Raymond Sargent
Encyclopedia
Raymond Sargent was a critically acclaimed British
actor
, musician
and dramatist.
, Dorset
to a mother from Lancashire
and Poole
father.
playing Norman Petty
and Jack Daw, he also played parts in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Rhinoceros! and Hard Times.
, Miss Marple
, cult programmes The Two Ronnies
, Blake's 7
and Doctor Who
. He later played larger parts in 'Let's Roll- The Story of Flight 93' and 'Time Tourists'. He also appeared in several television advertisements and training videos.
, guitar
, recorder
, accordion
, bagpipes
, piano
and flute
amongst other instruments. He played in medieval trio the Wimborne Minstrels, with Charles Spicer and Phil Humphries and in a ceilidh
band called No Strings Attached. Raymond wrote original music for his one man shows and for other projects such as the 'New Music For The River Stour' project, which was performed in Wimborne, Dorset by a local choir.
and The Signalman by Charles Dickens
as halves of his production 'Two Victorian Tales'. He also performed an original dramatisation of T. E. Lawrence
's last years and his relationship with Thomas Hardy
.
'caller' and applied the skills used for his one man shows to ceilidh dancing to dance, providing lower cost folk dances by accompanying self created backing tracks on his saxophone, demonstrating and instructing or 'calling' dances by himself. These were known as 'Track Ceilidhs'.
Raymond provided the choreography for LWT's television adaptation of The Mayor of Casterbridge
, which he was also an extra in along with his wife Julia, and daughter Laura.
's Poetry Please
.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
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...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and dramatist.
Early life
Along with his sister Jean, he was born in the town of PoolePoole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
to a mother from Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
and Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
father.
Career
Following several years of study as an electro-mechanic instrument mechanic, then an instrument maker Raymond discovered a passion for drama when his future wife Julia Banwell introduced him to amateur dramatics. He then studied acting professionally at Mountview Theatre School in London.Theatre
He toured for two years from 1994-1996 with the highly successful nationally touring musical production of The Buddy Holly StoryBuddy - The Buddy Holly Story
Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story is a jukebox musical in two acts with a book written by Alan Janes, and music and lyrics by a variety of songwriters. Based on the life and career of early rock and roller Buddy Holly, the musical hews closer to Holly's actual life story than the 1978 film version...
playing Norman Petty
Norman Petty
Norman Petty was an American musician, songwriter, and pioneer record producer who helped shape modern popular music, including pop and rock....
and Jack Daw, he also played parts in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Rhinoceros! and Hard Times.
Television
During his early career he played small parts in television programmes such as Only Fools and HorsesOnly Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
, Miss Marple
Miss Marple (TV series)
Miss Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It starred Joan Hickson in the title role, and aired from 1984 to 1992. All twelve original Miss Marple Christie novels have been dramatised. The screenplays were written by T. R...
, cult programmes The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies is a British sketch show that aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.-Origins:...
, 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 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...
. He later played larger parts in 'Let's Roll- The Story of Flight 93' and 'Time Tourists'. He also appeared in several television advertisements and training videos.
Film
Raymond performed in many student films throughout his career including several for local filmmaker Jamie Shearing.Music
Raymond was a self taught musician playing the saxophoneSaxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
amongst other instruments. He played in medieval trio the Wimborne Minstrels, with Charles Spicer and Phil Humphries and in a ceilidh
Céilidh
In modern usage, a céilidh or ceilidh is a traditional Gaelic social gathering, which usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing. It originated in Ireland, but is now common throughout the Irish and Scottish diasporas...
band called No Strings Attached. Raymond wrote original music for his one man shows and for other projects such as the 'New Music For The River Stour' project, which was performed in Wimborne, Dorset by a local choir.
Dramatisations
Raymond was best known for touring his one man shows nationally. From 2002 onwards. He performed theatrical adaptations of The Three Strangers by Thomas HardyThomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
and The Signalman by Charles Dickens
Charles 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...
as halves of his production 'Two Victorian Tales'. He also performed an original dramatisation of T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
's last years and his relationship with Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
.
Dance
Raymond was an experienced folk danceFolk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
'caller' and applied the skills used for his one man shows to ceilidh dancing to dance, providing lower cost folk dances by accompanying self created backing tracks on his saxophone, demonstrating and instructing or 'calling' dances by himself. These were known as 'Track Ceilidhs'.
Raymond provided the choreography for LWT's television adaptation of The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge
The Mayor of Casterbridge , subtitled "The Life and Death of a Man of Character", is a tragic novel by British author Thomas Hardy. It is set in the fictional town of Casterbridge . The book is one of Hardy's Wessex novels, all set in a fictional rustic England...
, which he was also an extra in along with his wife Julia, and daughter Laura.
Writing
Raymond held educational workshops on adapting written material for the stage, original script writing, theatre skills, public address and poetry writing. He also read poetry for BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's Poetry Please
Poetry Please
Poetry Please is a weekly radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in which listeners request poems, which are then read by a cast of actors. The current presenter is Roger McGough...
.
External links
- http://www.raymondsargent.com/biog.htm
- http://www.raymondsargent.com/two_victorian_tales.htm
- http://www.raymondsargent.com/wimborne_minstrels.htm
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2436988/
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1223881/