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Rosencrantz & Guildenstern and a cat .....
A programme cover for 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' - image courtesy of and sourced from the University of Wyoming (I was unable to source the original Nottingham Playhouse version although I should have a copy somewhere and this one appealed to me!)
The McEnery Brothers in 'Spotlight' the A-Z Bible of Actors used by television producers and directors when looking to cast their productions - image sourced from worthpoint.com stating : "Very rare Spotlight book page which features the original acting agency card for Peter McEnery. This was taken from the acting Spotlight book from 1982." (No mention of John who is also visible in the image)
It was the year 1972 and we were told that the 'McEnery Brothers are coming!' Peter, the Elder (sounds like Bruegel just an aside and nothing to do with this story) would be 'directing' and would make a special appearance, as well as acting, in one of the title roles with his brother, John in the other. We were informed at Peter carried gravitas and was not to be pestered with trivia (presumably meaning that John could ...) Peter's great claim to fame was that he had provided Hayley Mills with her first grown-up screen kiss in 'The Moonspinners.'
Image sourced from IMDB
To this day, whenever I think of Peter (which really isn't very often) in those far off days, I am actually likely to be thinking of a young American actor, Jason Behr whom we encountered in the television series 'Roswell High' and who made a guest appearance in its revived format 'Roswell, New Mexico' which was not such a big hit with us! Their likeness at a similar age is uncanny.
Both images sourced from IMDB
I've included the 'finger point pose' as it is an endearingly funny revelation and Andrew and I enjoyed it enormously when we saw it for the first time and have taken to replicating the action for our own amusement - as usual I digress!
John would also be appearing as a 'sprightly but conflicted Ariel' in the 'Tempest' which was to have as its lead Hugh Griffith as 'Prospero'.
I am reminded that these were the days post-John Neville and pre-Richard Eyre so in the directing stable shone Stuart Burge in 1972! - Image sourced from the British Newspaper Archive (The Stage, 9th March 1972)
On graduating in 1964, John McEnery was seen in the National Theatre premiere of Peter Shaffer's 'The Royal Hunt of the Sun' before spending three seasons at the Liverpool Everyman. He rejoined the National Theatre for a cynically romantic Hamlet in the premiere of Tom Stoppard's 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' in 1967.
As a sprightly but conflicted Ariel to Hugh Griffith's Prospero (The Tempest) at Nottingham Playhouse, McEnery was part of the first British Council-sponsored tour to France in 1972. As indeed were Angela Scoular (tragic wife of loveable Leslie Phillips), Paul Freeman (such an incredibly nice actor who paid attention to the backstage staff who with John Rhys-Davis [played Buckingham in Richard III below] graduated to amongst other things villainy in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'), Edward (Ted) Brayshaw, Reg Bundy (of the tassels - more later), Stephanie Beacham ('Tenko', The Colbys and Connie) and many regulars from the Nottingham Playhouse ensemble.
Before I start 'marrying up' all the 6 Degrees which involve dog-fights, tassel twirling and links to Nottingham and Derby Playhouses I want to fast forward to 1989. I actually didn't realise there was any connection to 1989 when I discovered this a few days ago so it makes it all the more enriching in its own right. 1989 saw the advent of a cute little kitten sleeping on a deckchair which seemed to appear on everything (gadgets were still a novelty in those days). By the time the age of the computer saddled itself on us, I knew that the first customised mouse mat that I wanted was going to be the little kitten sleeping on the deckchair. No problemo I found it and that was my first mouse mat. It never dawned on me to query who the artist (actually photographer) might be.
Who doesn't instantly recognise these adorable images? Apparently David had a cat called 'Sylvester' (guessing he may have been a black and white?) whom he made very famous but at present other than that reference I haven't found anything else to substantiate the claim.
David McEnery (who instantly reminded me of John) - image sourced from sites.google.com
The other day when I decided to update my Cat Gallery page I decided to do a reverse picture search (I've been using it a lot since discovering its existence) and found a page in French which showed the picture and gave the name of the artist as David McEnery (b. 1936) I didn't twig at first but because McEnery isn't your usual run of the mill surname I thought I'd better try and find something more about this man especially as the only picture of him actually made him resemble Ronnie Woods as he is these days but there was something familiar about the craggy features - the hair colour was wrong as John (b. 1943) was fair and David is dark (but then so is Peter) so I decided to poke about a little more. The Mantovani Galerie confirmed the relationship of the brothers of whom David was the eldest : "David McEnery, English photographer of international fame, comes from a talented family; his brothers are the actors Peter and John McEnery. Born in Walsall (UK) in 1936, David grew up in Brighton. There his professional career started as a newspaper photographer and rapidly rose to international acclaim working with prestigious publications such as "Paris Match", the German "Stern" as well as the legendary "Life" magazine."
'Oh what a tangled web we weave' .... not that I am trying to deceive anyone!
Well if you've been reading my life story you'll know that Nottingham Playhouse was a real 'journey through life learning curve for me' and I discovered many eye-opening facts which although difficult at the time, stood me in good stead in my future life and made certain I didn't repeat any mistakes, or if I did, I made them consciously and had no-one to blame but myself! So what have we here? The brothers McEnery came to Nottingham > bringing with them some additional players who were not part of the usual repertory > Angela Scoular, Paul Freeman, Stephanie Beacham. | The familiar repertory team included Arthur Cox and Ted Brayshaw. The McEnery Brothers did not speak of their eldest brother, David, an artist and photographer.
John and Steph made their way back into each other's arms and eventual marriage in Nottingham, one of my college contemporaries lived in the same house. I had helped Caroline move into that house at the start of the academic year and several years after we had completed our studies she came to Derby Playhouse as a guest designer for 'Witness for the Prosecution' partially set in the Old Bailey. Neither of us knew much about how the Old Bailey works - so, I used my connection with Irene Shubik (she who let 'Rumpole' go to Thames TV) and her friendship with John Mortimer to get us access to his chambers and to visit a courtroom and sit in the gallery whilst his team prosecuted a murder case. I also bought some real props from the Courts shop - authentic pink legal ribbon and a bell-push. My various links to 'Tenko' of which Steph was a part are chronicled elsewhere and of course she returned to Nottingham to film 'Connie.' The only link I have to Peter is through Hayley Mills, she was one of the many famous celebrities invited to the premiere of 'The Lost Boys' produced by my boss Louis Marks at the BBC. (Pictured in Kensington Gardens during the production of the trilogy). John, as seen above played the part of 'Ariel' in the 'Tempest' and Stephanie was one of the chorus of mischievous 'sprites' which also included Reg Bundy. The entire chorus, male and female, were dressed in identical attire, as I remember something like a genie out of a bottle in varying shades of pink. On the last night Reg decided to glitz things up and sparkled up all the costumes and added tassels to the nipple area. These tassels at the appropriate time (not sure whose) then swirled manically as the performers reached the pinnacle of the performance and later at the final curtain call. Angela Scoular (who was much later to marry Leslie Phillips and then tragically take her own life) was Miranda and as such had one of the main dressing rooms where she housed herself and her miniature dog(s). One memorable Saturday afternoon both Angela and Steph arrived at the Stage Door with their toy dogs, Angela had just the one but Steph had two King Charles' and the three of them plus their owners indulged in the cattiest dog-fight I've ever witnessed! (Dogs were forbidden backstage after that little show of one-upmanship!). Angela/Miranda's Prince (and mine) was Paul Freeman whose kindness and friendship I shall never forget. I have followed his career and was pleased to see that he appeared, among others, not only in my favourite (before you take me to task - my favourite MODERN) soap 'Falcon Crest' and one of the most enjoyable adventure films ever 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' Paul played along with my hero-worshipping of him every time he entered the theatre and kindly gave me two personalised and autographed photos of himself. I still have them! Returning to Leslie Phillips briefly, not only is he in definitely my favourite radio comedy 'The Navy Lark' but he also starred in an incredibly odd and salacious film 'Byron's Mine' set in Hucknall! Arthur Cox looked out for me at the theatre and used to treat me to performances (such a Spike Milligan's one night stands) at the Nottingham Festival much of which centred around the Playhouse, he also gave me a signed picture of himself and went on the become the minister's chauffeur in both 'Yes, Minister' and 'Yes, Prime Minister.' Dare I say that these were my favourite political series, well yes they were! After leaving Nottingham Playhouse and eventually landing in Derby Playhouse (where I had re-acquainted myself with Caroline) we hosted Hinge & Bracket one Sunday evening and their accompanist was Ted Brayshaw (who also appeared in a couple of 'Dr. Who' series which links to my boss Louis Marks who wrote several episodes during his career). I think I might call a halt here even though we have only reached the early eighties - suffice it to say that in1989 I fell in love with a sleeping kitten on a deckchair image and thanks to technology in the year 2020 discovered a missing McEnery brother who just happened to be born in 1936 the year the Hucknall Byron opened.
Richard III
Particularly unedifying front cover of the Nottingham Playhouse production of Richard III - image thanks to Leonard Rossiter.com
With all the current interest in the re-internment of King Richard III I'm reminded if my own little 'brush' with this monarch and my unique opportunity of coming face to face with him before literally stitching him up.
In the 1970s, the late great Leonard Rossiter played the eponymous hero (or anti-hero knowing Shakespeare's allegiance to the Tudors and his slight 'skewing' of historical facts) in Richard III at the Nottingham Playhouse. At the time I was lucky enough to be employed as the Saturday Stage Door keeper (and what a dream job it was!). Mr. Rossiter occupied the star dressing room at one end of the long corridor and I occupied the cramped booth at the other. The 'Green Room', stairs to the Front of House and the actual stage entrance were all that separated me from the 'great and good.'
It was the Saturday matinee and the play had commenced; all was quiet backstage, and I settled to read my book when I heard a resounding 'You there!' I didn't really take any notice as the actors often did vocal exercises in the corridor prior to their stage entrances. The second time I heard those words I looked up and there was Richard III in his sky blue and yellow striped costume staring at me, his pose beseeching, belying the stature and menace in his voice as he tried to catch my attention. 'Look,' the apparition said, waving a cap, with fraying seams at me 'look' he said again. I picked up the phone and said to him 'I'll ring Wardrobe and let them know.'
The cap and bodice as I remember them - pale yellow** and sky blue - image thanks to Leonard Rossiter.com
He looked at me askance (the hump and twisted stance making him look even more disturbing) and quite solemnly, without the slightest hint of the impatience he obviously felt said very clearly 'You're a woman aren't you? You can use needle and thread?' - not quite yet a woman, but a needle and thread I most certainly could and did use to stitch up that cap to ensure the timely entrance, properly attired, of his most sovereign majesty Richard III when his cue was announced over the backstage tannoy.
** Talking of the colour scheme I totally forgot that after the production the Wardrobe Department sold off the material remnants that wouldn't amount to anything much and although I would have preferred the blue, I ended up with the bright canary yellow piece of thick, stiff very beautiful satin that had been used. My late mother, who was a first class bespoke tailoress whilst we were growing up and retained her skills throughout her life, made me a blouse from a Biba design in the catalogues. Goodness knows how that would be received these days, but my mother only had to look at a picture in a magazine or a hand drawn sketch and she could reproduce it!
These two scans (from my own Biba collection) show the reproduced blouse in question (nos. 11 and 13) - I had bought an original brown blouse which was in quite a soft fleecy flannelette in dark brown and much more comfortable to wear than the satin as I recall! (And the proof is that I wore it until it shredded from wear, tear and careful washing!)
Richard III Revived
I know, I know, I'm becoming the resident Hucknall eccentric! Guess what - they printed my letter on Good Friday (3rd April 2015)!
It's nice to be published but those spelling errors below the picture are appalling AND I was never a stage hand!
Not being able to help myself, I also published this on Facebook as I was reminded that cats can look Kings in the face :
It is said a cat may look upon a king :
"Some hear and see him whom he heareth nor seeth not
But fields have eyes and woods have ears, ye wot
And also on my maids he is ever tooting.
Can ye judge a man, (quoth I), by his looking?
What, a cat may look on a king, ye know!
My cat's leering look, (quoth she), at first show,
Showeth me that my cat goeth a caterwauling;
And specially by his manner of drawing
To Madge, my fair maid."
Here is our Tinkerbelle gazing upon the article I wrote for fun (but true) as all the hoopla concerning Richard III was going on which was published in today's Hucknall Dispatch
Richard III and the Cinzano Adverts with Joan Collins
Once seen - never forgotten the Cinzano ads starring Leonard Rossiter and Joan Collins - image sourced from and courtesy of The Advertising Archives - watch the full compilation of the ads on YouTube
Well, why shouldn't I lay claim to this fun experience - I loved drinking Cinzano in the 1970s (before graduating to Campari) and I had already developed a small crush on Leonard Rossiter whilst working on Richard III. I seem to quite like craggy-looking men! Without realising that she was a 'starlet' in it, I was a big fan of a film called 'Land of the Pharaohs' which starred Joan and had an amazing ending when the pyramid was spectacularly closed up together with everyone inside (bold decision for the writer/director in 1955 I might add) ... I'll never forget that and it still fascinates me whenever I see a re-run. We definitely saw the film the first time in a cinema because I remember well the visual impact it made on me on the big screen. But the real deal-maker is the fact that these adverts were the brain child of one (Sir) Alan Parker, regrettably recently deceased. In 1976 (the year of 'Bugsy Malone') he was well-enough known on the BBC's 5th Floor Drama Plays department (of which, I of course was a shining light). He was a big buddy of Mark Shivas and his cohorts - I had the misfortune, at the time to still being shackled to Irene Shubik, and circumstances made it such that I had to share an office with Janet. Janet was Mark Shivas secretary and had naturally blonde hair, blue eyes (with no visible eyebrows) and that beautifully flawless pink and white skin. Janet was in 'awe' of everything around her having come straight into work after obtaining her typing and shorthand credentials and was really the 'innocent abroad'. Apart from Dot and myself and one other secretary, the majority of the ladies were all nearing retirement. In fact, in the case of Gwen, she had retired and been brought back simply because she was the only one of the team who could reign in a certain producer! By their standards Dot and I were small-fry at the age of 24 or thereabouts with higher education behind us and Janet was considered an amoeba. But, Alan saw something in her and whisked her off to his newly founded film (soon to be) empire. I remember Janet spent hours on the phone to her parents and equal amounts of time primping in the loos. I avoided the primping but had to listen to endless hours of angst on the phone and of course the big argument; her parents didn't want her to leave the BBC as she could have made a career there and they had never heard of Alan Parker - you can imagine the conversations. Although there were tears it didn't end in tears as such as Janet went off into the film horizon world with the (eventual Sir) Alan Parker.
Page refreshed : 4th January 2021 (G)