Scofield as Prospero

**DracoM** · 01-10-14, 15:36

Fantastic!

**mercia** · 01-10-14, 15:40

Roy Kinnear ? not sure Rory was even the proverbial twinkle in his mother's eye 40 years ago

**aeolium** · 01-10-14, 15:44

Thanks very much for this, Clive - I'll enjoy listening to it.

It looks a very good cast but I think it must be Roy Kinnear (Rory's father) as Stephano rather than Rory - Rory wasn't born then!

(ed: sorry, mercia was ahead of me)

**clive heath** · 01-10-14, 17:24

Yes, of course, Roy. I spotted this some while back but in Ctrl C Ctrl V mode my mind goes blank.

**Stanley Stewart** · 02-10-14, 14:26

Ghosts from the past...much encouraged by this thread as I realised that I hadn't heard the R3 broadcast of The Tempest but instantly recalled seeing Paul Scofield as Prospero in the theatre, circa 1975, with a misty connection of Leeds! Rummaged for Garry O'Connor's 2002 biography, Sidgwick & Jackson, Paul Scofield, for enlightenment. Three hours later, I was still engrossed as I always rate Scofield as the most eminent actor of my theatregoing years, his career started for me in 1950, my last year as a teenager, when I first saw him play the dual role of two brothers in Peter Brook's magical production of Anoulih's "Ring Round The Moon" at the Globe Theatre, now known as The Gielgud Th. In 1956, he played in Peter Brook's production of Hamlet with a powerful sense of irony and spiritual grace in a West End transfer to the Phoenix Theatre, from the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, in a repertoire with the angst ridden priest, an adaptation of Graham Greene's The Power & The Glory. A couple of years later, at the Saville Theatre, he astonished audiences in David Heneker's down-beat story of a young rock singer's rise to fame via the gutters of Soho, Expresso Bongo. Scofield delicious as Bongo's cockney agent with an attractive singing voice which copes well with the cocky or rueful numbers. A splendid cast included Hy Hazell, James Kenney, and Millicent Martin. A CD of the original cast was readily available at HMV Bond Street, a few years ago, it's an aggressively original score.

The international success of A Man for All Seasons, 1960, cleared the way for Scofield at the emerging RSC to realise his status as a truly great actor, starting with Peter Brook's production of King Lear in 1962. Some forum readers may recall the magazine, Encore, 2/6d at the time, and Charles Marowitz's enthralling 14 page 'log' on Rehearsing with Peter Brook, highly valued in my collection.

Back on thread, I can still visualise images of Scofield's Prospero when the Leeds Playhouse production by John Harrison, transferred to Wyndham's Theatre on 26 Jan, 1975, and played to capacity houses for six months, the longest recorded continuous commercial run for a Shakespeare play on the West End stage. Scofield was well aware from the beginning, he would be, after The Tempest, faced with a blank page.

Critic Frank Marcus added in his review:

"...This Prospero is no enslaver. Tall, bearded and silver- maned, he
bestrides the stage with the spiritual authority of John the Baptist...Mr
Harrison rightly puts his trust in Mr Scofield's imaginative powers...Scofield
leaves the clue to his interpretation to the very end. A light shines from his
eyes as he utters in a rapt whisper the final words 'set me free'. Here is
a man who, like his author, has decided that life must take precedence
over art. He does so not with self-pity, but with excited hope."

This magnetic moment still lingers in my memory after almost 40 years.

**aeolium** · 07-10-14, 09:10

I listened to this production at the weekend and thought it was excellent in almost every respect. Many thanks, Clive, for making this available for us to listen to, and well done those involved in the musical accompaniment including the late lamented Christopher Hogwood and your own overmodest self.

Scofield as Prospero

Scofield as Prospero

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