The Grass Is Greener is a 1956 two act comedy written by Hugh Williams and Margaret Williams. It opened at St. Martin's Theatre in the West End of London, on 2 December. Joan Greenwood starred as Hattie, with Williams playing Victor, the Earl of Rhyall, Edward Underdown playing Charles, an American tourist, and Celia Johnson playing Hilary, the Countess of Rhyall. Jack Minster directed. [1] [2]
The Earl and Countess of Rhyall, needing revenue, have opened their residence Hampshire manor to tourists. A visiting American falls in love with the Earl's wife; the Earl, in turn, attempts to use an old flame to make his wife jealous. [1] [3] [4]
J. C. Trewin includes The Grass Is Greener as one of the top four plays of 1958–59. He describes The Grass Is Greener as the best of the Williamses' three comedies, noting its "glancing wit" and "well-bred ease." Trewin describes the play as "neatly constructed," with much of the comedy coming from "apparent irrelevance." [4]
The Williamses wrote the screenplay for the 1960 film adaptation The Grass Is Greener , with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr playing the lead roles.
Joan Beaufort was the youngest of the four legitimised children and only daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, by his mistress, later wife, Katherine de Roet. She married Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and in her widowhood became a powerful landowner in the north of England.
Joan Mary Waller Greenwood was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film Kind Hearts and Coronets, and also appeared in The Man in the White Suit (1951), Young Wives' Tale (1951), The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), Stage Struck (1958), Tom Jones (1963) and Little Dorrit (1987).
Margaret de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, Countess of Cornwall was an English noblewoman, heiress, and the second eldest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and his wife Joan of Acre, making her a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Her two husbands were Piers Gaveston and Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester.
Humphrey Stafford, generally known by his courtesy title of Earl of Stafford, was the eldest son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lady Anne Neville.
The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by the architect W. G. R. Sprague with an exterior in the classical style and an interior in the Rococo style.
Hugh Bigod was a member of the powerful early Norman Bigod family and was for a short time the 3rd Earl of Norfolk.
The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. It opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, with a capacity of 2,500. The current capacity is 1,416. The title "Shaftesbury Theatre" belonged to another theatre lower down the avenue between 1888 and 1941. The Prince's adopted the name in 1963.
William III de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby of Chartley Castle in Staffordshire, was an English nobleman and major landowner, unable through illness to take much part in national affairs. From his two marriages, he left numerous children who married into noble and royal families of England, France, Scotland and Wales.
The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels.
Margaret Rose Mount OBE was an English actress. As a child, she found acting an escape from an unhappy home life. After playing in amateur productions, she was taken on by a repertory company and spent nine years in various British towns, learning her craft. In 1955, she got her big break in the comic play Sailor Beware!: she created the leading role in a repertory production and, though unknown to London audiences, was given the part when the play was presented in the West End. She became known for playing domineering middle-aged women in plays, films and television shows.
The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych.
Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent.
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at the junction of Denman Street and Sherwood Street, near Piccadilly Circus, in the City of Westminster, London. It opened in 1928.
The Grass Is Greener is a 1960 British romantic comedy film starring Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons. It was directed by Stanley Donen, with a screenplay adapted by Hugh Williams and Margaret Vyner from the play of the same name they had written and found success with in London's West End.
St Martin's Theatre is a West End theatre which has staged the production of The Mousetrap since March 1974, making it the longest continuous run of any show in the world.
Gwendoline Watford, professionally known after the mid-1950s as Gwen Watford, was an English actress.
Margaret de Bohun, Countess of Devon was the granddaughter of King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile, and the wife of Hugh Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon (1303–1377). Her seventeen children included an Archbishop of Canterbury and six knights, of whom two were founder knights of the Order of the Garter. Unlike most women of her day, she received a classical education and was a lifelong scholar and collector of books.
Mary is a feminine given name, the English form of the name Maria, which was in turn a Latin form of the Greek name Μαρία, María or Μαριάμ, Mariam, found in the Septuagint and New Testament. The latter reflects the original Hebrew pronunciation of the name מרים, as attested by the Septuagint. The vowel "a" in a closed unaccented syllable later became "i", as seen in other names such as "Bil'am" (Balaam) and "Shimshon" (Samson).
Weare Giffard is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the Torridge district, in north Devon, England. The church and manor house are situated 2 1/2 miles NW of Great Torrington in Devon. Most of the houses within the parish are situated some 1/2-mile east of the church. The church is situated on a hillside to the north and slightly above the wide and flat valley floor of the River Torridge. The Church of the Holy Trinity and the adjacent Weare Giffard Hall are designated members of the Grade I listed buildings in Devon. In 2011 the parish had a population of 345.
Sailor Beware! is a comic play by Philip King and Falkland Cary. After a repertory company production in Worthing in 1954, it opened in the West End of London on 16 February 1955 and ran for 1,231 performances.