David Collings
Encyclopedia
David Collings is a British
actor
. He has played many different roles on various television
programmes, including the leading dramatic role in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment in 1964.
Collings has played historical characters such as Percy Grainger
in Ken Russell
's Song of Summer
(1968), John Ruskin
in The Love School
(1975), a BBC series about the Pre-Raphaelites, and Sir Anthony Babington
in Elizabeth R
. He is also known for his roles in the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
including Vorus in Revenge of the Cybermen
, Mawdryn in the serial Mawdryn Undead
and Poul in The Robots of Death
. He has also played an alternate Doctor in one of the audio plays
by Big Finish Productions
in the Doctor Who Unbound series,Full Fathom Five
. His other notable science fiction appearances were as Deva in the final episode of Blake's 7
and as the character of 'Silver' in several of the Sapphire and Steel adventures. Collings also played the character of Bob Cratchit
in the 1970 musical adaptation of Scrooge.
Collings did the voice acting for the Japan
ese television series Journey to the West
released in English-speaking countries as Monkey
. He returned to the role of Poul, now named Paulus, in the episode Hidden Persuaders of the audio drama series Kaldor City
.
On radio he portrayed Legolas
in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation
of The Lord of the Rings
.
He is also noted for his children's television appearances including the role of Julian Oakapple in Midnight is a Place, (1977). In 1989 he played Charn (the villain) in Through The Dragon's Eye
and had a recurring role as the headmaster in Press Gang
from 1989-1993.
He played the parts of Mortimer the Elder and Matrevis in the Summer 2011 production of Edward II (play)
at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
, which also featured Sam Collings.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He has played many different roles on various television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
programmes, including the leading dramatic role in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment in 1964.
Collings has played historical characters such as Percy Grainger
Percy Grainger
George Percy Aldridge Grainger , known as Percy Grainger, was an Australian-born composer, arranger and pianist. In the course of a long and innovative career he played a prominent role in the revival of interest in British folk music in the early years of the 20th century. He also made many...
in Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
's Song of Summer
Song of Summer
Song of Summer is a 1968 black-and-white film written, produced and directed by Ken Russell, who also plays a cameo role as a philandering priest. It portrays the final six years of the life of Frederick Delius, when he was blind and paralysed, and when Eric Fenby lived with the composer and his...
(1968), John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
in The Love School
The Love School
The Love School is a BBC television drama series originally broadcast in 1975 about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, written by John Hale, Ray Lawler, Robin Chapman and John Prebble. It was directed by Piers Haggard, John Glenister and Robert Knights. It was shown during January and February 1975...
(1975), a BBC series about the Pre-Raphaelites, and Sir Anthony Babington
Anthony Babington
Anthony Babington was convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots...
in Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R
Elizabeth R is a BBC television drama serial of six 85-minute plays starring Glenda Jackson in the title role. It was first broadcast on BBC2 from February to March 1971, through the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia and broadcast in America on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre.- Episodes...
. He is also known for his roles in the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
including Vorus in Revenge of the Cybermen
Revenge of the Cybermen
Revenge of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 19 April to 10 May 1975.-Synopsis:...
, Mawdryn in the serial Mawdryn Undead
Mawdryn Undead
Mawdryn Undead is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in four twice weekly parts from 1 February to 9 February 1983...
and Poul in The Robots of Death
The Robots of Death
The Robots of Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1977.-Synopsis:...
. He has also played an alternate Doctor in one of the audio plays
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
by Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
in the Doctor Who Unbound series,Full Fathom Five
Full Fathom Five (Doctor Who audio)
Full Fathom Five is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The Doctor Who Unbound dramas pose a series of "What if...?" questions.-Plot:What if.....
. His other notable science fiction appearances were as Deva in the final episode of Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
and as the character of 'Silver' in several of the Sapphire and Steel adventures. Collings also played the character of Bob Cratchit
Bob Cratchit
Robert "Bob" Cratchit is a fictional character who is the abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge in the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol...
in the 1970 musical adaptation of Scrooge.
Collings did the voice acting for the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese television series Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
released in English-speaking countries as Monkey
Monkey (TV series)
Monkey is the dubbed English language version of the Japanese television series , based on the classic sixteenth century Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. It was originally produced by Nippon Television and International Television Films in association with NHK.The series ran for...
. He returned to the role of Poul, now named Paulus, in the episode Hidden Persuaders of the audio drama series Kaldor City
Kaldor City
Kaldor City is a human city of the future on an unspecified alien world, created by Chris Boucher for the Doctor Who serial The Robots of Death broadcast in 1977, and reused in his Past Doctor Adventure Corpse Marker in 1999...
.
On radio he portrayed Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation
The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)
In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour stereo instalments...
of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
.
He is also noted for his children's television appearances including the role of Julian Oakapple in Midnight is a Place, (1977). In 1989 he played Charn (the villain) in Through The Dragon's Eye
Through The Dragon's Eye
Through The Dragon's Eye is an educational BBC Look and Read production, which was first aired on BBC Two on 19 September 1989, and has been shown regularly ever since....
and had a recurring role as the headmaster in Press Gang
Press Gang
Press Gang is a British children's television comedy-drama consisting of forty-three episodes across five series that were broadcast from 1989 to 1993...
from 1989-1993.
He played the parts of Mortimer the Elder and Matrevis in the Summer 2011 production of Edward II (play)
Edward II (play)
Edward II is a Renaissance or Early Modern period play written by Christopher Marlowe. It is one of the earliest English history plays. The full title of the first publication is The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud...
at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
Royal Exchange, Manchester
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed Victorian building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street...
, which also featured Sam Collings.
Selected filmography
- Song of SummerSong of SummerSong of Summer is a 1968 black-and-white film written, produced and directed by Ken Russell, who also plays a cameo role as a philandering priest. It portrays the final six years of the life of Frederick Delius, when he was blind and paralysed, and when Eric Fenby lived with the composer and his...
(1968) - Scrooge (1970)
- For the Love of AdaFor the Love of Ada (film)For the Love of Ada is a 1972 British comedy film directed by Ronnie Baxter and starring Irene Handl, Wilfred Pickles, Barbara Mitchell and Jack Smethurst. It is a spin-off from the television series For the Love of Ada. An elderly couple are about to celebrate the first anniversary of their...
(1972) - The Thirty Nine Steps (1978)
- TangiersTangiers (1982 film)Tangiers is a 1982 American-Morrocan thriller film directed by Michael E. Briant and starring Ronny Cox, Billie Whitelaw and Glynis Barber.-Cast:* Ronny Cox ... Bob Steele* Billie Whitelaw ... Louise* Glynis Barber ... Beth...
(1982)