Desmond Barrit
Encyclopedia
Desmond Barrit is a Laurence Olivier Award winning, British
actor, best known for his stage work.
, Swansea
, Wales
.
For some years he was a regular in repertory at the Grand Theatre, Swansea.
He has also starred in productions of the Royal Shakespeare Company
, and has appeared at the Chichester Festival Theatre
, and the Royal National Theatre
. More recently he appeared in The History Boys
at Wyndham's Theatre
portraying the general studies
teacher, Hector, made famous by Richard Griffiths
in the film version.
On 7 July 2008 he took over the role of The Wizard
from Nigel Planer
in the West End
production of Wicked
at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
. He played his last performance on 9 May 2009 and was replaced by Sam Kelly
. Barrit returned to the role for select performances in July and August 2009 while Kelly was out on medical leave. He shared the part with understudy Sean Needham.
His next stage appearance was in the Glyndebourne Festival Opera
production of The Fairy Queen, where he combined the singing role of the drunken poet with the spoken role of Bottom - a part he has also played in its Shakespearian original
.
In 2009 he directed a version of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
at Sheringham
Little Theatre, which he patronises, featuring his former Wicked co-star Caroline Keiff
in the title role.
Beginning 12 December 2011, he will be returning to Wicked, reprising his role of the Wizard. He takes over from Clive Carter
.
The Fairy Queen (Glyndebourne/Paris/New York); Wicked
(West End); The History Boys
; Stuff Happens
; A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
; Mountain Giants; The Recruiting Officer; The Wind in the Willows; Three Men on a Horse; Jacobowsky and the Colonel; The Magistrate (National Theatre); 'Falstaff' in Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (Olivier nomination); A Midsummer Night's Dream
(Helen Hayes Award); The Comedy of Errors
(Olivier Award); King Lear
; The Man Who Came to Dinner; The Tempest
(Clarence Derwent Award); Twelfth Night; Macbeth
; The Constant Couple (RSC); The History Boys
; Accidental Death of an Anarchist
; Real Inspector Hound/Black Comedy; Dubarry; The Scarlett Pimpernel; Eurydice; Three Men on a Horse; The Lair; A View from the Bridge
; This is a Chair; Then Again; The Chinese Wolf; The Three Musketeers; HMS Pinafore
; and Twelfth Night (London); The Merchant of Venice
; On the Razzle
; Fortune's Fool (Chichester Festival Theatre
); My Fair Lady
(Hollywood Bowl).
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, best known for his stage work.
Biography
Barrit was born on 19 October 1944 in MorristonMorriston
Morriston is a community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston ward. Morriston is sometimes referred to as a distinct town , however Morriston never had a town charter, and is now part of the continuous urban area around Swansea, the centre of which lies three...
, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
For some years he was a regular in repertory at the Grand Theatre, Swansea.
He has also starred in productions of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, and has appeared at the Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
, and the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
. More recently he appeared in The History Boys
The History Boys
The History Boys is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Lyttelton Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where there were 185 performances staged before it closed on 1 October 2006.The play won multiple...
at Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre
Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by the actor/manager Charles Wyndham . Located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, it was designed by W.G.R. Sprague about 1898, the architect of six other London theatres between then and 1916...
portraying the general studies
General Studies
General Studies may refer to:* Bachelor of General Studies, a degree offered in some Western Universities* A GCSE and A-level examination offered to 16-18 year olds in the United Kingdom and some other countries...
teacher, Hector, made famous by Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
in the film version.
On 7 July 2008 he took over the role of The Wizard
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
from Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
production of Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
at the Apollo Victoria Theatre
Apollo Victoria Theatre
The Apollo Victoria Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Wilton Road near Victoria station in the City of Westminster. Opened as a cinema and variety theatre, the Apollo Victoria became a venue for musical theatre, beginning with The Sound of Music in 1981, and including the long-running...
. He played his last performance on 9 May 2009 and was replaced by Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly
Sam Kelly is an English actor who has appeared in television, radio and theatre.-Career:He has had roles in British sitcoms such as Porridge as Bunny Warren, Allo 'Allo! as Captain Hans Geering leaving after series three, On the Up as Dennis Waterman's chauffeur and We'll Think of Something as Les...
. Barrit returned to the role for select performances in July and August 2009 while Kelly was out on medical leave. He shared the part with understudy Sean Needham.
His next stage appearance was in the Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
production of The Fairy Queen, where he combined the singing role of the drunken poet with the spoken role of Bottom - a part he has also played in its Shakespearian original
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
.
In 2009 he directed a version of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is a 1992 play written by English dramatist Jim Cartwright. Sam Mendes directed stars Jane Horrocks and Alison Steadman at the Royal National Theatre before transferring to the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End....
at Sheringham
Sheringham
Sheringham is a seaside town in Norfolk, England, west of Cromer.The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District Council, is Mare Ditat Pinusque Decorat, Latin for "The sea enriches and the pine adorns"....
Little Theatre, which he patronises, featuring his former Wicked co-star Caroline Keiff
Caroline Keiff
Caroline Keiff is a British theatre performer, best known for her portrayal of Nessarose in Wicked. She was member of the original London cast and performed on the show's opening night of September 27, 2006. She performed in the ensemble and understudied the role of Nessarose. From July 2007, she...
in the title role.
Beginning 12 December 2011, he will be returning to Wicked, reprising his role of the Wizard. He takes over from Clive Carter
Clive Carter
Clive Carter is a British actor and singer.Carter studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His West End theatre credits include Someone Like You with Petula Clark, A Man for All Seasons with Martin Shaw, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Brendan Fraser and Ned Beatty, We Will Rock You, I...
.
Selected theatre credits
The Habit of ArtThe Habit of Art
The Habit of Art is a 2009 play by English playwright Alan Bennett, centred on a fictional meeting between WH Auden and Benjamin Britten while Britten is composing the opera Death in Venice...
The Fairy Queen (Glyndebourne/Paris/New York); Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
(West End); The History Boys
The History Boys
The History Boys is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Lyttelton Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where there were 185 performances staged before it closed on 1 October 2006.The play won multiple...
; Stuff Happens
Stuff Happens
Stuff Happens is a play by David Hare, written in response to the Iraq War. Hare describes it as "a history play" that deals with recent history.The title is inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's response to widespread looting in Baghdad:...
; A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart....
; Mountain Giants; The Recruiting Officer; The Wind in the Willows; Three Men on a Horse; Jacobowsky and the Colonel; The Magistrate (National Theatre); 'Falstaff' in Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 (Olivier nomination); A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
(Helen Hayes Award); The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
(Olivier Award); King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
; The Man Who Came to Dinner; The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
(Clarence Derwent Award); Twelfth Night; Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
; The Constant Couple (RSC); The History Boys
The History Boys
The History Boys is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Lyttelton Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where there were 185 performances staged before it closed on 1 October 2006.The play won multiple...
; Accidental Death of an Anarchist
Accidental Death of an Anarchist
Accidental Death of an Anarchist is perhaps the best-known play by the Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo.- About the play :...
; Real Inspector Hound/Black Comedy; Dubarry; The Scarlett Pimpernel; Eurydice; Three Men on a Horse; The Lair; A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller that was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to contain two acts; this...
; This is a Chair; Then Again; The Chinese Wolf; The Three Musketeers; HMS Pinafore
HMS Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
; and Twelfth Night (London); The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice
The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
; On the Razzle
On the Razzle
"On the razzle" is a euphemism often used in the British press to describe the actions of a celebrity who has drunk, or is about to drink, a considerable amount of alcohol...
; Fortune's Fool (Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
); My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
(Hollywood Bowl).
Selected television roles
| Year | Programme | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Follow the Star | Shepherd | First television role |
| 1991 | Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor | Samuel Naughton | |
| 1998 | Alice Through the Looking-Glass | Humpty Dumpty | |
| 1999 | A Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol (1999 film) A Christmas Carol is a 1999 television film adaptation of Charles Dickens's famous novel A Christmas Carol. It was directed by David Hugh Jones and stars Patrick Stewart as Ebenezer Scrooge and Richard E. Grant as Bob Cratchit... |
Ghost of Christmas Present Ghost of Christmas Present The Ghost of Christmas Present is a character in one of the best-known works of the English novelist Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. The Spirit closely resembles Father Christmas from local folklore.... |
Television film |
| Oliver Twist Oliver Twist (TV miniseries) Oliver Twist is a 1999 television mini-series produced by ITV based on the book Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.-Plot:The first episode revolved around Oliver's parents as they struggled to fight their love for each other... |
Mr. Flinders | Television mini-series | |
| 2007 | Northanger Abbey Northanger Abbey (2007 TV drama) Northanger Abbey, an adaptation of the classic Jane Austen novel of the same name, premiered on 25 March, 2007 on the United Kingdom channel ITV at 9pm, as part of their Jane Austen Season. The drama ran for 120 minutes in the UK, and 93 minutes without interruption in the United States... |
Mr Allen | |