Nigel Playfair
Encyclopedia
Sir Nigel Playfair was the actor-manager
of the Lyric Theatre
, Hammersmith
, London
, in the 1920s. He studied at University College, Oxford
.
Playfair starred in the Mermaid Society's well-received 1904 London production of The Way of the World
by William Congreve and went on to produce a very effective modern run twenty years later at The Lyric with Edith Evans
as Millamant (1924).
He produced Shakespeare's As You Like It
for the opening night of the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford-upon-Avon
in April 1919, and brought it back to the Lyric in April 1920. Critics derided an unconventional set and costumes by Claud Lovat Fraser
, but in what Shakespearean scholar Sylvan Barnet calls the play's "first modern production", their spare, evocative design was later acknowledged as a groundbreaking departure from the unimaginatively literal Shakespearean production typical of the time.
As early as 1914, Fraser had also begun to think up designs based on John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. He has been credited with a major influence on the BBC
's 1923 wireless Shakespeares, the first produced by that organisation. He continued to work as a BBC producer for some years, and is credited with having commissioned Richard Hughes
to write the world's first radio play, Danger, which was broadcast on January 15, 1924. Playfair also appeared in a few motion picture film
s during the last years of his life.
He was knighted
in 1928. The National Portrait Gallery holds a pen and ink caricature
portrait of Sir Nigel Playfair by Harry Furniss
.
still markets Sir Nigel's Vintage Marmalade, and there is a Nigel Playfair Avenue in Hammersmith
, near Ravenscourt Park tube station
.
's Nicholas Nickleby and featuring those characters performing Lillo's George Barnwell, an 18th-century moral melodrama, opened at the Garrick Theatre on October 1, 1928.
Actor-manager
An actor-manager is a leading actor who sets up their own permanent theatrical company and manages the company's business and financial arrangements, sometimes taking over the management of a theatre, to perform plays of their own choice and in which they will usually star...
of the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
, Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in the 1920s. He studied at University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
.
Playfair starred in the Mermaid Society's well-received 1904 London production of The Way of the World
The Way of the World
The Way of the World is a play written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London...
by William Congreve and went on to produce a very effective modern run twenty years later at The Lyric with Edith Evans
Edith Evans
Dame Edith Mary Evans, DBE was a British actress. She was known for her work on the British stage. She also appeared in a number of films, for which she received three Academy Award nominations, plus a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award.Evans was particularly effective at portraying haughty...
as Millamant (1924).
He produced Shakespeare's As You Like It
As You Like It
As You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
for the opening night of the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
in April 1919, and brought it back to the Lyric in April 1920. Critics derided an unconventional set and costumes by Claud Lovat Fraser
Claud Lovat Fraser
Claud Lovat Fraser was an English Artist, designer and author.Claud Lovat Fraser was a member of a distinguished old family in which it was traditional to include the name Lovat in the eldest son's name. For much of his life he was know simply by that name...
, but in what Shakespearean scholar Sylvan Barnet calls the play's "first modern production", their spare, evocative design was later acknowledged as a groundbreaking departure from the unimaginatively literal Shakespearean production typical of the time.
As early as 1914, Fraser had also begun to think up designs based on John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. He has been credited with a major influence on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's 1923 wireless Shakespeares, the first produced by that organisation. He continued to work as a BBC producer for some years, and is credited with having commissioned Richard Hughes
Richard Hughes (writer)
Richard Arthur Warren Hughes OBE was a British writer of poems, short stories, novels and plays.He was born in Weybridge, Surrey. His father was a civil servant Arthur Hughes, and his mother Louisa Grace Warren who had been brought up in Jamaica...
to write the world's first radio play, Danger, which was broadcast on January 15, 1924. Playfair also appeared in a few motion picture film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s during the last years of his life.
He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1928. The National Portrait Gallery holds a pen and ink caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
portrait of Sir Nigel Playfair by Harry Furniss
Harry Furniss
Henry Furniss was an artist and illustrator, born in Wexford, Ireland. His father was English and his mother Scottish, Furniss identifying himself as English...
.
Legacy
Fortnum & MasonFortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason, often shortened to just "Fortnum's" is a department store, situated in central London, with two other branches in Japan. Its headquarters is located at 181 Piccadilly, where it was established in 1707 by William Fortnum and Hugh Mason...
still markets Sir Nigel's Vintage Marmalade, and there is a Nigel Playfair Avenue in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, near Ravenscourt Park tube station
Ravenscourt Park tube station
Ravenscourt Park is a London Underground station located in west Hammersmith, west London. The station is served by the District Line and is between Hammersmith and Stamford Brook stations....
.
Publications
- Playfair wrote two volumes of memoirs about the Lyric:
- The Story of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith (London: Chatto & Windus 1925) with Arnold BennettArnold Bennett- Early life :Bennett was born in a modest house in Hanley in the Potteries district of Staffordshire. Hanley is one of a conurbation of six towns which joined together at the beginning of the twentieth century as Stoke-on-Trent. Enoch Bennett, his father, qualified as a solicitor in 1876, and the...
& A. A. MilneA. A. MilneAlan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various children's poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work.-Biography:A. A...
. - Hammersmith Hoy. A Book of Minor Revelations (London: Faber & Faber 1930).
Playwright
His play When Crummles Played, drawn from characters from Charles DickensCharles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
's Nicholas Nickleby and featuring those characters performing Lillo's George Barnwell, an 18th-century moral melodrama, opened at the Garrick Theatre on October 1, 1928.
Movie appearances
- Perfect UnderstandingPerfect UnderstandingPerfect Understanding is a 1933 British comedy film directed by Cyril Gardner and starring Laurence Olivier, Gloria Swanson and John Halliday.-Plot:...
(1933) - Crime on the HillCrime on the HillCrime on the Hill is a 1933 British mystery film directed by Bernard Vorhaus and starring Sally Blane, Nigel Playfair and Lewis Casson. The plot was based on a successful play by Jack de Leon and Jack Celestin...
(1933) - The Lady Is WillingThe Lady is WillingThe Lady is Willing is a 1942 Columbia Pictures screwball comedy film starring Marlene Dietrich and Fred MacMurray, directed by Mitchell Leisen....
(1934) - Little Stranger (1934)