Rather stricken to suddenly see a photograph of actor, Benjamin Whitrow
followed by an obituary in the Sunday Times, (8 Oct), under the apt heading of Last Words.
The passing years suddenly rushed-in and for the past few days my mind has focussed on the years 1963/1964 when I shared a dressing room with Ben at Harrogate Theatre in the world of weekly rep, and its exhausting ritual of 18 hours working days - par for the course! We were
young ambitious actors and Ben was also stretching his wings as Asst Director with occasional productions - in later years he also taught 'technique' at the RADA where he also graduated in the 50s, along with O'Toole, Finney and Courtenay. At Harrogate our repertoire consisted of Shakespeare, Chekhov, Sheridan, Inonesco, Coward, Rattigan; all in the learning curve of weekly rep it was essential to understand that the time factor of six days rehearsal
and the need to formulate only the bones of any role until, say, a midweek matinee when you began to add flesh to the bones with only three performance days left. A nightmare scenario but the only way to keep a sense of sanity. We also had the sense to develop a dressing room empathy and recognise when periods of silence were important. Ben was essentially a lightweight actor and his work in the Aldwych farces, Tons of Money etc, always reminded me of the great Ralph Lynn with his instinctive timing, monocled face and limp hands manipulating
a teacup and saucer could be hilarious. Comedy/farce is always a serious business at best!
Equally, he could play with finesse in Chekhov.
Ben was quickly head-hunted by the NT and RSC and established a national reputation. In the interim, it was a pleasure to work with him when he engaged me to join Colchester Theatre where he was Asst Director. I recall many of his performances at the RNT, particularly in the David Hare trilogy and we've always kept in-touch.
Bless you, dear friend. RIP.
followed by an obituary in the Sunday Times, (8 Oct), under the apt heading of Last Words.
The passing years suddenly rushed-in and for the past few days my mind has focussed on the years 1963/1964 when I shared a dressing room with Ben at Harrogate Theatre in the world of weekly rep, and its exhausting ritual of 18 hours working days - par for the course! We were
young ambitious actors and Ben was also stretching his wings as Asst Director with occasional productions - in later years he also taught 'technique' at the RADA where he also graduated in the 50s, along with O'Toole, Finney and Courtenay. At Harrogate our repertoire consisted of Shakespeare, Chekhov, Sheridan, Inonesco, Coward, Rattigan; all in the learning curve of weekly rep it was essential to understand that the time factor of six days rehearsal
and the need to formulate only the bones of any role until, say, a midweek matinee when you began to add flesh to the bones with only three performance days left. A nightmare scenario but the only way to keep a sense of sanity. We also had the sense to develop a dressing room empathy and recognise when periods of silence were important. Ben was essentially a lightweight actor and his work in the Aldwych farces, Tons of Money etc, always reminded me of the great Ralph Lynn with his instinctive timing, monocled face and limp hands manipulating
a teacup and saucer could be hilarious. Comedy/farce is always a serious business at best!
Equally, he could play with finesse in Chekhov.
Ben was quickly head-hunted by the NT and RSC and established a national reputation. In the interim, it was a pleasure to work with him when he engaged me to join Colchester Theatre where he was Asst Director. I recall many of his performances at the RNT, particularly in the David Hare trilogy and we've always kept in-touch.
Bless you, dear friend. RIP.
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