Discover Top Posts Tagged with #simon gray

James Wilby, as Stuart in Simon Gray's play, The Common Pursuit in 1988.

#james wilby #theatre #simon gray #The Common Pursuit #1989 #Stuart #my

my humble gift to the three blogs who post about these two hopeless homosexuals

#richard o'callaghan #alan bates #butley #simon gray #theatre #butley 1974

NO, MR BOND, I EXPECT YOU TO GIVE A BOOK!

"If you can support GIVE A BOOK it’s the most brilliant present for someone you'll never know. But you'll have shared something special with them anyway… a love for books!”

Today’s article in the Daily Express.

#toby stephens #books #give a book #charity #simon gray #black sails #reading #daily express

A Phoenix Theatre, 3 fold (A4) leaflet for the Simon Gray stage play, The Common Pursuit and promotion poster. First performed April 7th 1988.

With Rik Mayall, Stephen Fry, John Sessions, John Gordon Sinclair, Sarah Berger and Paul Mooney.

#rik mayall #the common pursuit #simon gray #stephen fry #john sessions #john gordon sinclair #paul mooney #sarah berger #1988 #phoenix theatre

Stephen Fry (Humphrey), Rik Mayall (Nick), John Gordon-Sinclair (Peter) in THE COMMON PURSUIT written & directed by Simon Gray at the Palace Theatre, Watford, England: 03/03/1988.

#Stephen Fry #The Common Pursuit #Rik Mayall #John Gordon-Sinclair #Simon Gray

The only real problem that I had when in rehearsal with 'The Common Pursuit' was, of course, Rik. His voice was still raspy, although the screech had gone, but there was a dreadful assemblage of comic tricks - funny walks, shakings of his body, rollings of the eyes, meaningless mad glares - he'd imported all this stuff into the world of 'The Common Pursuit', which had no room for it. I was in despair. I knew he thought he was offering something valuable, the Rik-original-and-inventive-comic that his fans loved - and I felt there would be a kind of cruelty in refusing him the gifts he was bringing to me. What I didn't realize was that these gifts were self-protective, a disguise, and that Rik was frightened of being seen unadorned by them. [...] It turned out to be both exciting and easy. All I had to do was say, 'Don't', 'Don't do this here', 'Don't do that there', 'You don't need this ', 'You don't need that' - a succession of sympathetic negatives which Rik accepted with a kind of welcoming relief, as if he'd hoped for this, longed for this exposure. And what was exposed, what he exposed to us in the rehearsal room, was not just that he was a true actor but that he could be a great one.

Simon Gray, Fat Chance

#rik mayall #I'm so glad he did dramatic roles at times too #he was such a good actor #and SO CHARISMATIC #he could have been a total heartthrob movie star if he wanted #simon gray #fat chance #the common pursuit