Semi-Detached (play)

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Semi-Detached
Semi-Detached (play).jpg
Original poster West End transfer, 1962
Written by David Turner
Date premiered8 June 1962
Place premiered Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
Original languageEnglish
SettingSpring, 1962. The home of Fred Midway, Dowlihull, England.

Semi-Detached is a play written by David Turner. [1] It premiered at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in June 1962 with Leonard Rossiter in the lead role, the production was directed by Tony Richardson. [2] In 1964, the BBC recorded a radio adaptation starring Rossiter, rebroadcast in 2016 in its series Repertory in Britain. [3] The Belgrade Theatre production transferred to London, still directed by Richardson, but with Laurence Olivier (replacing Rossiter), Eileen Atkins, John Thaw, James Bolam (replacing Ian McKellen) and Mona Washbourne. [4] The play reached Broadway in New York for a season in 1963 and a film version All the Way Up (1970), directed by James MacTaggart, starred Warren Mitchell. [5] [6] The play was revived at the Chichester Festival in 1999. [7]

Contents

Plot

Set in the Midlands, Fred Midway is working his way up the social ladder. His desire to be accepted in the social circles to which he aspires occupies much of his energy. At first, Fred's carefully laid plans to boost his standing in the local community backfire, before coming right in the end.

Original cast

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References

  1. "Semi Detached", Leonard Rossiter Website
  2. 1 2 "Production of Semi-Detached | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  3. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - David Turner - Repertory in Britain: Semi-Detached".
  4. "Poster | Wrigley, Denis | V&A Search the Collections". V and A Collections. November 25, 2020.
  5. "Semi-Detached – Broadway Play – 1963 Revival | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  6. "All the Way Up (1970)". BFI. Archived from the original on January 18, 2017.
  7. "Cast list, Semi-Detached (1999) – Pass It On".