station, I don’t
know where.” She changed her
mind later, describing how the
atmosphere amongst the film
crew was good, and that they were having a good time. The winter of
1944/45 was bitterly cold. Every night at 01:30 the cast and crew would
break for a meal, and this was taken in the dining cars, which were
shunted into the Morcambe Bay platform. The cast and senior production
people going into one car and the technicians and extras into the other.
Sweets and chocolate were handed out to extras by the production team,
local people thought this amazing, these luxuries having been rationed for
years during the war.
The real station buffet was open during some of the filming. Elaine
Maudsley remembers serving the film crew tea there and eventually won a
place as an extra in the film (she walks up and down the platform as
Stanley Holloway crosses the track and mounts it). Filming ran from 5th
to the 17th February 1945 with train sound effect recordings taking place
for two days afterwards (some of these recordings were used again in
Lawrence of Arabia). A preview of Brief Encounter was shown in a
Rochester cinema in 1945, but was not a success, with the audience
laughing at the love scenes. The organist in the Palladium scene was playing ‘March Militaire’ and the small orchestra in the
Kardomah Café played ‘Spanish Dances No. 5’ by Moritz Moszkowski and also music by Domenico Scarlatti.
Having read all of these facts and many more we moved to have tea in the Refreshment Room and settled down near the far
window hoping that a mighty express train might rush by at high-speed, sending smoke and sparks dancing into the dark night air.
That a bell might clang and some soldiers enter and ask for some spirits - “no it’s after hours,” she would say and then we watched...
as a young woman came in and sat at a table near the far window... she was hiding her head and trying not to cry... no it couldn’t
be... did she have something in her eye... where’s my handkerchief? John Knowles
David Lean visits Carnforth Station prior to filming
Margaret Blake and Dianne Henderson
Page 6Page 7
Joan Fontaine visited I fell madly in love in spite of her husband
Brian Aherne coming with her. We had hoped to see Noël
Coward, but we knew he was acting as an unofficial roving
ambassador for Britain and travelling all over the world.
The day arrived for twenty or so older Actors’ Orphanage
boys and girls to attend High School for the first time - we were
very apprehensive. Al, the friendly
Foundation bus driver, made sure
we were all comfortable before
setting off on the wrong side of the
road - we thought! Shortly he
pulled up outside what appeared to
be a huge factory so we remained
seated expecting to be moving
along again. He then said in his
best Bronx accent “Youse kids, this
is Christopher Columbus High
School - they teach thousands of
stoodents in there.” What a shock -
we had just come from an English
country house surrounded by green
fields, woods and only 70 pupils to
now face a huge building
surrounded by suburbia and
containing six thousand pupils.
How, we wondered, could it all
work?
We filed into the Principal’s
office and received a very warm
welcome. He explained that the
staff and students knew of our
arrival and would help us in any
way they could. First though, we
had to go to a ‘Home Class’ to sort
out a curriculum which was
expected to take all day, and
indeed it did.
Some of us were just under
fifteen and some just older, but we
were all to start with the freshmen
- fourteen year olds - which was as
well because, age for age, they were ahead of us in many
subjects. At Silverlands we had very small classes but here there
were thirty-five to a class, each with a considerable ethnic mix.
Perhaps we had too many distractions like green fields, many
sports, bikes to ride - and the hayloft. Compulsory subjects were
now maths, English, another language, American History, and
civic studies, but we could make up the necessary points for
Graduation by taking other subjects of our own choice. I chose
music, craft arts and geography. The geography was OK but the
art and crafts and music later proved to be a bad decision.
Curriculum’s prepared, we returned to the Foundation to prepare
for the following day.
Teachers remained in their classrooms all the time and
students came to them for lessons. It was incredible; a bell
would ring and thousands of students had just four minutes to
get to their next lessons. There were one-way corridors, up
stairways and down stairways and plenty of toilets. It all worked
like clockwork. The day would startn with a visit to the Home
Class before assembly which took place in a huge concert type
The dormitories in the building were very small with four of us
to each. The beds were comfortable and there was a very large
bathroom with piping hot showers which the boys really liked.
The food was different but we soon became accustomed to it.
Each cottage had a small kitchen with a refrigerator always
stocked with milk, there was always plenty of delicious bread
and butter if we felt hungry, but the main hot food came up
every day from a central kitchen.
The Foundation was well-equipped with medical and dental
facilities, including a sanatorium. Within days of arriving we all
had to undergo a thorough medical and dental examination.
When my turn came to enter the doctor’s consulting room, I
remember saying “I’m told I have a weak heart!”
The doctor listened through his stethoscope and
called a colleague to listen as well. “Granville,” he
said “we have never heard better...” I wondered
whether the old family doctor had got it wrong way
back in 1935.
The dental inspection was different - “Your teeth
are good,” said the lady dentist, “but we will have to
remove the two broken ones in the front and make
you a plate with two perfect ones.” I told her that the
dentist in England would fit caps when I was older,
but she said I couldn’t wait that long because my
appearance was completely spoiled. With no one
around to advise me or to talk over the problem I
made a bad decision, agreeing to have two teeth
extracted and a plate fitted. For just two teeth the
plate felt large and uncomfortable, taking a long
time to get used to. I had not been at all concerned
about my appearance but was destined to keep a
chunk of plastic in my mouth for the rest of my life.
Mr Griffin arranged for the children under
fourteen to be educated at the Foundation, which had several
classrooms, and for the older ones to attend the local high
school some two miles away. The Foundation bus took us to
school in the morning and we walked back in the afternoon. We
learned that Noël Coward was in Hollywood where he was
endeavouring to arrange sponsorship for the Orphanage children
from resident members of the British acting fraternity. Indeed
every one of us was found a sponsor (54 in all), which was a
wonderful act of generosity. To this day I am not sure whether
Orphanage funds were transferred to the Gould Foundation or
whether the Americans and sponsors paid for our entire keep.
Not long after arriving at the
Foundation I received a letter from
Hollywood, it was Dame May Whitty
introducing herself as my sponsor but
saying that it would be impossible for
her to travel to New York to see me.
Instead she had asked her daughter,
Margaret Webster to act for her.
Margaret Webster, a theatrical producer,
lived in New York where she was very
involved with the Shakespeare
Company. The list of Hollywood
sponsors included most of the British actors and actresses living
in California, and they would visit us at the Foundation
whenever they were in New York. Charlie Chaplin came several
times and so did Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks, but when
he North Atlantic had been very rough and nearly all the
children had been sick, so it was a considerable relief
when the ‘Empress of Australia’ docked in Halifax,
Nova Scotia on 4 October. The orphanage party was
quickly assembled and boarded on a train for Montreal;
we passed through miles of trees in full Autumn foliage and the
colours were magnificent. We slept on the train the first night,
arriving in Montreal the following evening and were then taken
to a hostel for a good night’s sleep. We were all very excited
about the long train journey to California, but then the
bombshell dropped: Peter Jackson announced after breakfast
that there was to be a change of plan. We would be going to
New York instead of Hollywood. There were sighs and moans of
disappointment. I think this had been arranged before we left
England but not divulged in case parents withdrew their children
from the evacuation.
We travelled by train to New York and then coach to the
Edwin Gould Foundation at Pelham in the Bronx. With visions
of sunny California in our minds, the buildings of the
Foundation were a great disappointment with a road in front and
a railway line at the rear there was very little play area in-
between. However soon realising that we were away from the
food rationing, blackout and the bombs of war, we quickly
settled in, grateful for now being guests in the United States of
America. Going from blacked-out England to a New York
ablaze with light was an incredible experience, as were the
generous kind people all around who helped us. We were, of
course, very worried about our families back home facing the
mighty German army poised across The Channel.
Mr Edwin Gould, a philanthropist, had established the
Foundation to care for deprived American children, so it was a
huge act of generosity to take in 54 orphans from England.
There were of course American children in residence when we
arrived but we were allocated one large building divided into
three ‘cottages’, one for boys, one for girls and the other for the
very young boys and girls... all were connected by corridors. Mr.
Griffin, the Principal, was extremely kind and did all he could to
make us comfortable, even keeping the swimming pool open an
extra week so that we could relax after three weeks travelling.
the story continues with edited extracts from the memories of Granville Bantock who attended theActor’s Orphanage at Langley Hall and Silverlands and during its evacuation to America in World War II.
TLUCKY ORPHAN
hall complete with stage, and I vividly remember my first
occasion. We marched in to a very loud ‘Land of Hope and
Glory’ - great, I thought, a gesture to us English kids. Not so, I
quickly learned from the boy sitting next to me who exclaimed,
“It’s the finest American patriotic song ever written.” I asked
him who composed it but he didn’t know. It was played every
morning. We all had to pledge
allegiance to the flag, sing ‘God
Bless America’ and listen to
readings from the Gettysburg
address. With such a broad
ethnic mix of students,
engendering patriotic
enthusiasm was essential.
A presidential election was
underway and the New York
World’s Fair was in full swing.
Knowing absolutely nothing
about American politics, I just
hoped Democrat Franklin
Roosevelt would win a third
term, as Republican Wendell
Wilkie was against any
involvement in the European
war. We were taken to the
World’s Fair soon after we
arrived in New York and it was
fantastic; our first introduction
to hot dogs, popcorn, Coca-
Cola and real coffee. Our hosts
showed us to the British
Pavilion - it was heartwarming
to see the Union Jack flying and
a Spitfire as the main exhibit
outside. We had seen many
Spitfires flying over Silverlands
many times, but not close to the
ground. This was the plane that
helped to win the Battle of
Britain. The symbol of the fair
was a large sphere and pointed
column, we sat down nearby to listen to Irving Berlin play ‘God
Bless America’ and hand out autographed copies of sheet music.
There was popcorn, Coke and ice-cream - it was a marvellous
day.
The first full day at Christopher Columbus High School was
traumatic; outnumbered by thousands, England at war, America
at peace, and totally lost in the huge crowd of students, there
were twenty English children. We only had to say two words to
be immediately recognised as ‘Limeys’. Several of the English
boys were still in short trousers which was even worse:
“Where’s the other half of yer pants?” was often asked, with
much mirth. The Foundation quickly remedied this situation. I
remember my first day in the history class where I introduced
myself to the teacher, Miss Reynolds, before sitting down next
to a girl with a very warm smile. When all the students were
settled the teacher stood up so we were expecting the lesson
American history to start. Instead however, she began with,
“Now class, I am going to tell you all about the British and the
way they treated the Irish.” She was of Irish extraction!
The Edwin Gould Foundation - Pelham, Bronx, New York
The Actors’ Orphanage children occupied the entire block shown above. The younger
children were educated in classrooms on the premises and the older ones attended near-by
Christopher Columbus High School. There were about two acres of recreation area at the
rear and in a sports field a short distance away there were tennis courts and a swimming pool.
Some of the ‘good luck’ messages and signatures of members of the British
actors’ community in Hollywood who sponsored the children of the Actors’
Orphanage whilst they were in New York including Cary Grant, Charlie
Chaplin, Boris Karloff, Ronald Colman, Douglas Fairbanks and May Whitty
Part 3Thank You Uncle Sam
Dame May Whitty