'Tis a puzzlement, Pianorak. Seems unlikely that Equity would have permitted two similar names to co-exist simultaneously. Only a hunch. Could you be thinking of our Dawn Addams (1930-1985)? She appeared in several Hammer studio type films in the 60s/70s when John W was also in his heyday. I remember doing a Scotland Yard feature at London Weekend TV with him in the early 70s. A lovely man and a very underrated actor, too. He plays the Headmaster in "The Browning Version" (1985) with distinction.
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I could indeed! Many thanks! Well, at least that's sorted! Ho hum - memory!Originally posted by Stanley Stewart View Post
I agree, John W is a lovely man and excellent actor. I came across him in the early 60s and have been following his progress since.My life, each morning when I dress, is four and twenty hours less. (J Richardson)Comment
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I've gone beyond ever going back to watching television (the experience of sitting in frontr of a set doesn't appeal, regardless of the programme), but if the BBC returned to 'stage drama' and the classics, I might.
BBC Television spends a fantastic amount on 'drama', mainly in the form of series of various sorts and almost all written for television. That excludes existing plays by definition, and adaptations of Dickens or Jane Austen are the nearest you get to 'classic' drama (i.e. not very close). Wouldn't simplified staging of a play be cheaper than location filming? After all, the play's the thing ... not the scenery and props
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It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.Comment
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Benedict Cumberbatch's The Rattigan Enigma was an enthusiastic re-appraisal of Rattigan's main works and included a brief biography with footage and tapes of the author, an interview with a former lover and an apology from Benedict Nightingale for being far too dismissive of Rattigan's plays at the time of Look Back in Anger.
It was followed with Stuart Burge's fine 1992 TV production of After the Dance with very moving acting from Anton Rodgers as David and Gemma Jones as his unloved wife whilst John Bird played a spiffing creep. I wish I had seen Cumberbatch in the recent NT production though he probably looked rather young for a man who had been married for fifteen years.Comment
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I thought he looked strikingly like a young John Wood in the production stills they showedOriginally posted by Chris Newman View PostComment
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If anything, I like Rattigan even less for having seen the documentary: he came across as a lilly-livered reactionary. His early taking of the Coward's way out (tax exile) wasn't mentioned.
Then followed After The Dance, which I struggled through in a kind of abstracted anguish: a pale grey play full of pale grey characters.
I maintain that it's always a sign that British theatre is going through a dull patch when Rattigan starts begin revived.Comment
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