Operation Elvis

Last updated
Operation Elvis
Written by CP Taylor
Characters Malcolm; Alex / Mr Green / Jackie; Mam / Sister / Lynn; Michael
Date premiered 1978
Place premiered Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Original language English
Genre Drama, Children’s theatre
Setting Northgate Hospital, Morpeth

Operation Elvis by C.P. Taylor is a play for children, first produced by the Live Theatre Company in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1978. [1] Taylor worked as a drama teacher at Morpeth’s Northgate Hospital, and used it as the main setting for the play. Critics have noted that, in keeping with his other works for children, Operation Elvis is notable for its engagement with complex social issues such as disability, being “written from the unsentimental standpoint that children's relationships are as complicated as those of adults.” [2]

Play (theatre) form of literature intended for theatrical performance

A play is form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of dialogue or singing between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theater, to Community theatre, as well as university or school productions. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference as to whether their plays were performed or read. The term "play" can refer to both the written texts of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance.

Live Theatre Company theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Live Theatre formerly Live Theatre Company is a theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Newcastle upon Tyne City and metropolitan borough in England

Newcastle upon Tyne, commonly known as Newcastle, is a city in Tyne and Wear, North East England, 103 miles (166 km) south of Edinburgh and 277 miles (446 km) north of London on the northern bank of the River Tyne, 8.5 mi (13.7 km) from the North Sea. Newcastle is the most populous city in the North East, and forms the core of the Tyneside conurbation, the eighth most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Newcastle is a member of the UK Core Cities Group and is a member of the Eurocities network of European cities.

The original cast included Tim Healy, [3] Max Roberts, Denise Bryson and Brian Hogg, and the production was directed by Teddy Kiendl. The play has become a classic of Theatre for Young Audiences, revived by TAG Theatre Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Almeida Theatre, M6 Theatre, Bruvvers, the Tricycle Theatre with Kevin Whately as Malcolm, and the Byre Theatre as part of the 1992 Edinburgh International Festival. [4] It was filmed with the original cast by BBC North East in 1980, [5] recorded for radio by BBC Scotland in 1982, and has been slated for film adaptation.

Tim Healy (actor) British actor

Timothy Malcolm Healy is an English actor, best known for playing Dennis Patterson in the television series Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Les/Lesley in the ITV comedy-drama series Benidorm and Gastric in Still Open All Hours.

TAG Theatre Company is a theatre company established in 1967 in Glasgow, Scotland as the outreach arm of the Citizens' Theatre in Glasgow, and was known as the Citizens' Theatre for Youth.

Royal Shakespeare Company British theatre company

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Newcastle upon Tyne and on tour across the UK and internationally.

Tim Healy described Malcolm as his favourite stage role: “We did 90 performances in eight weeks. We’d go to a school, unload the van, put the set up, do the play, knock it down and onto the next school... and they were the happiest days of my life.” [6]

Plot overview

Ten-year-old schoolboy Malcolm is convinced that he is the reincarnation of Elvis Presley and loves to sing his greatest hits and dress like the King. His mother, her boyfriend, and his teacher Mr Green are becoming increasingly exasperated with his odd behaviour, and only Jackie, a local pigeon-fancier, seems to understand him. Malcolm decides to run away from home, hoping to find his way to Elvis’ home in Memphis, Tennessee. He ends up 15 miles away in Morpeth in Northumberland, where he meets Michael, a boy with severe brain damage who cannot speak, and his carer, Lynn. Despite their differences, Malcolm and Michael strike up a friendship. Malcolm realises that Michael wants to go sailing on a local lake, but they cannot work out how to get his wheelchair into a boat, and the Sister at Michael’s hospital refuses to allow it. Secretly, Jackie and Lynn help the boys build a special harness to lift Michael from the dock into a boat. Malcolm realises that he no longer needs to pretend to be Elvis and they set off across the water.

Elvis Presley American singer and actor

Elvis Aaron Presley, commonly known as Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".

Pigeon keeping art and science of breeding domestic pigeons

Pigeon keeping or pigeon fancying is the art and science of breeding domestic pigeons. People have practised pigeon keeping for about 10,000 years in almost every part of the world. In that time, humans have substantially altered the morphology and the behaviour of the domesticated descendants of the rock dove to suit their needs for food, aesthetic satisfaction and entertainment.

Memphis, Tennessee City in Tennessee, United States

Memphis is a city located along the Mississippi River in southwestern Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The 2017 city population was 652,236, making Memphis the largest city on the Mississippi River, second-largest city in Tennessee, as well as the 25th largest city in the United States. Greater Memphis is the 42nd largest metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of 1,348,260 in 2017. The city is the anchor of West Tennessee and the greater Mid-South region, which includes portions of neighboring Arkansas and Mississippi. Memphis is the seat of Shelby County, the most populous county in Tennessee. As one of the most historic and cultural cities of the southern United States, the city features a wide variety of landscapes and distinct neighborhoods.

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References

  1. Taylor, C.P. (1983). Live Theatre: Four Plays for Young People. London: Methuen London Ltd.
  2. Friesner, S. (1993). Travails of a Naked Typist: The Plays of CP Taylor. New Theatre Quarterly, 9(33), p.48.
  3. Plater, A. (2004). No frills, The Guardian, 6 November.
  4. Taylor, P. (1992). Secret encounters of the intimate kind: Paul Taylor on The Black and White Minstrels and Operation Elvis at the Edinburgh Festival, The Independent, 25 August.
  5. Taylor, A. (2002). Breaking free from ‘A Scottish Shtetl’: The life, times and Jewishness of CP Taylor. Immigrants & Minorities: Historical Studies in Ethnicity, Migration and Diaspora, 21(1-2), p.151.
  6. Interview in Rochdale Style, December 2012, p.7.