YEAR
THE PLAY
Part
THEATRE
Company
PART
Other Cast Members
1984
The Devils
The Pit
Royal Shakespeare Company
De la Rochepozay / Father Ambrose
Peter McEnery
1983/4
Moby Dick
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Captain Peleg / The Carpenter
Brian Fox, Nigel Terry,
Philip Madoc
1982
Hamlet
Young Vic, London
First Player / Gravedigger
Edward Fox (as Hamlet)
1979
The Family Reunion
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
transferred to The Roundhouse
then the Vaudeville, London
Dr Warburton
Edward Fox, Joanna David
1978
One Man Battle
Crime and Punishment
Open Air Theatre,
Regents Park, London
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
One man show
Marmaladov
Tom Courteney, Leo McKern
1977
Henry V
Open Air Theatre,
Regents Park, London
Chorus
Celia Imrie
1976
The Three Sisters
Cambridge Theatre, London
(directed by Jonathan Miller)
1975
The Cocktail Party
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester / Manchester Cathedral
Nora Swinburne
1973/4
Agincourt,
The Archer's Tale
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
and on tour at many venues thereafter
One man show
1973
The Family Reunion
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Dr Warburton
Edward Fox, Joanna David,
Nora Swinburne
1971
Mister
The Duchess Theatre, London
Freddie Jones
1969
Martin Luther King
Spithead
The Black Swan Winter
Greenwich Theatre, London
Greenwich Theatre, London
Hampstead Theatre Club,
London
The Interlocutor
Nina Baden-Semper, Derek Griffiths
Lord Howe
Sam Pitt
Eric Thompson
1967
Getting Married
Edinburgh Festival
then New Theatre, Oxford,
Strand Theatre, London
General Bridgenorth
Ian Carmichael, Alec Clunes, Moira Lister, Googie Withers, Raymond Huntley, Hugh Williams
1966
The Winter's Tale
The Trojan Women
Edinburgh Festival/
Cambridge Theatre, London
Edinburgh Festival
Camillo
Moira Remond, Jane Asher, Jim Dale, Diana Churchill
Menelaus
Moira Redmond
1965
SEASON
Dandy Dick
Oedipus The King &
Oedipus At Colonus
Four Thousand Brass Halfpennies
The Wakefield Mystery Plays
The Left-handed Liberty
Mermaid Theatre, London
Sir Tristram Mardon
Sonia Dresdel
Creon
Amphitryon
James Bolam, Freddie Jones
Not known
William Marshal, Patrick Wymark,
Denise Coffey
1964
The Gift
Not known
Not known
(produced by Ivan Stanislaw)
1962/3
SEASON
The Alchemist
Peer Gynt
The Merchant of Venice
Measure For Measure
The Old Vic, London
Lovewit
Three Parts
Antonio
Pompey
1962
Two Stars For Comfort
Garick Theatre, London
Drake
Trevor Howard
1961
Beckett
The Lady From The Sea
Globe / Aldwych,
London
Golders Green Hippodrome /
Queen's Theatre, London
King Louis
Christopher Plummer, Diana Rigg,
Eric Porter
Ballested
Vanessa Redgrave, Margaret Leighton
1960/61
The Taming of the Shrew
Aldwych Theatre, London
Baptista
Vanessa Redgrave, Diana Rigg
1960
A Piece of Silver
Belgrave Theatre, Coventry /
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Martin Keller
Joyce Heron, Derek Fowlds
1957
The Country Wife
Chelsea Palace Theatre, London
Joan Plowright, Esme Percy, Robert Stephens, Terence Morgan
1956
The Caine Mutiny Court Martial
Hippodrome, London
also Bristol Hippodrome
Captain Southard
Lloyd Nolan, Robert Hardy
1954
Bell, Book and Candle
Bell, Book and Candle
Phoenix Theatre, London
Streatham Hill Theatre, London
Rex Harrison
Lilli Palmer, Athene Seyler
Sidney Redlitch
Joan Greenwood, Athene Sayler
1953
The Emperor's New Clothes
Ethel Barrymore Theatre,
New York
The Baron
Lee J Cobb
1952
Montserrat
Miranda, Magistrate,
Family Reunion,
Ring Around the Moon,
Travellers Joy
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
following 6 nights at Arts Theatre, Cambridge
The Bermuda Theatre, Hamilton, Bermuda
(Moral Re-Armament Company)
Salcedo
Richard Burton
Nora Swinburne, Eric Berry
1951
Heloise
Caesar and Cleopatra /
Anthony and Cleopatra
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
following 6 nights at Arts Theatre, Cambridge
St James's Theatre, London
Hugo
Mervyn Johns, Nigel Green
(directed by Michael Powell)
Belzanor (Antony and Cleopatra)
Menas (Caesar and Cleopatra)
Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Peter Cushing, Robert Helpmann
1950
Who Is Sylvia?
Wild Violets
Bartholomew Fair
Criterion Theatre, London
St James's Theatre, London
Assembley Rooms, Edinburgh
Old Vic Company
Williams
Roland Culver, Athene Seyler
Adele Dixon, Charlotte Greenwood
Tom Quarlous
Roger Lives, Alec Clunes
1949
Caroline
The Arts Club, London
Dr Cornish
Nora Swinburne
1948
The Relapse
The Phoenix Theatre, London
Not known
1948/9
SEASON
Hamlet
The Taming of the Shrew
The Winter's Tale
Troilus and Cressida
King John
The Merchant of Venice
Royal Shakespeare Company,
Stratford-Upon-Avon
The company included Robert Helpmann,
Claire Bloom, Diana Wynward, Paul Scofield,
John Justin, William Squire, Alfie Bass,
Douglas Wilmer, Godfrey Tearle, Anthony Quayle.
Ghost / Gravedigger
Robert Helpmann as Hamlet
Christopher Sly
Leontes
Thersites
Chatillon
Gratiano
1946
SEASON
Romeo and Juliet
Saint Joan
Man and Superman
In Time to Come
Elektra
The Wiser Have Not Spoken
King's Theatre, Hammersmith
The company included Renee Asherson,
Douglas Wilmer, Basil Langton,
Lewis Casson, Michael Goodliffe,
Sibyl Thorndyke
Mercutio
Rene Asherson (as Juliet)
The Inquisitor
Henry Straker
Senator Lodge
A Messenger
Not known
1944/5
The Three Waltzes
The Prince's Theatre, London
also pre-West End run at Bristol Hippodrome and The Opera House, Manchester
(October 1944)
Richard Wessex
Evelyn Laye, Frances Clare
1944
Crisis in Heaven
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
English Soldier Courage
(first stage role since blinded)
1943
Seventy Years of Song
Royal Albert Hall, London
Esmond sang in this show
one night only
(16th June 1943)
1940
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Peaceful Inn
SEASON
The Importance of Being Ernest
Through The Night
The Peaceful Inn
Open Air Theatre,
Regents Park, London
Duke of York's Theatre, London
King's Theatre, Hammersmith
Margaret Vines
Nora Swinburne
Co-Manager with Wilson Barrett
Not known
Calvin Driscoll
Alan Harper
1939
SEASON
You Can't Take It With You
The Enchanted Cottage
Tonight at 8.30
Mind Over Murder
Love From a Stranger
Full House
Quality Street
Autumn Crocus
The Middle Watch
French Without Tears
It's a Boy
Goodness, How Sad!
Private Lives
The Green Pack
Tell Her The Truth
Empire Theatre, Edinburgh
Co-Manager with Wilson Barrett
1939
SEASON
Tonight at 8.30
Night Must Fall
Autumn Crocus
Fallen Angels
Rain
You Can't Take It With You
George and Margaret
First Stop North
King's Theatre, Hammersmith
Co-Manager with Wilson Barrett
Commander Peter Gilpin
(Hands Across The Sea)
George Pepper
(Red Peppers)
Danny
Dame May Witty
Nora Swinburne
1938
The White Guard
Twelfth Night
Crest of the Wave
The Melody That Got Lost
Phoenix Theatre, London
Phoenix Theatre, London
On Tour
Phoenix Theatre, London
Williams
Roland Culver, Athene Seyler
Orsino
Frances Clare, Dorothy Dickson, Finlay Currie
Glynis Johns, Dorothy Hyson,
Margaret Rutherford
1937
Van Gogh
Wise Tomorrow
Arts Theatre Club, London
Lyric Theatre, London
Vincent Van Gogh
Wilson Barrett
Peter Marsh
Nora Swinburne, Martita Hunt,
Diana Churchill, Naunton Wayne
1936
Night Must Fall
The Melody That Got Lost
The Little Ol' Boy
The Insect Play
Playhouse Theatre, London
Embassy Theatre,
Swiss Cottage, London
Arts Theatre,
London
Playhouse Theatre, London
Danny
Patricia Hayes, Albert Chevalier
Glynis Johns, Kay Walsh, May Hallatt
Frances Clare, Dorothy Dickson,
Finlay Currie
Parasite / Chief Engineer
Robert Helpmann
1934
Hamlet
Streamline
The Three Sisters
Sadlers Wells, London
Opera House, Manchester / Palace Theatre, London
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Williams
Roland Culver, Athene Seyler
Various roles
(a review)
Gypsy Hood
1932
Wild Violets
The Child Born at the Plough
Love For Love
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
Barn Theatre, Small Hythe, Kent
Faculty of Arts
Williams
Roland Culver, Athene Seyler
Moses
Valentine
1931/2
Waltzes From Vienna
Alhambra Theatre, London
Strauss The Younger
1931
Salome
Rahere
Much Ado About Nothing
(excerpt)
Masque of Comus
Gate Theatre, London
Barn Theatre, Small Hythe, Kent
Barn Theatre, Small Hythe, Kent
(3rd anniversary performance
in memory of Ellen Terry)
Westminster School, London
Young Syrian
Tom Heslewood
Balthazar
The Attendant Spirit
Frances Clare
1930
Mr Eno - His Birth, Death and Life
Hamlet
The Arts Club, London
Queen's Theatre, London
Munro
Rosencrantz
John Gielgud (as Hamlet)
1929
The Return of the Puritan
Art and Mrs Bottle
Improper People
Maya
The Man I Killed
Fashion
The Hippodrome, Golders Green, London
Criterion Theatre, London
Arts Theatre,
London
Studio des Theatres des Champs-Elysees, Paris
Paris
Kingsway Theatre, London
Not known
Michael Stockfield
Joan Barry
Not known
Not known
Not known
Frances Clare
1928
Today and Tomorrow
Manager and the Robbers
Spare a Copper
The Old Sailor
Bloweth the Wind
To What Red Hell
Fashion
Contraband
The Pocket Money Husband
Children's Theatre, London
Gate Theatre, Wyndhams Theatre,
London
Gate Theatre,
London
Prince's Theatre, London
The Arts Club, London
Today
(Today and Tomorrow)
San Too
(Manager and the Robbers)
Michael Allen
Frederick Peiseley
Not known
Hobart
At least 3 roles
Madeleine Caroll, Emlyn Williams
1927/8
Yellow Sands
On Tour
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Arthur Varwell
Frances Clare
1927
Othello
The Old Vic, London
Not known
1926
The Return
The Everyman, Hampstead, London
Phillips / A Sargeant
Peggy Ashcroft
1926/7
SEASON
Macbeth
King John
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Dr Syn
The Tempest
Richard III
Hamlet
Twelfth Night
She Stoops to Conquer
The Chester Nativity Play
The Old Vic, London
and on tour of South Coast theatres
Messenger / Young Siward
The Lord Bigot
Philostrate
Juvenile Lead
Adrian
Marquis of Dorset
Guildenstern
Eric Portman
Fabian
Tom Twist
A Teddy Bear
1925/6
SEASON
Richard III
The Merchant of Venice
A Winter's Tale
The Shoemaker's Holiday
Trelawny of the Wells
The Taming of the Shrew
As You Like It
Antony and Cleopatra
Romeo and Juliet
Much Ado About Nothing
Measure For Measure
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Julius Caesar
The Daughter of the Regiment
opera by Donizetti
The Old Vic, London
Marquis of Dorset
Messenger
Edith Evans
Not known
Singer, Crowd
Margaret Rutherford, Edith Evans, Ball Holloway
Not known
Basrtholomew / A Page
Sir Oliver Martext
First Guard
Gregory
Extra
Extra
Extra
Extra
Dancer
1925
Curiosity
The Wild Duck
Pax Robertson's Salon, London
Pax Robertson's Salon, London
Arlecchino
Old Ekdal
(First stage appearance)