best suited the company.
It is usual ly performed as a double bill with The Browning Version which a better known Rattigan play. It tells the story of a minor public school headmaster seeking the approval of a pupil to justify his life and career as he approaches retirement. It is a touching play of emotion, respect and humility.
It would have been interesting to see how John would have approached this but it was not to be. As part of swingeing cuts to social service s and public spending being imposed by central Government (which shows that nothing has really changed from 1986 to 2012) Islington Council dropped the grant for John’s therap y work. He was temporarily unemployed and then joined IMG, the sports publicity company. The work meant he had little time at the present for his outside interests and we had to find a new director.
I knew Ken Wirdnam from the One Act Play Festivals. He was a traditionalist in terms of following the script as it was presented with every stage direction and line. There is nothing wrong with this as playwrights at the peak of their craft such as Rattigan need people like Ken to interpret their writing as they themselves have perceived it will appear in pe r formance .
Even now and with the benefit of hindsight I think it might have been a better mix for Ken to have directed The Browning Version as he did a very good job with it and for John to somehow been able to direct Harlequinade. But it could not happen that way and Ken directed both.
Ken had his own contacts and hired the sets for both plays himself. They were quite simple; The Browning Version needs a wallpapered study with French windows and a door and Harlequinade required very little more than backdrops and curtains. It was left to Roy and me to hire the props.
We had gotten quite used to this and to be honest quite looked forward to our trip to south London . We had both taken leave from work for a day and travelled down to the Old Times Fur nishing Company in Putney and set off around the warehouse.
It was a work of pleasure. It was as if you had all the money you required to furnish your dream study. On the hire sheet went the leather in-laid desk, writing bureau, bookcases with rows of cardboard imitation classics, leather swivel chairs and strong wooden ones, hat stands and filing cabinets and a host of ash trays and writing materials. It was the only real expense for that play and on stage it did look every inch the study of a minor public school headmaster.
We repaired to our adopted local hostelry by the river. As I have mentioned Roy was no Cary Grant but he had that innocent schoolboy ’s love of life and its minor eccentricities.
I can’t remember the name of the pub but it had a large bar with lots of tables and chairs overlooking the river. We had just got a pint and Roy went to the gents. A few minutes later he re-appeared and shouted at me a full twenty feet or more from the door: ‘Hey John, they’ve got orange flavoured condoms in the gents.’
I really don’t know who was more embarrassed; me, the other drinkers or the bar staff. It didn’t matter, some hid in their glass and some just smiled at this very strange Englishman.
Some two or three pints later a couple of attractive young women walked in and looked around for a free table. Roy did n o more than stand up and offer them ours. A few minutes later he was in animated conversation with them. They never appeared insulted or outraged. They just smiled politely and went on to enjoy their drinks whilst Roy and I returned to our former place at the bar and no more was said about it.
I had taken Colin’s advice and taken a week’s leave for the full run of the show. It did change the way I looked at employment for ever. The day started at two o’clock in the afternoon and involved setting the stage for the first scene, clearing the wings and doing any minor repairs to set and props.
Lunch as
It is usual ly performed as a double bill with The Browning Version which a better known Rattigan play. It tells the story of a minor public school headmaster seeking the approval of a pupil to justify his life and career as he approaches retirement. It is a touching play of emotion, respect and humility.
It would have been interesting to see how John would have approached this but it was not to be. As part of swingeing cuts to social service s and public spending being imposed by central Government (which shows that nothing has really changed from 1986 to 2012) Islington Council dropped the grant for John’s therap y work. He was temporarily unemployed and then joined IMG, the sports publicity company. The work meant he had little time at the present for his outside interests and we had to find a new director.
I knew Ken Wirdnam from the One Act Play Festivals. He was a traditionalist in terms of following the script as it was presented with every stage direction and line. There is nothing wrong with this as playwrights at the peak of their craft such as Rattigan need people like Ken to interpret their writing as they themselves have perceived it will appear in pe r formance .
Even now and with the benefit of hindsight I think it might have been a better mix for Ken to have directed The Browning Version as he did a very good job with it and for John to somehow been able to direct Harlequinade. But it could not happen that way and Ken directed both.
Ken had his own contacts and hired the sets for both plays himself. They were quite simple; The Browning Version needs a wallpapered study with French windows and a door and Harlequinade required very little more than backdrops and curtains. It was left to Roy and me to hire the props.
We had gotten quite used to this and to be honest quite looked forward to our trip to south London . We had both taken leave from work for a day and travelled down to the Old Times Fur nishing Company in Putney and set off around the warehouse.
It was a work of pleasure. It was as if you had all the money you required to furnish your dream study. On the hire sheet went the leather in-laid desk, writing bureau, bookcases with rows of cardboard imitation classics, leather swivel chairs and strong wooden ones, hat stands and filing cabinets and a host of ash trays and writing materials. It was the only real expense for that play and on stage it did look every inch the study of a minor public school headmaster.
We repaired to our adopted local hostelry by the river. As I have mentioned Roy was no Cary Grant but he had that innocent schoolboy ’s love of life and its minor eccentricities.
I can’t remember the name of the pub but it had a large bar with lots of tables and chairs overlooking the river. We had just got a pint and Roy went to the gents. A few minutes later he re-appeared and shouted at me a full twenty feet or more from the door: ‘Hey John, they’ve got orange flavoured condoms in the gents.’
I really don’t know who was more embarrassed; me, the other drinkers or the bar staff. It didn’t matter, some hid in their glass and some just smiled at this very strange Englishman.
Some two or three pints later a couple of attractive young women walked in and looked around for a free table. Roy did n o more than stand up and offer them ours. A few minutes later he was in animated conversation with them. They never appeared insulted or outraged. They just smiled politely and went on to enjoy their drinks whilst Roy and I returned to our former place at the bar and no more was said about it.
I had taken Colin’s advice and taken a week’s leave for the full run of the show. It did change the way I looked at employment for ever. The day started at two o’clock in the afternoon and involved setting the stage for the first scene, clearing the wings and doing any minor repairs to set and props.
Lunch as
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