During Barty's Party in the TV Times

For many ITV regions, including my area Granada, During Barty's Party was the first episode of Beasts shown. To launch the new series the listings magazine TV Times carried an interview with writer Nigel Kneale. However, the issue covering 15th - 22nd October 1976 reserved it's cover slot for the series The New Avengers which also debuted on the same night.

Inside the magazine pages two and three contained an interview with Kneale promoting his new series. Written by Stewart Knowles the article was titled The Great Utility Monster, a reference to the monster featured in the episode The Dummy.

Page two of the interview featured a tantalising first glimpse of the creature, which ignited my imagination and ensured I would be tuning in. 

The listing for Friday provided an episode synopsis which was both enticing and exciting. "The most terrible and irrational beast of all, is the one that hides within ourselves."

"An invasion of poison-proof super rats with human intelligence." To complete the coverage the magazine also provided a boxout with an image of Angie and Roger dressed in some kind of protective gear. Just what was happening? There was no way I was going to miss this. I wasn't disappointed...

Spotlight: Anthony Waller (Production Designer - During Barty's Party / Buddyboy / What Big Eyes)

 Anthony Waller was a production designer and set designer active in theatre and television from the late 1950s until the early 1980s when he was the Head of Design at ATV. Born as Anthony Edward Pratt, and occasionally known as Anthony Wallis, he started as a set dresser for the BBC working on live plays and productions from the late 1940s onwards. During this period he was also toiling away as a set designer in theatre - a notable highlight being his sets for a production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice performed at the Library Theatre in Manchester. Sir Peter Hall was the director with a cast that included Frank Windsor, Peter Jeffrey and Clifford Rose. Waller began regular design work for ATV in 1957 working on drama and light entertainment shows, though later on he tended to specialise in drama presentations.

The Market at Honey Lane (produced by future Beasts director John Cooper) was a soap opera set in an open air market in London and can now be seen as shadowing the later successful format of Eastenders. The programme would be a challenge for Waller as over three quarters of each episode were videotaped in a street market constructed in the grounds of Elstree Studios. The Stage trade newspaper interviewed Waller about his creation shortly before the series was transmitted; “John Cooper gave me the basic requirements like the number of stalls needed, sizes and so forth. Then I toured every London street market to see the real thing and sketched what I saw. What we have created is a London street market. Not one, but all of them – combined.[1]”

The set was extensive including a theatre, a betting shop, a pub, a restaurant, a night-club, a strip-joint, a barber’s shop, a bookshop and a mews called Apple Yard which led off Honey Lane[2]. Apple Yard consisted mainly of lock-ups and garages where the stallholders stored their gear. The production design was highlighted by several contemporary reviews including one in The Stage which opened with “Market in Honey Lane looks like the real thing. Filmed, surely, somewhere in Soho, it had as an incidental landmark a sign advertising strip-tease. That, along with the breath clouds on frosty air, was enough to convince me.[3]”

Created by Lewis Griefer Who-Dun-It, was an ATV series that combined mystery thrillers with an element of audience participation. Each week Inspector Jeremy Moon (played by Gary Raymond) would investigate a baffling murder case. Viewers where invited to submit their own solutions to the mystery before Moon would reveal his findings. The series can be seen as a forerunner to the later panel show Whodunnit? which did away with the audience input and instead had celebrities delivering their verdicts. Waller was one of the main designers on the series.

One of the more prestigious productions Waller worked during the 1970s was the period biographical drama series Edward the Seventh (1^st April – 1^st July 1975) which starred Timothy West as the English monarch. Waller oversaw all thirteen episodes alongside his fellow ATV staff designer Henry Graveney and both shared the BAFTA Award for Best Television Design at the 1976 awards ceremony in recognition of their skill and achievement.

During the 1980s Waller undertook design work on The Further Adventures of Oliver Twist (2^nd March – 1^st June 1980), which featured Beasts actor Pauline Quirke in the cast, as well as the biographical drama series I Remember Nelson (21^st February – 18^th April 1982). Both capitalised on his attention to rich period detail in his production design and would be his final credits before promotion. After serving as the head of the design department at ATV Waller retired and lived in Bexhill-On-Sea, East Sussex. He died 1^st June 2003.

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[1] “Series  To Show Harsh Side of Market Life”, The Stage, Thursday 16^th March 1967, page 14

[2] The Stage, Thursday 16^th March 1967, page 14

[3] “New Series Padded Out Too Much” by N Alice Frick, The Stage, Thursday 6^th April 1967, page 12

Spotlight: Don Taylor (Director - During Barty's Party and Buddyboy) Part Two

After four years as a staff director Taylor suddenly found that his contract was not to be renewed. Instead he would continue to work for the BBC on a freelance basis. Towards the end of September 1965 he directed a theatre revival of Fanny’s First Play at the Mermaid Theatre. His first freelance director work for the BBC was And Did Those Feet? (2^nd June 1965), another Taylor / Mercer collaboration. The play was partly filmed on location in a candle lit public swimming at night and was a fantasy essay on madness and eccentricity. The production proved to be costly and Taylor had to request additional resources to complete the project which was noted by BBC Drama Department management and eventually used as an excuse to not employ him for several years. In effect Taylor found himself black listed from working within the department, though this did not prevent him from working for different departments within the corporation.

Theatre work for this period included a revival of the Bernard Shaw play The Philanderer at the Mermaid Theatre during January and February 1966. The cast included his wife Ellen Dryden and Wensley Pithey, who would later play Mr Liversedge in the Beasts episode ‘Special Offer’. Taylor also directed a version of the play The Swallows, written by Ronald Dubillard, at the Traverse Theatre Club, Edinburgh during September 1966 and then the New Arts Theatre Club during October 1966. Taylor then wrote and directed the play Grounds for Marriage presented by the Traverse Theatre Club in Edinburgh during June 1967. This was the first play Taylor wrote for the stage. Taylor also wrote the stage play Sisters which was presented at the Northcot Theatre, Exeter during August and November 1968. The Citizen’s Theatre in Glasgow staged Sam Foster Comes Home, written by Taylor, during October 1969. The play centred on the character Sam Foster who has opted out of society because he refuses to compromise his beliefs.

The Woman From The Shadows (19^th January 1969) was the first of six films that Taylor directed for the BBC Arts Department for the documentary series Omnibus. Narrated by William Hurndall the programme dramatized the life and work of the poet William Wordsworth. Bernard Horsfall, who would appear in the Beasts episode ‘The Dummy’, played Wordsworth. Taylor himself would script several of these Omnibus episodes.Theatre wise Taylor had an immense success with The Roses of Eyam (1970) which was in almost continuous production for several years after it debuted. The play was based on real events that occurred in a small Derbyshire village in the 17^th Century. A bundle of clothes from plague riddled London arrives in the village with disastrous consequences. The village takes the decision to isolate itself from the outside world in a bid to stop the plague infecting over nearby villages. In effect the village voted to succumb to the plague and sacrificed itself to save others. The played debuted at the Northcott theatre on 23^rd September with a cast that included a small role for John Rhys Davies who Taylor would employ to provide radio voices for the Beasts episode ‘During Barty’s Party’.

His second Omnibus episode, It’ll Be All Live on the Night (1^st November 1970), was a documentary that looked at the state of regional theatre in the UK. Taylor scripted the programme which examined the theatres, and their artistic directors, in Exeter, Windsor, Stoke on Trent and Nottingham. The third Omnibus submission was Paradise Restored (2^nd January 1972) which was again written by Taylor. The episode was a dramatization of the life of John Milton, as played by John Neville, which was well acclaimed by critics. Taylor also scripted his fourth Omnibus episode, Actor, I Said (9^th April 1972) which had a solid cast that included Barry Foster and Martin Jarvis

Taylor found himself in the director’s chair for the BBC Drama Department after several years (his line managers who blacklisted him long since departed) for the BBC 2 play Prisoners (7^th April 1971), a two hander starring Edward Woodward as a prisoner and Warren Mitchell as his jailer. The Stage gave the play a glowing review: “The direction, by the author himself, Don Taylor, had the two characters jumping up and down every few seconds and rushing about like mad as is often the case in conversation pieces. But on this occasion it did not in fact jar – it seemed as natural and uncontrived as anyone has the right to expect artifice to be. Some of the camera movements were really quite delicious.[1]”

Next was the play ‘The Exorcism’ (5^th November 1972), a truly disturbing episode of the BBC horror anthology series Dead of Night, which has become a key work in the area of Folk Horror. Taylor dug beneath the usual surface dressings of the genre subverting the material to become what has been described as a “socialist ghost story[2]” when the suffering of long dead paupers impinges on the world of the well to do middle class. The play featured Clive Swift who would later feature in the Beasts instalment ‘The Dummy’.

Taylor also wrote his next directorial project, The Roses of Eyam (12^th June 1973), based on his stage play. The production was nominated for the best original teleplay by the Writers’ Guild. Taylor then returned to the documentary programme Omnibus with the episode The Runaway (18^th November 1973). Taylor’s first directing work for independent television followed with the ATV play The Person Responsible (1974) and Visitors (1974) both written by his wife Ellen Dryden. Taylor was not a fan of independent television, but he relished the chance to produce some of his wife’s work for television.

His final contribution to the series Omnibus was Find Me (8^th December 1974) written by David Mercer. Anthony Hopkins, David Collings and Charlotte Cornwell starred. The production was shot on film during 1973 and was the story of Polish novelist, wartime poet and political figure Marek (Hopkins). This was the sixth Mercer script that Taylor had directed. The stage version of The Exorcism opened at the Comedy Theatre, London in 1975. The production’s main star, actress Mary Ure, died suddenly after the opening night which resulted in the tabloid newspapers having a field day suggesting links between her demise and the supernatural forces present in the play. Despite all the publicity the play only ran for a month before closing. Taylor himself had tried to stop the play as he felt the production company was not interested in the allegorical messages in the drama. Instead he felt that they just wanted to cash in on the then present craze for Satanism and the supernatural amongst the British public and inspired by the film The Exorcist.  Taylor objected to the play being rewritten and sensationalised and tried to prevent production but withdrew not wanting to enter into a public row with the producers.

The two episodes of Beasts were his next directing project and would be a highlight of his experiences working for ITV. Interviewed in The Stage in 1977 Taylor stated “I work very little for ITV, merely because they don’t very often do the kind of thing I want to do. There have been exceptions. I had a very satisfactory association with Nicholas Palmer at ATV.[3]” Palmer was the producer of Beasts.

It was back to the BBC for his first contribution to the BBC 2 Playhouse series writing and directing the episode ‘Dad’ (23^rd April 1976) and this was followed up with the episode ‘The Achurch Letters’ (12^th January 1977). This was also written and directed by Taylor and focussed on the relationship between the writer George Bernard Shaw and a drug addicted actress. During June 1977 Taylor directed a version of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure at the St. George’s Theatre in Tufnell Park. His first of three contributions to the BBC Play of the Month drama anthology came with an adaptation of the Harley Granville Parker play ‘Waste’ (4^th December 1977), first written in 1907 and immediately banned by the stage censor, the Lord Chamberlain, due to explicit dialogue around the topic of male and female relations and references to abortion. Taylor’s adaptation found little favour with the viewing audience with the majority of viewers watching The Silver Jubilee Royal Gala on ITV.

Taylor then became actively involved in the first season of a new flagship drama anthology for the his old employer. BBC 2 Play of the Week saw three episodes directed by Taylor with two of them also written by him. His first episode was the experimental ‘Flayed’ (22^nd February 1978), which he also wrote, and starred Timothy Bateson and Ian Holm. The action took place in a deserted television studio containing five characters, each there for a different reason. This was quickly followed with a remake of ‘For Tea on Sunday’ (29^th March 1978) which Taylor had originally directed 15 years earlier. This time the play’s destructive ending did not warrant a wave of complaints from the viewers. At the time Taylor said that the play “was meant to foretell the coming rage of a world torn apart by capitalism and terrorism.[4]”
The third play was ‘When Actors Come’ (3^rd May 1978) which was also written by Taylor. Manning Wilson was cast as the narrator of the story. Taylor revised this play for the stage debuting the production at the Forum, Wythenshawe performed by members of the Manchester Library Theatre Company from 2^nd February 1979. Other theatre credits during this period included directing a version of Julius Caesar at St George’s Theatre starring Bernard Hepton as Caesar during April 1979

Taylor then turned his attention to the Arthur Miller play The Crucible (12^th April 1980) directing an epic 165 minute television production which included the seldom performed third act. The distinguished cast included Sarah Berger, making her television debut as Abigail, Denis Quilley, Anna Cropper, Daniel Massey, Eric Porter and Peter Vaughan. Further down the cast list was a young Sarah Sutton who would later feature as Doctor Who companion Nyssa. Taylor’s third contribution to BBC 2 Playhouse was ‘In Hiding’ (15^th March 1980) with Taylor directing and writing a story about a teenager learning about life and death while staying with his aunt during the summer holidays. Denholm Elliott and Tim Piggot Smith featured in the cast.  Taylor’s final BBC 2 Playhouse episode was ‘A Last Visitor for Mr Hugh Peter’ (30^th January 1981) which he again directed and wrote. The story saw Hugh Peter (Peter Vaughan) alone in a prison cell awaiting his fate. He was once a member of Oliver Cromwell’s army and has now been sentenced to death. While he waits he is visited by various characters including Charles I and the black figure of death. Gary Watson, who had provided voice over work for ‘During Barty’s Party’, was cast by Taylor as the personification of Death. The play broke the fourth wall by having the main character suddenly break off and wander over to join a studio discussion about the production half way through the programme.

Taylor made a rare excursion into the ongoing series format when he directed four episodes of Maybury which starred Patrick Stewart as a psychiatrist working at Maybury General Hospital. ‘Not To Worry, Everything Is Under Control’ (23^rd June 1981), ‘Trouble At Home’ (30^th June 1981), ‘Eddie’ (28^th July 1981) and ‘Weekend’ (4^th August 1981). He returned to BBC Play of the Month with two consecutive episodes; ‘The Critic’ (23^rd August 1982) and ‘The White Guard’ (20^th September 1982). October and December 1983 saw a version of Taylor’s play The Exorcism, now based on his original script, toured with Kate O’Mara playing Mary Ure’s role.

His next BBC production was a version of Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona (27^th December 1983). The one off drama The Testament of John (28^th April 1984) was also written by Taylor. The Theban Plays by Sophocles were a trio of dramas all directed by Taylor and also translated by him; ‘Oedipus The King’ (16^th September 1986), ‘Oedipus At Colonus’ (17^th September 1986) and ‘Antigone’ (19^th September 1986). In December 1986 it was announced that Taylor had been appointed as the new artistic director for Compass Theatre, a company led by Sir Anthony Quayle. Quayle and Taylor had met when they both worked on The Theban Plays for BBC 2. His first task was directing a version of King Lear in April 1987. Other productions included The Government Inspector in May 1988

Taylor’s final directorial work for the BBC was two plays for the drama anthology Theatre Night; ‘Bingo: Scenes of Money and Deat’ (30^th June 1990) and ‘Iphigenia at Aulis’ (21^st July 1990) which he also translated. Further episodes were planned but were suddenly cancelled without any obvious explanation. Disillusioned with the medium Taylor decided to withdraw from the industry and he never made another programme. Since the 1980s Taylor and his wife had been running a children’s theatre company near their home in Chiswick. Taking this experience as a basis the couple decided to set up First Writes, a professional theatre company which would produce plays for the radio as well as mount stage productions mostly in East Anglia. He also published a memoir about his career in television and working alongside David Mercer titled Days of Vision.

He still undertook radio and stage work including Retreat from Moscow written and directed by Taylor at New End theatre, Hampstead during January 1993. For Radio 4’s Monday Play strand Taylor wrote Underworld (21^st February 1994) as well as writing and directing Merely Players (29^th April 1996). Further Radio 4 work included Where Three Roads Meet (24^th April 1998) which featured a vicar who had lost his faith in the existence of God. Taylor adapted and directed a three part version of The Decameron for BBC Radio 4 broadcast from 12^th July 1998 and directed a three part radio drama serial, Rites of Passage, starting 23^rd August 1998. Radio 4 transmitted a version of the play Moliere, or the League of Hypocrites (31^st October 1999) directed by Taylor and Ballet Shoes, adapted by Ellen Dryden, for Radio 4 during December 1999. In April and June 2000 BBC Radio 4 showcased a series of dramas written or directed by Taylor. The run included Walking to Africa (April 2000) as well as murder thriller Confessions of a Justified Sinner (April 2000). Both plays were written by James Hogg. In June Radio 4 transmitted Taylor’s 45 minute play about guilt, A Visitation (June 2000), starring John Wood, Julian Glover and Prunella Scales. August saw Taylor directing Losing Rosalind (August 2000) written by Ellen Dryden.

Taylor died on 11^th November 2003 in Banham, Norfolk aged 67 after a long battle with colon cancer which eventually spread to his brain. The Guardian obituary defined Taylor as “a figure of towering purpose and austerity in the years when television drama was the true national theatre[5].”  The Stage proclaimed “Don Taylor was one of Britain’s most innovative and respected television directors.[6]” Taylor had married the actress and writer Ellen Dryden (1938-2022) in 1960 and the union had one daughter, Lucy, and one son, Jon, an actor and writer.

The last play Taylor wrote for radio, A Nice Little Trip to Spain (4^th May 2004) investigated the mystery of why a socialist volunteer in the Spanish Civil War was buried alongside fascists. Taylor’s son portrayed one of the characters in the play. A celebration of Don Taylor’s life and work took place at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden on Sunday 13^th June 2004. Between June and September 2004 a production of Euripides Iphigenia at Aulis, based on the translation by Don Taylor, was mounted by National Theatre. The company also mounted a version of Women of Troy between November 2007 and January 2008 based on Taylor’s translation of Euripides original play.

Don Taylor was adept across several mediums; theatre, television and radio. His work alongside Nigel Kneale on the Beasts episode ‘During Barty’s Party’ could easily be reconfigured to successfully work in all three of these media. A fitting tribute to a man who broke new ground and was not afraid to grasp the potential of drama to have a profound impact on its audience.

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[1] “Scarcely Flagged and Was Often Sparkling” by John Philips. The Stage, Thursday 15^th April 1971, page 11
[2] “Don Taylor” by Oliver Wake , Dead Of Night DVD Booklet, page 18 (BFI DVD 2012)
[3] “When Directors and Writers Lost Their Freedom”, The Stage, 10^th March 1977, page 16
[4] Don Taylor obituary by Philip Purser, The Guardian, 20^th November 2003, page 29
[5] Don Taylor obituary by Philip Purser, The Guardian, 20^th November 2003, page 29
[6] The Stage, Thursday 18^th December 2003, page 24

Spotlight: Don Taylor (Director - During Barty's Party and Buddyboy) Part One

Donald Victor Taylor was born on 30^th June 1936 in Chiswick, London into a working class background. His first encounter with the medium of television was at the age of 14 when he watched his father assemble a television set from a do-it-yourself kit. His first direct involvement was a few years later when he got hold of tickets to watch a game show presented by Charlie Chester being filmed. Chester picked him out of the crowd and made him sing ‘I Belong to Glasgow’ whilst also standing on his head. This humiliating scenario was witnessed by his then girlfriend who quickly dumped him after the show was over.

After gaining a scholarship he was educated at Chiswick Grammar School and then undertook a degree in English Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford from 1955. Whilst at Oxford he became an active member of the Experimental Theatre Club[1] and in 1957 he directed the world premiere of the play Epitaph for George Dillon by the notable playwright John Osborne. The production gained positive reviews including the trade paper The Stage which notted “Don Taylor’s perceptive direction is fully alive to the impelling qualities of the play, the climaxes being notably well-handled.[2]” He graduated in 1958 and joined the Oxford Playhouse as the theatre director’s assistant but was dismissed after six months. He took on work as a supply teacher to make ends meet.

In 1960, at the age of 23, he joined the BBC as a trainee on a six month contract and undertook the corporation’s director’s training course. This culminated in Taylor directing a twenty minute studio production after just eight weeks tuition. Taylor chose to adapt a Tennessee Williams short play, The Last of My Solid Gold Watches, which was seen by the then head of the BBC drama department, Michael Barry, who praised the production. Barry offered Taylor a contract as a director in the drama department, where he would specialise in directing single plays. Taylor, from strong socialist stock (his father was a trade unionist), felt himself slightly out of step with the established hierarchy within the BBC, though he found a kindred spirit when he began a long association with the writer David Mercer in 1961. Both held strong socialist beliefs and had concerns for how socialism was progressing. Taylor directed three plays by Mercer between 1961 and 1963 – Where the Difference Begins, A Climate of Fear and Birth of a Private Man – that formed a trilogy that overall explored the failure of socialism.

The first single play Taylor directed was The Road to Carey Street (10^th November 1960), a tale of bankruptcy which was well received within the BBC at the time, though Taylor himself felt that the script was poor. Prior to this he had directed two episodes of the police drama Scotland Yard; “Interpol” (31^st May 1960) and “Used in Evidence” (21^st June 1960), which used film to shoot the action and location sequences. These helped bridge between studio scenes which were still shot and transmitted live. Taylor’s episodes required night filming and car chases, something which the director found difficult to complete. Following these episodes the BBC confirmed that his contract was extended by a further two years. He was now an established BBC director and as such he was able to pick and choose what projects he would work on.

More single dramas for the BBC followed with The Dark Man (8^th December 1960) starring Robert Shaw. Written by N J Crisp the play was one of the first dramas on British TV to tackle the subject of racism. Shaw would also star in Taylor’s next credited production, The Train Set (5^th January 1961), written by Midlands born writer David Turner. The play was set in a Birmingham factory where a worker wants to buy his son a model railway for his birthday, but cannot afford it. Written and performed in the area’s dialect the play attracted approval from both critics and the BBC. Further single plays followed including Cheerio Lou (13^th March 1961) and On The Boundary (29^th June 1961), his second collaboration with David Turner, which was centred on the lives of people living on the border between slums and the modern building schemes in the city of Birmingham.

During September 1961 Michael Barry resigned as head of drama. This would eventually have an impact on Taylor’s career and future with the BBC, but for now a caretaking head was appointed the form of former assistant head of department Norman Rutherford. Elwyn Jones stepped into the role of assistant head, and as such became Taylor’s immediate boss as he oversaw the daily work of the drama department.

Further single play credits during this period of change included Summer Autumn Winter Spring (11^th September 1961) and Where the Difference Begins (15^th December 1961), his first collaboration with David Mercer. This play was centred on the political differences between a father and his two sons. Barry Foster appeared as one of the sons with Leslie Sands as the patriarch of a divided family. Comedienne Hylda Baker made her television drama debut in the play following her role in the film Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Again the play was positively received with both Foster and Sands being singled out for their portrayals. Taylor’s final play produced during 1961 was Choirboys Unite! (21^st December 1961) which featured Manning Wilson in the cast, who Taylor would use as a voice over artist in the Beasts episode ‘During Barty’s Party’. This was another play written by David Turner and was a lighter in tone work about a Birmingham choir going on strike.

‘The Alderman’ (28^th January 1962), about a retiring Labour town councillor, was Taylor’s first contribution to the BBC Sunday Night Play strand. The live production very nearly became a disaster when, shortly before the performance went on air, a camera mounting planned to be used for high shots looking down on the action irreparably broke. With no time to acquire a replacement mounting Taylor instead used the tallest cameraman in his team using a standard mounting to achieve the shots.

Taylor continued with work within the single play format with The Winter’s Tale (20^th April 1962), his favourite Shakespeare play, which again featured the actor Robert Shaw in the cast. This adaptation of the Shakespeare play also starred Patrick Macnee, Geoffrey Bayldon and Ron Moody. Working from another script by David Mercer Taylor oversaw A Climate of Fear (22^nd June 1962) starring John Stratton and Geoffrey Bayldon. This was a potentially politically provocative tale of a young woman who becomes estranged from her husband on joining CND (The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). The play tapped into the groundswell of support that CND enjoyed as the idea of mutually assured destruction in the event of a nuclear war became increasingly possible as Cold War tensions soared. After this Taylor made a rare excursion into directing for an ongoing series with an episode of Z Cars – ‘Unconditional Surrender’ (31^st July 1962). Directing this episode was a condition that had been laid down when he had approached Elwyn Jones to mount a production of The Winter’s Tale.

A Suitable Case For Treatment (21^st October 1962), another script by Mercer, was a study of the angry young socialist Morgan Delt and his descent into madness after his wife leaves him. The script was funny and original and Taylor was immediately fired up with enthusiasm for the play. However, when he attempted to get it green lit for production Elwyn Jones was not convinced the play would work. This led to heated debates and disputes over several days before Jones relented, but not before threatening that if the play failed then Taylor would forfeit his job at the BBC. The play was found to overrun the sixty minute allocated slot so Taylor, having won Jones round, compromised and cut the length down by ten minutes. Instead of a live transmission the play was pre-recorded to video tape and this allowed Taylor to be extremely inventive with the use of film, visual jokes and dream sequences. The boundaries for the use of sound where also pushed with the use of music acting as a commentary on the play’s events. This was something new and exciting and the critics reacted by praising the production to the hilt whilst Mercer was awarded the Screenwriter’s Guild for best play of the year. Sadly there is no recording of the original play in the BBC archives so Ian Hendry’s interpretation of the role of Morgan is lost forever. However we can still see the successful cinema adaptation from 1966 under the title of Morgan A Suitable Case for Treatment starring David Warner and directed by Karel Reisz.

‘Libel on a Liar’ (25^th November 1962) was Taylor’s next contribution to the BBC Sunday Night Play series. The story centred on a teacher, Stephen Moriarty, who writes a novel about a school where he used to work. Members of staff at the school read the book and identify themselves as inspiration for some of the story’s characters and contemplate a libel action. The Birth of A Private Man (8^th March 1963) saw Taylor produce and direct another script by David Mercer and was the final part in the loose trilogy the duo had begun with Where the Difference Begins. The play, set in Eastern Europe, was a critique of socialism within these countries and Taylor approached Elwyn Jones with the suggestion that he and Mercer visit some of the locations in the script to enable research. Rather surprisingly he agreed. To arrange visas for the visit the pair were interviewed at the Polish Embassy about their political viewpoints for several hours. With the visas granted Taylor and Mercer visited Warsaw, Poland and East Berlin viewing the Berlin Wall which would figure in the conclusion of the play. Plans were drawn up for location shooting in Poland and cast and production crew prepared for the shoot. However, shortly before they were due to depart visas were suddenly withdrawn without any explanation. Mercer quickly rewrote the Polish location sequences setting them on a train carriage (filmed at Ealing Studios) and locations were located within the UK including a cemetery in Wakefield, Yorkshire and a brewery in Watford which doubled for the Berlin Wall.

Taylor did not agree with the appointment of Sydney Newman as the head of BBC drama or of the changes that Newman made on his arrival. These included splitting the drama department into two areas – plays and serial – with the emphasis on increasing the output of serials and steering the tone of plays to become less elitist in order to appeal to a wider audience. Newman also implemented a producer system which assigned directors to scripts, as opposed to the old system where directors could work with the scripts of their choosing. Finally Newman split the roles of producer and director into two individual jobs, something which under the old system had been combined into one. This would leave Taylor with just the role of director on his future projects. Taylor also began to feel his choice of plays were not favoured by Newman and this led to friction between the two.

Taylor’s next BBC Sunday Night Play episode, the first to be made under the new departmental conditions, was another script from David Mercer. ‘For Tea on a Sunday’ (17^th March 1963) was an allegory criticising the tensions boiling beneath the surface of 1960s British society which concluded with the character Nicholas destroying his flat with an axe. To capture this climax Taylor had three identical sets constructed – one for rehearsal and two for possible takes – though he filmed all three acts of destruction as a precaution which paid dividends when he used shots from the rehearsal in his final edit of the sequence. This segment proved to be particularly controversial with a reported 134 calls of complaint about the violence and intensity of the scene made to the BBC[3]

Taylor’s next BBC Sunday Night Play fell foul to direct interference by Sydney Newman. Written by George Target and originally titled ‘Workshop Limits’, the play was about an industrial dispute in a factory. Newman objected to the title and preferred to call it ‘You Can’t Throw Your Mates’ (7^th July 1963) which Taylor refused to do. Newman issued a direct order which saw the name change go ahead despite Taylor’s objections. It was a minor issue but it was the turning point for Taylor as he felt that the new regime did not welcome him.

His final episode of the BBC Sunday Night Theatre was ‘The Full Chatter’ (16^th June 1963) from a script by Hugh Whitemore. This was a comedic story about Frederic Instance, a teacher who hates television, but longs to be a writer. The play utilised the techniques which Taylor had pioneered in A Suitable Case for Treatment with surrealism, dream sequences, mock adverts and voice over and was another big hit with audiences and critics. After this Taylor found he had no further projects assigned to him despite having a contract for another year. Newman then moved him from the plays department to the series department much to the horror of Taylor who had shunned work in series to pursue his beloved area of single plays. Newman then offered Taylor the chance to produce a new series he was setting up for a family slot on a Saturday teatime, something he was calling Doctor Who. Taylor declined.

Frustrated with the lack of projects Taylor looked towards theatre and during November 1964 he directed the stage play Maxibules at the Royal Theatre in Brighton. Back at the BBC after trying, but ultimately failing, to develop his own drama anthology series based around a University Taylor’s final work as a BBC staff director was The Wednesday Play instalment ‘Dan, Dan, The Charity Man’ (3^rd February 1965). Written by Hugh Whitemore and starring Barry Foster as Dan Sankey who is a national celebrity due to his charity work, but what lies beneath the façade? Again Taylor employed unusual techniques to further the narrative and push the medium including silent movie style captions, sped up film and characters who pause the action to address the audience directly.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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[1] The Experimental Theatre Club (ETC) was founded in 1936 as an amateur dramatics society and an alternative to the Oxford University Dramatic Society. Notable previous members of ETC include Rowan Atkinson, Alan Bennett, Lindsay Anderson, Ken Loach and Dudley Moore

[2] “Early Work By John Osborne”, The Stage, Thursday 28^th February 1957, page 10
[3] Richard Sear, ‘Storm at a Tea Party’, Daily Mirror, 18 March 1963, p. 14.

Spotlight: Elizabeth Counsell (Mrs Gibson in During Barty's Party)

Elizabeth Counsell was born on 7^th June 1942 in Windsor, Berkshire. She is the daughter of actress Mary Kerridge and stage director / actor John Counsell who ran the Theatre Royal in Windsor. She has a twin sister, Jennifer, who was also an actress for a short period during the 1960s. One of her earliest stage roles was in a production for her father when the twelve year old Counsell appeared alongside her sister as the King and Queen of Gooseland in a version of Mother Goose staged at the Royal Theatre, Windsor during December 1953 and January 1954. After making her screen debut Counsell continued to be actively involved with theatre productions for her parents with credits in productions of Puss in Boots (1964), Little Red Riding Hood (1965) and The Heat of the Moment (1965).

She made her uncredited TV debut in the BBC one-off comedy production On the Brighter Side (15^th June 1961) as a dancer. Una Stubbs and Amanda Barrie are also in the same dance troupe. This was followed by a small role as the character Thora in an episode of the medical drama Call Oxbridge 2000 (11^th November 1962). The following year she made her first steps into cinema with uncredited roles in the Dirk Bogarde starring thriller The Mind Benders (1963), as a young student on a train station platform, and the Bond film From Russia With Love (1963) as a woman in a punt.   

Guest slots in TV quickly followed starting with an episode of the BBC drama anthology First Night. ‘Hunt The Man’ (25^th April 1965) also featured Beasts alumni amongst the cast with roles for Anthony Bate and Richard Bebb both of whom featured in ‘During Barty’s Party’. She possibly bumped into Anthony Bate at rehearsals when they later both appeared in television productions of The Idiot (1966) and Les Miserables (1967). Counsell supplemented her theatre and television work with further small film appearances including the Morecambe and Wise vehicle The Intelligence Men (1965), Carry on Follow That Camel (1967), Hot Millions (1968) and Anne of a Thousand Days (1968). During 1968 she was engaged with an extensive theatre tour of America and Canada with her sister and father appearing in four plays; The Beaux Stratagem, Mrs Warrens Profession, An Ideal Husband and Hay Fever.

During the 1970s Counsell balanced a busy theatre schedule with becoming a familiar face in supporting roles on television, especially within the field of comedy. Prior to Beasts she graced episodes of comedic entertainment such as The Two Ronnies (1972), The Reg Varney Revue (1972), Doctor At Sea (1974) and Bless This House (1976). It was whilst working regularly as the character Helen Woodford in the sitcom The Many Wives of Patrick (1976 – 1978) that she first met the actor, and ‘Murrain’ star, David Simeon. They married in July 1978 and the following year she gave birth to a son. 

In 1978 Counsell appeared as a school teacher, Miss Lilac, in the film Killer’s Moon (1978), cited by some critics as the worst British horror film of the decade before welcoming in a new decade of TV appearances in memorable fashion. As the character Pamela Heslop in the BBC comedy series Partners (1981) she appeared in one episode dressed as Marilyn Monroe singing ‘I Want to Be Loved by You’. Whilst still maintaining a foothold in comedy the decade would see Counsell turn up in more drama based material with guest appearances in episodes of Jemima Shore Investigates (1983), C.A.T.S. Eyes (1986) and Boon (1986). By now she was a dependable comedy character actor so it was no surprise that she had regular roles in the Thames Television’s series Executive Stress (1986 – 1988) and as Veronica Bainbridge, the role she is most commonly associated with, in the BBC sitcom Brush Strokes (1986 – 1991).

Counsell also continued her association with the Royal Theatre in Windsor taking roles in productions of Venus Observed (1980), Babes in the Wood (1984 and 1987), Cinderella (1985 and 1990) and Sleeping Beauty (1993). In 1994 she undertook her final regular television comedy role playing Jackie Spicer in both seasons of Nelson’s Column (1994 – 1995). It would be her last role in the medium for several years whilst she concentrated on theatre work.

She returned to the small screen with two episodes of Lock Stock for Channel 4, a spin-off from the stylised Brit gangster film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Counsell’s main TV employer in the last few years has been the BBC afternoon medical soap Doctors. Between 2001 and 2015 she has appeared in six episodes playing different characters. Short films have also featured in her CV with such productions as QuickStop (2010), Room to Let (2011) and The North London Book of the Dead (2010). She triumphed in the stage play Miss Dietrich Regrets (2015) playing an ageing Marlene Dietrich looking back on her life.

Her role as Storm Cloud Woman in the BBC’s Jonathan Strange and Mrs Norrell (2015) has led to a resurgence in her career of late. After the obligatory episode of Casualty (2015) Counsell has gone on to be cast in episodes of Born to Kill (2017), The Split (2020), Unforgotten (2021), Call the Midwife (2022) and The Outlaws (2022). Of particular note is her role as the dementia sufferer Elisabeth Wiley in the Channel 5 thriller Cold Call (2019). This late blooming has also allowed her to return to cinema roles with crime thriller Bull (2021) and the Bram Stoker inspired horror The Invitation.

Spotlight: Alan Dudley (Mr Gibson in During Barty's Party)

Actor Alan Dudley, who voiced the character of Mr Gibson in “During Barty’s Party”, was born as Alan John George Dudley in Greeenwhich, London in 1925. He trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and was active on the stage from the late 1940s as a member of the Saga Repertory Company. By the 1950s he was appearing in West End plays and musicals. It was during this period that he made his television debut as a supporting artist when the BBC broadcast excerpts from the Piccadilly Theatre production of the musical The Two Bouquets (31^st August 1953).

His TV career, often in small supporting roles, was secondary to his theatre career. During the 1960s Dudley established himself as a reliable player, especially in musical theatre productions and operettas. His singing ability also lent itself to radio productions with Dudley gracing such productions as The Duenna (24^th December 1964), a comic operetta which also featured Denis Quilley and Peter Pratt. During 1966 he also featured in a series of radio productions adapting the work of Gilbert and Sullivan presented as complete performances. Of note is his appearance as Sir Despard Murgatroyd in Ruddigore (15th May 1966) opposite Dame Patricia Routledge and Peter Pratt. The clip below demonstrates his skill in such productions. Around this time he began to be a regular presence in radio plays and productions and become a member of the BBC Repertory Company[1]. He would become a familiar voice on radio and remain so until the twilight of his career. During 1970 Anvil Records issued a series of audio adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories which starred Robert Hardy as Holmes and Nigel Stock as Watson. Dudley was one member of a stock cast which featured as different characters across several productions including “The Blue Carbuncle”, “The Norwood Builder” and “The Speckled Band”. 

Dudley became a National Theatre player in the early 1970s and would remain part of the company for several years. Examples of work during this period included playing Leonardo under director Jonathan Miller in The Merchant of Venice (1970). 

Dudley’s casting as Mr Gibson in Beasts would have helped ground the production in the everyday. He was an extremely familiar voice on the radio and his output in the medium during 1976 was indicative of this with several productions playing directly prior or directly after “During Barty’s Party” broadcast; Radio 3 Drama Now instalment “Bandstand” (27^th April 1976), an episode of Radio 4 anthology drama series The Escapers entitled “The Spiritualists” (17^th June 1976) and a lead role as Inspector Harvey in The Rippers Apprentice (22^nd July 1976).

After his final television appearance in 1980 he continued to feature heavily in radio productions throughout the decade and until the end of his career. In 1981 he had small roles in two films - Chariots of Fire (1981) and Riding High (1981). Dudley died, aged 88, in Campbeltown, Scotland on 7^th January 2013.

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[1] Now known as the Radio Drama Company (RDC) and founded in 1939 to act as a casting resource for radio productions.

Spotlight: Marie Sutherland (Commercial Voice in During Barty's Party)

 

Sutherland studied at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art and graduated in 1951. She had an extensive stage career before making television appearances and during 1952 she was a member of the Aldershot Repertory Company based at the Royal theatre.

Marie Sutherland’s earliest TV role was playing Mrs Selvedge in the Public Eye episode “A Fixed Address” (19^th June 1969) followed by a small role as a secretary in “They Shall Not Pass” (10^th August 1970), an episode of the hit BBC business drama Mogul.

Another small role, as Janice Brown, was in Say Nothing (6^th July 1976) an episode of the ATV police drama Hunter’s Walk directed by Richard Bramall who would also direct the Beasts episode “Special Offer”. Her next televised role was as one of the voices heard on radio commercials in the Beasts episode “During Barty’s Party”.

Post-Beasts she could be seen in an unnamed role in The Goodies episode “A Kick in the Arts” (28^th November 1980) and as Mrs Ogilvie in the first episode of the mini-series Pictures (11^th February 1983)

Spotlight: Gary Watson (Radio Commercial Voice in During Barty's Party)

Gary Watson was born on June 13, 1930 in Shifnal, Shropshire, England as Garrowby Cawthorne Watson. Sandy haired, with intense blue eyes, he was a popular voice artist who contributed too many television commercials (including Nescafe and Lloyds Bank), training films and documentaries, particularly for British Transport Films. After graduating from Cambridge University he taught English for a while at the Westminster City School in London where he was an active member of the school drama society and directed several stage productions including a version of Treasure Island.

1961 was the gateway year for Watson to appear on our screens and he started by making his his first appearance in The Avengers with the role of Pardoe in the first season episode “Death on the Slipway” (24th June 1961). His next role was in the BBC anthology drama series Yorky which starred Wilfred Pickles in the title role. Watson appears as the Reverend Michael Winyard in the second season episode “How to Move a Mountain” (30th August 1961). Next Watson was cast as Captain Snell in the BBC Sunday Night Play “The Test” (5th November 1961) a cold war drama about a group of scientists about to test a devastating top secret weapon. The Second Mrs Tanqueray (9th March 1962) was a BBC play which featured his “During Barty’s Party” co-star Elizabeth Sellars in the main role. Watson appears as Captain Hugh Ardale. “Pictures Don’t Lie” (11th August 1962) was an episode of the Boris Karloff presented science fiction anthology series Out Of This World. Watson appeared as the radio scientist Nathen, who picks up signals coming from an incoming spaceship and succeeds in communicating with it when he slows the messages down. The aliens are concerned about the threat of humans and their potential violence. Nathen convinces them they are a peaceful species and so they agree to land nearby. When the scientist goes to look for them he cannot see the craft. The simple fact being the aliens are tiny in stature and Nathen has trod on the spaceship.

The Rival Flows East (14th October – 18th November 1962) was a six-part BBC drama series written by Terence Dudley in which Watson played Andrew Giddings opposite Judy Cornwell as a couple searching for a missing girl. His second appearance in The Avengers came in the episode “Immortal Clay” (1963) playing a more substantial role in the form of Allen Marling. The character Bush was his third appearance in The Avengers in the episode “Lobster Quadrille” (1964).

Watson’s first TV appearance for 1965 was in an episode of the John Thaw starring series Redcap. Watson appears as Major Silk in “A Question of Initiative” (2nd January 1965). He was then cast as another authority figure, Detective Sergeant Wimpole, in the Public Eye episode “You Think It’ll Be Marvellous – But It’s Always A Rabbit” (27th March 1965). Next was an appearance as a sailor, Shipman Roberts, in the comedy drama “The Winds of Green Monday” (20th September 1965), an instalment of the ITV Play of the Week. Armchair Mystery Theatre was a spin off anthology series from the much admired Armchair Theatre drama anthology. Watson appears in two episodes; “That Finishing Touch” (18th July 1965) as Geoffrey Baxter and “The Stairway” (26th September 1965) as Max one of a pair of killers alongside Bernard Bresslaw as his fellow murderer Stephen.

Watson’s highest profile role to date was as Aramis in the BBC dramatization of The Three Muskateers (13th November 1966 – 15th January 1967) alongside Jeremy Brett as D’Artagnan, Brian Blessed as Porthos and Jeremy Young as Athos. Following this he appeared as Arthur Terrall in episodes three to five of the Patrick Troughton Doctor Who adventure “The Evil of the Daleks” (3rd June – 17th June 1967). Ten days later he could be seen as Lieutenant Tetteris in the BBC one off drama Death Happens to Other People (27th June 1967).

Watson also provided the English language voice over for the UK release of the Russian film The Snow Queen (1967) based on the Hans Christian Andersen story. Back on television Watson appeared in the BBC drama anthology The Golden Age, in the episode “The Theatres: Richard Burbage” (29th November 1967), playing Burbage who was considered to be the first great actor of British theatre with roles in various Shakespeare productions staged at the Globe Theatre. Contrasts was a BBC arts programme and Watson was one of several readers for the episode “The Pre-Raphaelites” (17th December 1967) which told the story of a group of a new generation of painters in Victorian times that rebelled against the established order.

After a particularly busy year 1968 saw Watson make fewer appearance with the highlight being his fourth and final role in an episode of The Avengers as Stephen Kendrick in the episode “Wish You Were Here” (18th November 1968). The following year was busier; he made his second appearance in the series Public Eye playing Doctor Charles Nourse in the episode “My Life’s My Own” (20th August 1969), made his second Softly Softly appearance playing Harry Owen in the episode “Error of Judgement” (2nd October 1969) and was seen as Bilak, a diplomat of the Czech embassy in London, in the Special Branch episode “Exit A Diplomat” (26th November 1969).

At the start the new decade he appeared in the debut episode of the third season of Callan, playing Henshaw in the episode “Where Else Could I Go?” (8th April 1970). The espionage continued with Watson appearing in the BBC spy thriller Codename playing Tellor in the episode “A Walk with the Lions” (21st April 1970). London Weekend Television produced a series of six plays under the title of Big Brother which was themed around examining if 1970s society was heading towards a dystopian future as depicted in the George Orwell novel 1984. Watson appears in the episode “A Little Bit like a God” (27th September 1970) as Professor Robson. The cast also included Andre Morrell who had been a cast member of the legendary 1954 BBC production of 1984 scripted by Nigel Kneale. Watson then returned to role of Czech diplomat Ladislav Bilak in the Special Branch episode “Sorry Is Just a Word” (14th October 1970).

He undertook the role of storyteller on the Children’s BBC series Jackanory for a week of tales starting with “Preep and the Queen” (19th October 1970) and ending with “The Little Prince and The Tiger Cat” / “The Emperor’s Rhyme" (23rd October 1970). Thames Television produced a five episode version of Macbeth (4th November – 2 December 1970), updating it to the modern era with Michael Jayston as Macbeth. Watson was cast as Macduff.

His second appearance in an episode of Armchair Theatre came in the instalment “Wednesday’s Child” (10th November 1970). Watson played Doctor Charles Nourse who hires a private nurse to look after his wife after her miscarriages. However the two women become increasingly close in their relationship. Watson also had a part as a Scotland Yard police inspector in the film, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), but his part was deleted from the final print. He returned to classical literature with the role of Creon in a two part version of the play Antigone (16th February and 1st March 1971) for the Thames Television educational programme Heritage. He then narrated the BBC single drama The Snow Goose (15th November 1971) which was adapted from the short story by Paul Gallico and starred Jenny Agutter and Richard Harris.

There were more narration duties for the BBC period drama Mistress of Hardwicke (9th April – 11th June 1972) based on the life of Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, a notable figure in Elizabethan society due to her shrewd business decisions and four marriages. He made his Z Cars debut as the recurring character Detective Inspector Connor in the episode “Connor” (11th September 1972). Inspector Connor would appear in eleven episodes over the next few years with his final appearance in the episode “Turnabout” (22nd April 1974). He busied himself with guest roles in such fare as “The Secret of the Magnifique” (19th February 1973), an episode of the anthology series The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, and was the bumbling Inspector Rush in “Once The Killing Starts” (7th January 1974), an episode of the second season of the anthology series Thriller. Possibly one of Watson’s most recalled roles came in the shape of the hitman John Quentin in the hard boiled crime thriller The Hanged Man (15th February – 5th April 1975).

The Poisoning of Charles Bravo was a three part BBC Victorian melodrama starring Paul Darrow as Bravo, who is convinced that someone is trying to kill him. Watson pops up in the third episode, “Public Exposure” (2nd July 1975), as Mr Lewis. He was next seen in an episode of the BBC experimental drama anthology Centre Play. Watson is credited as Stranger in the episode “The Stick Insect” (18th August 1975). His is only TV credit for 1976 is for supplying voices for the commercials heard on the radio in the Beasts episode “During Barty’s Party”, a nod to Watson’s success and familiarity to viewers from his audio work.

The Sunday Drama was a HTV drama anthology strand. Watson appears in the episode “Silver Blaze” (27th November 1977) as Inspector Gregory opposite Christopher Plummer and Thorley Walters as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Murder Most English was BBC crime drama which starred Anton Rodgers as Chief Inspector Purbright. Watson appears in the two part story “Hopjoy Was Here” (8th May and 15th May 1977).

He was cast by the director Don Taylor (who had worked with Watson on “During Barty’s Party”) in the BBC2 Playhouse production “The Achurch Letters” (12th January 1977) as Charles Carrington. Watson then played the ill-fated Polish military attaché Arciszewsky who commits suicide in “The Polish Affaire” (4th March 1978), an episode of the World War Two drama Enemy at the Door. Watson made his second appearance in a BBC 2 Playhouse production under the direction of his old colleague Don Taylor. “A Last Visitor For Mr Hugh Peter” (30th January 1981) saw Taylor cast the actor as the personification of Death alongside such high calibre performers as Peter Vaughan as Hugh Peter, a prisoner reflecting on his forthcoming execution. Don Taylor also wrote the script for the play.

As an established voice artist Watson continued to be much in demand for his vocal skills with duties on the three-part BBC documentary The Flight of the Condor over February 1982, as one of the readers for Thames’ documentary series Six Centuries of Verse (1984) and being heard as a radio reporter in fifth episode of the children’s sci-fi series Chocky (6th February 1984), adapted from a story by John Wyndham. Look and Read was a BBC educational series for primary school children which presented stories in a serialised format with the aim to improve the viewers’ literacy skills. Badger Girl was one of the serialised stories (18th September -27th November 1984) and told the tale of three city living children going on holiday in the countryside. They discover a pony rustling scam and aim to discover who is responsible. Watson acted as the narrator for the entire series.

His final clutch of television appearances took in guest appearances; Roger Hilton in the King and Castle episode “Romance” (1st October 1986), Kelvin Halliday in the Miss Marple story “Sleeping Murder” (1th January 1987) and as Sir Greville Strickland in “The Hazard of the Die” (10th February 1988), an episode of the Robert Powell starring series Hannay. At the time of writing, November 2022, Watson is still with us and enjoying his retirement.