The Theatrical Career of Richard Burton 1942 - 1983
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them"...William Shakespeare,Twelfth Night, Act II, Scene V.
"This shrewd Welsh boy shines out with greatness. Burton is still a brimming pool, running disturbingly deep. At twenty-five he commands a repose and can make silence garrulous. His Prince Hal is never a roaring boy; he sits hunched or sprawled, with dark unwinking eyes; he hopes to be amused by his bully companions, but the eyes constantly muse beyond them into the time when he must steady himself for the crown. 'He brings his cathedral with him', said one dazed member of the company. For all his bold chivalry, this watchful Celt seems surely to have strayed from a wayside pulpit. Fluent and sparing of gesture, compact and spruce of build, Burton smiles where other Hal's have guffawed, relaxes where they have strained, and Falstaff, played with affectionate obesity by Anthony Quayle, must work hard to divert him. In battle, Burton's voice cuts urgent and keen - always likeable, always amiable."
The eminent, and usually harsh theatre critic Kenneth Tynan, reviewing Richard Burton's performance as Prince Hal in the 1951 Stratford-upon-Avon production of William Shakespeare's 'King Henry IV Part I'.
A Selection of Richard Burton Theatre Memorabilia
Ronald Gow's 'Gallows Glorious'
Port Talbot Secondary School Amateur Production, 1942
The earliest known theatrical performance given to the public in which Richard Burton appeared was the Port Talbot Secondary School amateur production of the Ronald Gow play, 'Gallows Glorious'. Produced and directed by the senior English master at the school, Philip H. Burton, the play told the story of the American abolitionist John Brown. Philip Burton cast the young Richard Jenkins in the major role of John Brown's son, Owen.
In the closing scene of the play, Richard Burton was required to sing, as a solo, the battle hymn, 'His Soul Goes Marching On'. This he did with relish, as he knew, even in those early days, it was his chance to be noticed. The play was an outstanding success and although Philip Burton accused him of a little overacting, it proved to be a pivotal moment in the life of the schoolboy and set him on the path of theatrical success and fame.
Although not the original theatrical programme for the play, of which only a handful of copies are known to survive, this is the accompanying Port Talbot Secondary School magazine, 'The Wayfarer', copies of which are also extremely scarce.
Contained within the pages of this important and theatrically historic magazine is a complete cast list for the play as well as an extremely detailed review of the play in which Richard Jenkins is mentioned frequently. One such example reads;
"John Brown's sons were each well played in their respective characters by Richard Jenkins, Roy Vincent, Brinley Phillips and Owain Davies: the first named culminating an assured performance by sustaining the powerful climax with fine effect."
The magazine was especially printed for the Port Talbot Secondary School by D.W. Jones, (Printer), based in Courtland Place, Port Talbot in November, 1942.
In the closing scene of the play, Richard Burton was required to sing, as a solo, the battle hymn, 'His Soul Goes Marching On'. This he did with relish, as he knew, even in those early days, it was his chance to be noticed. The play was an outstanding success and although Philip Burton accused him of a little overacting, it proved to be a pivotal moment in the life of the schoolboy and set him on the path of theatrical success and fame.
Although not the original theatrical programme for the play, of which only a handful of copies are known to survive, this is the accompanying Port Talbot Secondary School magazine, 'The Wayfarer', copies of which are also extremely scarce.
Contained within the pages of this important and theatrically historic magazine is a complete cast list for the play as well as an extremely detailed review of the play in which Richard Jenkins is mentioned frequently. One such example reads;
"John Brown's sons were each well played in their respective characters by Richard Jenkins, Roy Vincent, Brinley Phillips and Owain Davies: the first named culminating an assured performance by sustaining the powerful climax with fine effect."
The magazine was especially printed for the Port Talbot Secondary School by D.W. Jones, (Printer), based in Courtland Place, Port Talbot in November, 1942.
George Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion'
Port Talbot Secondary School Amateur Production, 1943
The earliest, and quite possibly the rarest piece of theatrical memorabilia held in the Richard Burton Museum collection is this original programme for the amateur production of George Bernard Shaw's 'Pygmalion', staged by the Port Talbot Secondary School in the October of 1943.
Philip Burton staged and directed this production and cast the young Richard Jenkins in the demanding role of Professor Higgins.
The production was reviewed in great depth in the Port Talbot Secondary School magazine, 'The Wayfarer', and selected paragraphs of the article read;
"This year's School Play - Shaw's 'Pygmalion' - proved the most popular of all the long series of School productions. The six public performances given during the week were insufficient to supply the demand for tickets, and an additional performance was given on the Monday of the following week..."
"Our School actors again deserve our congratulations on their performances. Richard Jenkins and Dilys Jones as Higgins and Eliza joyously took all the opportunities which these parts offered, and played them with a confident vigour which delighted the audience. The former in his enunciation, his gestures, and his movements seemed perfectly at home on the stage and in the part..."
"The production was, as usual, in the hands of Mr. Burton, and it is sufficient to say that it once more exemplified the high standard to which he has long brought our School dramatics..."
The programme includes a full cast list of the students involved in the production as well as credits for the costume providers, Chas H. Fox Limited of London and the pianists, Sheila Coombes and Gareth Morgan.
The programme for this Port Talbot Secondary School production was printed by D. W. Jones (Printer) based in Courtland Place, Port Talbot.
An interesting piece of social history is contained within the pages of this rare programme, a small footnote which reads;
"If an air-raid 'Alert' is given during the performance, an announcement will be made from the stage. There will be a short interval to allow those who wish to do so to leave the building, and then the performance will be continued."
Philip Burton staged and directed this production and cast the young Richard Jenkins in the demanding role of Professor Higgins.
The production was reviewed in great depth in the Port Talbot Secondary School magazine, 'The Wayfarer', and selected paragraphs of the article read;
"This year's School Play - Shaw's 'Pygmalion' - proved the most popular of all the long series of School productions. The six public performances given during the week were insufficient to supply the demand for tickets, and an additional performance was given on the Monday of the following week..."
"Our School actors again deserve our congratulations on their performances. Richard Jenkins and Dilys Jones as Higgins and Eliza joyously took all the opportunities which these parts offered, and played them with a confident vigour which delighted the audience. The former in his enunciation, his gestures, and his movements seemed perfectly at home on the stage and in the part..."
"The production was, as usual, in the hands of Mr. Burton, and it is sufficient to say that it once more exemplified the high standard to which he has long brought our School dramatics..."
The programme includes a full cast list of the students involved in the production as well as credits for the costume providers, Chas H. Fox Limited of London and the pianists, Sheila Coombes and Gareth Morgan.
The programme for this Port Talbot Secondary School production was printed by D. W. Jones (Printer) based in Courtland Place, Port Talbot.
An interesting piece of social history is contained within the pages of this rare programme, a small footnote which reads;
"If an air-raid 'Alert' is given during the performance, an announcement will be made from the stage. There will be a short interval to allow those who wish to do so to leave the building, and then the performance will be continued."
Philip Burton applying the stage make-up to his young protege, Richard Jenkins in readiness for the Port Talbot Secondary School amateur production of George Bernard Shaw's play, 'Pygmalion' in October, 1943. Richard Jenkins was cast by Philip Burton in the major role of Professor Higgins in only his second ever stage role. The above photograph is credited to The Philip Burton Collection.
'The Druid's Rest' Written and Directed by Emlyn Williams
The Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, November 1943
In the August of 1943, the eminent Welsh playwright, author, actor and director Emlyn Williams placed an advertisment in the Cardiff Western Mail requesting young Welsh actors and actresses to audition for parts in his new comedy play entitled, 'The Druid's Rest', which he was planning to debut in London in the autumn of 1944. In particular Emlyn Williams was seeking a young Welsh-speaking boy actor for the lead role.
The original newspaper advertisment read as follows;
"Mr. Emlyn Williams is looking for several Welsh actors and actresses for small parts in his new play which will open in the autumn.
Types wanted vary from young people to character actors and actresses.
A Welsh boy actor is also required.
Boy applicants must be fourteen years by December 1st, but are expected to look younger. Those who think they can fill these roles should write within seven days to Mr. Williams at 15 Pelham Crescent, London SW7, giving age, qualifications and enclosing a recent photograph".
Philip Burton, after being made aware of the advertisment, immediately applied on behalf of his young ward Richard Jenkins, and received an invitation for them both to attend an audition at the Sandringham Hotel in Cardiff in front of Emlyn Williams himself and H. M.Tennent's formidable casting director, Daphne Rye.
Although unsuccessful in securing the role for which he auditioned, the young Richard Jenkins found himself cast in the smaller, yet more demanding role of Glan, the elder son.
And so it was, on the 22nd of November 1943, the eighteen-year-old, newly-named Richard Burton, made his professional stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool before commencing on a short tour of provincial theatres prior to the London opening at the Haymarket Theatre. The rest, as they say, is history.
This exceptionally rare and historic theatre programme for 'The Druid's Rest', which features Richard Burton's first professional performance, was published by Stilwell, Darby and Company Limited and printed by John Waddington Limited, London especially for this week-long run at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.
The original newspaper advertisment read as follows;
"Mr. Emlyn Williams is looking for several Welsh actors and actresses for small parts in his new play which will open in the autumn.
Types wanted vary from young people to character actors and actresses.
A Welsh boy actor is also required.
Boy applicants must be fourteen years by December 1st, but are expected to look younger. Those who think they can fill these roles should write within seven days to Mr. Williams at 15 Pelham Crescent, London SW7, giving age, qualifications and enclosing a recent photograph".
Philip Burton, after being made aware of the advertisment, immediately applied on behalf of his young ward Richard Jenkins, and received an invitation for them both to attend an audition at the Sandringham Hotel in Cardiff in front of Emlyn Williams himself and H. M.Tennent's formidable casting director, Daphne Rye.
Although unsuccessful in securing the role for which he auditioned, the young Richard Jenkins found himself cast in the smaller, yet more demanding role of Glan, the elder son.
And so it was, on the 22nd of November 1943, the eighteen-year-old, newly-named Richard Burton, made his professional stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool before commencing on a short tour of provincial theatres prior to the London opening at the Haymarket Theatre. The rest, as they say, is history.
This exceptionally rare and historic theatre programme for 'The Druid's Rest', which features Richard Burton's first professional performance, was published by Stilwell, Darby and Company Limited and printed by John Waddington Limited, London especially for this week-long run at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.
The front and rear cover for the Royal Court Theatre programme, dating from November the 22nd 1943, the date which marked Richard Burton's professional stage debut in the Emlyn Williams production of 'The Druid's Rest'.
A rare still image, captured by theatrical photographer John Vickers, of an eighteen-year-old Richard Burton in his first professional role as Glan in the Emlyn Williams play, 'The Druid's Rest'.
'The Druid's Rest' Written and Directed by Emlyn Williams
The Theatre Royal Nottingham, November 1943
An original, and rare, theatre programme for the performances of the Emlyn William's play, 'The Druid's Rest', which took place at the Theatre Royal in the City of Nottingham.
The production was presented by H. M. Tennent Limited and was again directed by Emlyn Williams himself. The run of 'The Druid's Rest' at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham commenced on Monday the 29th of November and ran for one week.
The incidental music for this production of the play was provided by the Theatre Royal Orchestra under the direction of Charles Dennis. The Stage Manager for the play was Dorothy Turner and the Stage Director was Leonard Upton, who both appeared on behalf of H. M. Tennent.
This programme for the Theatre Royal, Nottingham was published by Stilwell Darby and Company Limited, (Advertising Contractors) based in London and was printed by John Waddington Limited, Leeds and London.
Again, as a War-Time production, the programme includes a nice piece of social history which reads;
"Alert" and "All-Clear" signals will be advised to patrons by means of illuminated signs which are placed at each side of the stage. Those desiring to leave may do so, but the performance will continue."
The price of this programme at the time of printing was two pence.
The production was presented by H. M. Tennent Limited and was again directed by Emlyn Williams himself. The run of 'The Druid's Rest' at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham commenced on Monday the 29th of November and ran for one week.
The incidental music for this production of the play was provided by the Theatre Royal Orchestra under the direction of Charles Dennis. The Stage Manager for the play was Dorothy Turner and the Stage Director was Leonard Upton, who both appeared on behalf of H. M. Tennent.
This programme for the Theatre Royal, Nottingham was published by Stilwell Darby and Company Limited, (Advertising Contractors) based in London and was printed by John Waddington Limited, Leeds and London.
Again, as a War-Time production, the programme includes a nice piece of social history which reads;
"Alert" and "All-Clear" signals will be advised to patrons by means of illuminated signs which are placed at each side of the stage. Those desiring to leave may do so, but the performance will continue."
The price of this programme at the time of printing was two pence.
The interior of the Nottingham Theatre Royal programme for the production of 'The Druid's Rest' which opened on the 29th of November, 1943.
The classically beautiful frontage of the Nottingham Theatre Royal as it appears today.
'The Druid's Rest' Written and Directed by Emlyn Williams
The Theatre Royal York, January 1944
Another incredibly rare and original theatre programme for the Emlyn Williams play, 'The Druid's Rest'. This particular example dates from January, 1944.
This programme, printed on thin, delicate 'War-time' paper, was published and printed especially for the Theatre Royal York, which was to be the last provincial stop on the tour before the London opening at the St. Martin's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London.
Commencing on the 17th of January,1944 and running for just one week at the Theatre Royal, the cast included Gladys Henson, Brynmor Thomas, Nuna Davey, Neil Porter, Michael Shepley, Lyn Evans and Roddy Hughes.
The York production of 'The Druid's Rest' was again directed by Emlyn Williams himself.
This rare programme was printed especially for this one week run at the Theatre Royal by J. Hare (Printer), based locally in Stonegate, one of the most historical and architecturally important streets in the City of York.
Gladys Henson, performing alongside the young Richard Burton in this early production was to later recall;
"He was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen. He was never precocious, just an ordinary boy with great talent. You would never have thought it was his first professional part. I thought perhaps he would be nervous, but not a bit of it. He was really a natural from the word go, from that first rehearsal."
The play was directed by Emlyn Williams and was presented by H.M. Tennent Productions Limited, London.
In nostalgic recollection, Emlyn Williams was to describe the ability and talent of the young Richard Burton with the words;
"He had the rare gift of repose, and one even rarer - a paradoxical quality one longs to find in actors and rarely does, that of modest assurance. He drew attention by not claiming it. He played his part with perfect simplicity."
Interestingly, Richard Burton's understudy for this production was another young Welsh boy who would go on to find fame as a great stage and screen actor, Stanley Baker.
This programme, printed on thin, delicate 'War-time' paper, was published and printed especially for the Theatre Royal York, which was to be the last provincial stop on the tour before the London opening at the St. Martin's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London.
Commencing on the 17th of January,1944 and running for just one week at the Theatre Royal, the cast included Gladys Henson, Brynmor Thomas, Nuna Davey, Neil Porter, Michael Shepley, Lyn Evans and Roddy Hughes.
The York production of 'The Druid's Rest' was again directed by Emlyn Williams himself.
This rare programme was printed especially for this one week run at the Theatre Royal by J. Hare (Printer), based locally in Stonegate, one of the most historical and architecturally important streets in the City of York.
Gladys Henson, performing alongside the young Richard Burton in this early production was to later recall;
"He was the most beautiful boy I'd ever seen. He was never precocious, just an ordinary boy with great talent. You would never have thought it was his first professional part. I thought perhaps he would be nervous, but not a bit of it. He was really a natural from the word go, from that first rehearsal."
The play was directed by Emlyn Williams and was presented by H.M. Tennent Productions Limited, London.
In nostalgic recollection, Emlyn Williams was to describe the ability and talent of the young Richard Burton with the words;
"He had the rare gift of repose, and one even rarer - a paradoxical quality one longs to find in actors and rarely does, that of modest assurance. He drew attention by not claiming it. He played his part with perfect simplicity."
Interestingly, Richard Burton's understudy for this production was another young Welsh boy who would go on to find fame as a great stage and screen actor, Stanley Baker.
The stunning facade of York's Theatre Royal. It was here that Richard Burton performed for one week from the 17th of January 1944 during the provincial run of 'The Druid's Rest', the last stop before the play moved on to the London opening at the St. Martin's Theatre.
'The Druid's Rest' Written and Directed by Emlyn Williams
St. Martin's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, January 1944
An original, four-page theatre programme for the production of the Emlyn Williams comedy play, 'The Druid's Rest', which opened in the capital at the St. Martin's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, on the 26th of January 1944. The play was produced in arrangement with Lee Ephraim, H. M. Tennent and Emile Littler.
'The Druid's Rest' was reviewed by James Redfern, the harsh theatre critic for 'The New Statesman on February the 2nd of that year and even he noted that; " In a wretched part, Master Richard Burton showed exceptional ability".
This was to be the review which Richard Burton, even in his later years, would remember and recall often. This particular review, he said, changed the course of his life forever and put him on the path to strive for theatrical stardom.
'The Times' newspaper, in their January the 27th edition, wrote;
"The hold of a farcical comedy which disdains the element of surprise is bound to be precarious, but although this piece is not exceptional in that respect it none the less provides the actors with some pretty opportunities for comedy which they do not neglect. Mr. Richard Burton, (or should it be 'Master Richard') is consistently droll as the small boy whose starved imagination spins the web of misunderstandings."
This small theatre programme for 'The Druid's Rest' was published by Payne-Jennings and Killick Limited based on Regent Street, London and was printed by J. Waddington Limited of Leeds and London, especially for the St. Martin's Theatre.
This particular production of 'The Druid's Rest', once again directed by Emlyn Williams himself, was to run at the St. Martin's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue for a total of eight weeks.
'The Druid's Rest' was reviewed by James Redfern, the harsh theatre critic for 'The New Statesman on February the 2nd of that year and even he noted that; " In a wretched part, Master Richard Burton showed exceptional ability".
This was to be the review which Richard Burton, even in his later years, would remember and recall often. This particular review, he said, changed the course of his life forever and put him on the path to strive for theatrical stardom.
'The Times' newspaper, in their January the 27th edition, wrote;
"The hold of a farcical comedy which disdains the element of surprise is bound to be precarious, but although this piece is not exceptional in that respect it none the less provides the actors with some pretty opportunities for comedy which they do not neglect. Mr. Richard Burton, (or should it be 'Master Richard') is consistently droll as the small boy whose starved imagination spins the web of misunderstandings."
This small theatre programme for 'The Druid's Rest' was published by Payne-Jennings and Killick Limited based on Regent Street, London and was printed by J. Waddington Limited of Leeds and London, especially for the St. Martin's Theatre.
This particular production of 'The Druid's Rest', once again directed by Emlyn Williams himself, was to run at the St. Martin's Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue for a total of eight weeks.
The interior of the small programme for the St. Martin's Theatre staging of the Emlyn Williams play, 'The Druid's Rest'.
'Castle Anna' Written by Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry
The Theatre Royal Brighton, February 1948

An original copy of the small theatre programme for the 1948 production of the historical drama play, 'Castle Anna', which was written by Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry.
Set in the drawing room of the fictional 'Castle Anna', a country house in the south of Ireland, this three-act play featured Richard Burton in the role of Mr. Hicks, an army officer, stationed nearby to Castle Anna in the fictional village of Clonmore.
Directed by H.M. Tennent's casting director Daphne Rye, the production also starred John Wyndham, Arthur Sinclair, Richard Leach, Pauline Letts and Hazel Terry.
The production was presented by Tennent Play's Limited and The Company of Four. This production of 'Castle Anna' opened at the Theatre Royal, Brighton on the 2nd of February, 1948 before moving on to Bournemouth and Cardiff and then the capital where it opened at The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.
This programme for the run of 'Castle Anna' was printed especially for the Theatre Royal by local printers, The Southern Publishing Company, based in North Street, Brighton.
A mediocre production, largely overlooked by critics and audiences alike, the run of this particular play did however bring into focus Richard Burton's professionalism and dedication to the theatre at that time in his career by one particular incident.
On the morning of the 25th of February, the day after the London opening, Arthur Sinclair, in the lead role, was arrested at the stage door by the police and was unceremoniously bundled into an awaiting police van without any explanation to the bewildered cast members who happened to be witnesses to the whole incident.
It later transpired that Sinclair had been arrested on the charge of avoiding National Service on fraudulent grounds and was being held at a nearby police station before being due to face trial, at an unspecified time, in front of a Conscientious Objectors Tribunal.
In a panic, Daphne Rye called an emergency meeting of cast and crew and arranged for an impromptu dress rehearsal with Richard Burton, who had also been Sinclair's understudy, taking over the lead role. Pauline Letts, Richard Burton's co-star was later to recall that.. "Something electric happened, he was quite brilliant in the part. Over the years I have worked with many actors and actresses who went on to become very big stars, but he was the only one, who one knew absolutely from the beginning, was destined for greatness."
Richard Burton's performance in the lead role was to prove so successful that the anxieties of both the cast and crew quickly vanished and the mood changed into one of complete relaxation, with the whole cast secretly hoping that Sinclair wouldn't return.
However, Sinclair did eventually return to take over the lead, but the episode was to prove highly beneficial to Richard Burton as word soon got around to directors and theatrical producers alike as to just how professional he was and how talented he was as an actor.
Set in the drawing room of the fictional 'Castle Anna', a country house in the south of Ireland, this three-act play featured Richard Burton in the role of Mr. Hicks, an army officer, stationed nearby to Castle Anna in the fictional village of Clonmore.
Directed by H.M. Tennent's casting director Daphne Rye, the production also starred John Wyndham, Arthur Sinclair, Richard Leach, Pauline Letts and Hazel Terry.
The production was presented by Tennent Play's Limited and The Company of Four. This production of 'Castle Anna' opened at the Theatre Royal, Brighton on the 2nd of February, 1948 before moving on to Bournemouth and Cardiff and then the capital where it opened at The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith.
This programme for the run of 'Castle Anna' was printed especially for the Theatre Royal by local printers, The Southern Publishing Company, based in North Street, Brighton.
A mediocre production, largely overlooked by critics and audiences alike, the run of this particular play did however bring into focus Richard Burton's professionalism and dedication to the theatre at that time in his career by one particular incident.
On the morning of the 25th of February, the day after the London opening, Arthur Sinclair, in the lead role, was arrested at the stage door by the police and was unceremoniously bundled into an awaiting police van without any explanation to the bewildered cast members who happened to be witnesses to the whole incident.
It later transpired that Sinclair had been arrested on the charge of avoiding National Service on fraudulent grounds and was being held at a nearby police station before being due to face trial, at an unspecified time, in front of a Conscientious Objectors Tribunal.
In a panic, Daphne Rye called an emergency meeting of cast and crew and arranged for an impromptu dress rehearsal with Richard Burton, who had also been Sinclair's understudy, taking over the lead role. Pauline Letts, Richard Burton's co-star was later to recall that.. "Something electric happened, he was quite brilliant in the part. Over the years I have worked with many actors and actresses who went on to become very big stars, but he was the only one, who one knew absolutely from the beginning, was destined for greatness."
Richard Burton's performance in the lead role was to prove so successful that the anxieties of both the cast and crew quickly vanished and the mood changed into one of complete relaxation, with the whole cast secretly hoping that Sinclair wouldn't return.
However, Sinclair did eventually return to take over the lead, but the episode was to prove highly beneficial to Richard Burton as word soon got around to directors and theatrical producers alike as to just how professional he was and how talented he was as an actor.
The cast list and production details from the interior of the programme for 'Castle Anna', performed at the Theatre Royal, Brighton in February 1948.
The grandeur of the facade of Brighton's Theatre Royal, unchanged since a young Richard Burton performed there in 1948 during the run of 'Castle Anna' and later in 1952 during the run of 'Montserrat'.
'Castle Anna' Written By Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry
The Palace Court Theatre Bournemouth, February 1948
A copy of the original Palace Court Theatre Bournemouth programme for the 1948 production of 'Castle Anna'.
The play, which was presented by Tennent Plays Limited in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain, was written by Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry and co-starred Jean St. Clair, Moya Nugent, John Wyndham, Pauline Letts, Arthur Sinclair and Hazel Terry.
The play itself was produced by the formidable H. M. Tennent casting director, Daphne Rye.
The production opened at the Palace Court Theatre on the ninth of February, 1948 and ran for just one week.
Music for the production was provided by the Palace Court Theatre Trio under the direction of Thomas Meek on the violin, Arthur Marston on the piano and Frazer Stewart on the cello.
This programme for 'Castle Anna' was published by the Bournemouth Little Theatre Limited and was printed by the Bournemouth Times.
The cost of the programme at the time of publication was three pence.
The play, which was presented by Tennent Plays Limited in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain, was written by Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry and co-starred Jean St. Clair, Moya Nugent, John Wyndham, Pauline Letts, Arthur Sinclair and Hazel Terry.
The play itself was produced by the formidable H. M. Tennent casting director, Daphne Rye.
The production opened at the Palace Court Theatre on the ninth of February, 1948 and ran for just one week.
Music for the production was provided by the Palace Court Theatre Trio under the direction of Thomas Meek on the violin, Arthur Marston on the piano and Frazer Stewart on the cello.
This programme for 'Castle Anna' was published by the Bournemouth Little Theatre Limited and was printed by the Bournemouth Times.
The cost of the programme at the time of publication was three pence.
'Castle Anna' Written by Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry
The Prince of Wales Theatre Cardiff, February 1948
A rare piece indeed is this programme for a run of performances Richard Burton undertook in his beloved Wales.
This theatre programme is for the run of 'Castle Anna', written by Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry, which took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Cardiff in the February of 1948. This was to be the last stop of the provincial tour before the grand opening of 'Castle Anna' at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith on the 24th of February that year.
The play was once again directed by the H. M. Tennent casting director, Daphne Rye.
Prior to this production of 'Castle Anna', Richard Burton had been discharged from the Royal Air Force and had paid a visit to Daphne Rye and Hugh 'Binkie' Beaumont at the H. M. Tennent offices in London. Upon Emlyn Williams' instructions he accepted an offer of a contract, giving him ten pounds a week, to appear as Mr. Hicks in this production.
Richard Leach, who had a small role in the play, was to recall in his later years of a meeting between himself, Daphne Rye and Richard Burton with the recollection;
"In he walked, this creature who apparently had some kind of contract but wasn't yet in a play, and I thought, 'Ahh Welsh peasant, I don't think we need worry about HIM!"
This rare Cardiff programme was printed by the Imperial Printing Company, based in Cardiff, Wales.
This theatre programme is for the run of 'Castle Anna', written by Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry, which took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre in Cardiff in the February of 1948. This was to be the last stop of the provincial tour before the grand opening of 'Castle Anna' at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith on the 24th of February that year.
The play was once again directed by the H. M. Tennent casting director, Daphne Rye.
Prior to this production of 'Castle Anna', Richard Burton had been discharged from the Royal Air Force and had paid a visit to Daphne Rye and Hugh 'Binkie' Beaumont at the H. M. Tennent offices in London. Upon Emlyn Williams' instructions he accepted an offer of a contract, giving him ten pounds a week, to appear as Mr. Hicks in this production.
Richard Leach, who had a small role in the play, was to recall in his later years of a meeting between himself, Daphne Rye and Richard Burton with the recollection;
"In he walked, this creature who apparently had some kind of contract but wasn't yet in a play, and I thought, 'Ahh Welsh peasant, I don't think we need worry about HIM!"
This rare Cardiff programme was printed by the Imperial Printing Company, based in Cardiff, Wales.
The interior of the rare Cardiff, Prince of Wales Theatre programme for the 1948 production of 'Castle Anna'.
'Castle Anna' Written By Elizabeth Bowen and John Perry
The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, February 1948

After a brief provincial tour, the H. M. Tennent production of 'Castle Anna' opened in London's West End, at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, on the 24th of February, 1948.
This obscure and largely forgotten Tennent Plays Limited production, in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain was again directed by the formidable casting director for H. M. Tennent, Daphne Rye.
Richard Burton, now permanently in the role of Mr. Hicks, was again supported by the acting talents of Jean St.Clair, Moya Nugent, John Wyndham, Pauline Letts and Arthur Sinclair.
A review of the play, which appeared in the February the 25th edition of 'The Times' read;
"Ibsen, it is yet again relevant to insist, would have begun this story at the end and worked back over the years. Told straightforwardly, as in a novel, there seems at first to be a great deal too much on hand and then, in the closing stages, a great deal too little. The story is gradually sapped of its natural dramatic strength, yet the story in the form which the authors have chosen to give as some amusing side-lights on Irish country eccentricity."
This programme for the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, was printed by Cockayne and Company Limited, Waterloo Road, London on February the 23rd, 1948.
This obscure and largely forgotten Tennent Plays Limited production, in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain was again directed by the formidable casting director for H. M. Tennent, Daphne Rye.
Richard Burton, now permanently in the role of Mr. Hicks, was again supported by the acting talents of Jean St.Clair, Moya Nugent, John Wyndham, Pauline Letts and Arthur Sinclair.
A review of the play, which appeared in the February the 25th edition of 'The Times' read;
"Ibsen, it is yet again relevant to insist, would have begun this story at the end and worked back over the years. Told straightforwardly, as in a novel, there seems at first to be a great deal too much on hand and then, in the closing stages, a great deal too little. The story is gradually sapped of its natural dramatic strength, yet the story in the form which the authors have chosen to give as some amusing side-lights on Irish country eccentricity."
This programme for the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, was printed by Cockayne and Company Limited, Waterloo Road, London on February the 23rd, 1948.
'Dark Summer' Written by Wynyard Brown
The Theatre Royal, Bath, May 1948

An exceptionally rare theatre programme for the rather unsuccessful provincial run of the Wynyard Brown play, 'Dark Summer'.
The play was produced by H. M. Tennent Productions Limited in association with J. Baxter Somerville and T. Milroy Gay and the run commenced on the third of May, 1948.
Richard Burton was cast in the role of Stephen Hadow and the play was set in the living room of a provincial English house during the summer and autumn immediately after the war.
'Dark Summer' was directed by Joan Yeaxlee, the wife of the writer of the play, Wynyard Brown.
The price of the programme for the run of 'Dark Summer' was sixpence.
Although Richard Burton was cast in a strong role, the play was unsuccessful due to poor audience attendance and the run closed after just a few weeks. However, luckily for Richard Burton, it was during the run of 'Dark Summer' that he received a telegram from playwright and director, Emlyn Williams. A few weeks earlier Burton had attended an audition in London for a part in a film version of one of Emlyn William's screenplays entitled,'The Last Days of Dolwyn'.
The telegram from Emlyn William's read, 'You have won the scholarship', which was a line Richard Burton knew well from 'The Corn Is Green', another of Emlyn Williams' plays, the radio version of which Richard Burton had taken part in early 1945 for the B.B.C. Home Service. 'The Last Days of Dolwyn' was to be Richard Burton's debut film.
This programme for the Theatre Royal, Bath production of 'Dark Summer' was printed by the Magnet Advertising Company, based in Stoke Newington, London.
The play was produced by H. M. Tennent Productions Limited in association with J. Baxter Somerville and T. Milroy Gay and the run commenced on the third of May, 1948.
Richard Burton was cast in the role of Stephen Hadow and the play was set in the living room of a provincial English house during the summer and autumn immediately after the war.
'Dark Summer' was directed by Joan Yeaxlee, the wife of the writer of the play, Wynyard Brown.
The price of the programme for the run of 'Dark Summer' was sixpence.
Although Richard Burton was cast in a strong role, the play was unsuccessful due to poor audience attendance and the run closed after just a few weeks. However, luckily for Richard Burton, it was during the run of 'Dark Summer' that he received a telegram from playwright and director, Emlyn Williams. A few weeks earlier Burton had attended an audition in London for a part in a film version of one of Emlyn William's screenplays entitled,'The Last Days of Dolwyn'.
The telegram from Emlyn William's read, 'You have won the scholarship', which was a line Richard Burton knew well from 'The Corn Is Green', another of Emlyn Williams' plays, the radio version of which Richard Burton had taken part in early 1945 for the B.B.C. Home Service. 'The Last Days of Dolwyn' was to be Richard Burton's debut film.
This programme for the Theatre Royal, Bath production of 'Dark Summer' was printed by the Magnet Advertising Company, based in Stoke Newington, London.
The interior of the programme for the run of 'Dark Summer', which opened at the Theatre Royal, Bath in 1948.
The beautiful honey-coloured limestone frontage of the Theatre Royal, Bath. Richard Burton opened here in the play, 'Dark Summer' in May, 1948.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
The Globe Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, May 1949
Written by acclaimed playwright Christopher Fry and directed by John Gielgud, this is the original theatre programme for the beautifully written comedy play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning', which was first performed at the Globe Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, on May the 11th, 1949.
The play was presented at the Globe Theatre by H.M. Tennent in association with The Arts Council Of Great Britain. The programme for this production was printed especially for The Globe Theatre by John Waddington Printers Limited, based in Stoke Newington.
Appearing on stage alongside Richard Burton were Claire Bloom, Esme Percy, Pamela Brown, David Evans, Nora Nicholson, Richard Leech, Harcourt Williams, Eliot Makeham, Peter Bull and John Gielgud himself.
With only a few minor parts behind him, this was to be Richard Burton's first major role on a London West End stage. Interestingly, the writer Christopher Fry, commenting on Richard Burton's first audition noted;
"Well, the girl's alright, but I don't think the boy will be any good".
Sir John Gielgud was to later recall;
" He arrived at the first rehearsal and just walked into the part; I never had to tell him anything except to stop yawning when it was lunchtime, because he was anxious to get away. But he had the most wonderful instinct, immediately. And there was this scene, which has been talked about a lot, in which he had to scrub the floor in the second act while Pamela Brown and I were playing a love scene, sort of across HIM..."
Alec Guinness, who saw the play on numerous occasions, was to say of Richard Burton's performance;
"I couldn't take my eyes off Burton, then I heard the same from other people. That's a rare gift, a presence. It's also dangerous because it's something neither he nor anyone else has any control over."
Emlyn Williams was also to note;
"Somehow, he had this peculiar power, an intensity, an ability to make the audience aware of his presence."
This was to be Richard Burton's breakthrough part. He astounded theatre audiences night after night with such spectacular performances that critics and fellow actors alike suddenly became aware of the tremendous presence the young Richard Burton commanded on the stage, and almost overnight, Richard Burton became a star.
The plays of Christopher Fry, and Richard Burton's participation in them in the early part of his career, especially Fry's best known verse drama, 'The Lady's Not For Burning', played a major role in the development and success of Richard Burton as an incredible stage actor.
Christopher Fry was in fact born Arthur Hammond Harris, in Bristol, on the 18th of December, 1907 to parents Emma and Charles Harris, a retired master builder and Church of England Lay Reader. At an early age he adopted his mother's maiden name of Fry, believing himself to be related to the 19th Century Quaker and prison reformer, Elizabeth Fry.
Fry attended the Bedford Modern School, showing an early aptitude for writing, after which he joined the teaching profession himself, firstly at the Bedford Froebel Kindergarten and later, the Hazelwood School in Surrey.
In 1932 he formed the Tunbridge Wells Repertory Players, giving up his teaching career to focus on the theatre. The highlights of his three years with the company were to stage and direct the premiere of George Bernard Shaw's 'A Village Wooing' and to produce and tour with two plays of his own, one entitled, 'The Peregrines', and another production based on the life of Thomas Barnardo, which was notable as having a young Deborah Kerr in the cast.
His skill as a dramatist came to public attention in 1938 with his play, 'The Boy With A Cart', commissioned by the Bishop of Steyning, West Sussex, based on the tale of local saint, Cuthman of Steyning. The play was eventually staged in 1950, directed by John Gielgud at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, with Richard Burton in the lead role.
But it would be for the play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' for which Christopher Fry will be best remembered. It would also be the play which made Richard Burton's name in the theatre.
This copy of the programme for 'The Lady's Not For Burning' is complete with the original ticket for the performance at the Globe Theatre on the evening of the 20th of May, 1949.
The picture which appears alongside this copy of the original programme is a colourised photograph of Richard Burton and John Gielgud in a scene from the play, staged and photographed by legendary theatrical photographer, Angus McBean.
The play was presented at the Globe Theatre by H.M. Tennent in association with The Arts Council Of Great Britain. The programme for this production was printed especially for The Globe Theatre by John Waddington Printers Limited, based in Stoke Newington.
Appearing on stage alongside Richard Burton were Claire Bloom, Esme Percy, Pamela Brown, David Evans, Nora Nicholson, Richard Leech, Harcourt Williams, Eliot Makeham, Peter Bull and John Gielgud himself.
With only a few minor parts behind him, this was to be Richard Burton's first major role on a London West End stage. Interestingly, the writer Christopher Fry, commenting on Richard Burton's first audition noted;
"Well, the girl's alright, but I don't think the boy will be any good".
Sir John Gielgud was to later recall;
" He arrived at the first rehearsal and just walked into the part; I never had to tell him anything except to stop yawning when it was lunchtime, because he was anxious to get away. But he had the most wonderful instinct, immediately. And there was this scene, which has been talked about a lot, in which he had to scrub the floor in the second act while Pamela Brown and I were playing a love scene, sort of across HIM..."
Alec Guinness, who saw the play on numerous occasions, was to say of Richard Burton's performance;
"I couldn't take my eyes off Burton, then I heard the same from other people. That's a rare gift, a presence. It's also dangerous because it's something neither he nor anyone else has any control over."
Emlyn Williams was also to note;
"Somehow, he had this peculiar power, an intensity, an ability to make the audience aware of his presence."
This was to be Richard Burton's breakthrough part. He astounded theatre audiences night after night with such spectacular performances that critics and fellow actors alike suddenly became aware of the tremendous presence the young Richard Burton commanded on the stage, and almost overnight, Richard Burton became a star.
The plays of Christopher Fry, and Richard Burton's participation in them in the early part of his career, especially Fry's best known verse drama, 'The Lady's Not For Burning', played a major role in the development and success of Richard Burton as an incredible stage actor.
Christopher Fry was in fact born Arthur Hammond Harris, in Bristol, on the 18th of December, 1907 to parents Emma and Charles Harris, a retired master builder and Church of England Lay Reader. At an early age he adopted his mother's maiden name of Fry, believing himself to be related to the 19th Century Quaker and prison reformer, Elizabeth Fry.
Fry attended the Bedford Modern School, showing an early aptitude for writing, after which he joined the teaching profession himself, firstly at the Bedford Froebel Kindergarten and later, the Hazelwood School in Surrey.
In 1932 he formed the Tunbridge Wells Repertory Players, giving up his teaching career to focus on the theatre. The highlights of his three years with the company were to stage and direct the premiere of George Bernard Shaw's 'A Village Wooing' and to produce and tour with two plays of his own, one entitled, 'The Peregrines', and another production based on the life of Thomas Barnardo, which was notable as having a young Deborah Kerr in the cast.
His skill as a dramatist came to public attention in 1938 with his play, 'The Boy With A Cart', commissioned by the Bishop of Steyning, West Sussex, based on the tale of local saint, Cuthman of Steyning. The play was eventually staged in 1950, directed by John Gielgud at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, with Richard Burton in the lead role.
But it would be for the play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' for which Christopher Fry will be best remembered. It would also be the play which made Richard Burton's name in the theatre.
This copy of the programme for 'The Lady's Not For Burning' is complete with the original ticket for the performance at the Globe Theatre on the evening of the 20th of May, 1949.
The picture which appears alongside this copy of the original programme is a colourised photograph of Richard Burton and John Gielgud in a scene from the play, staged and photographed by legendary theatrical photographer, Angus McBean.
The interior of the Globe Theatre programme for the 1949 production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' featuring the cast list and production details.
The splendour of the facade of The Globe Theatre, now renamed The Gielgud Theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, London, where Richard Burton opened in the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning'.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
The Globe Theatre Retrospective Booklet, 1949

This small, delightful, and wonderfully illustrated and informative booklet was published by 'New Theatre Publications' as a record and retrospective account of the production of Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning' as performed at the Globe Theatre in 1949, which featured Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Harcourt Williams, David Evans, Esme Percy and Pamela Brown in the cast.
The articles which feature in this rare and collectable booklet include 'An Introductory Note' by John Gielgud, in-depth notes on Christopher Fry and George Bernard Shaw written by cast member and co-director Esme Percy, an interview with Pamela Brown entitled, 'A Memorable Experience', an appreciation of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' written by New Theatre critic Eric Capon as well as detailed biographical notes and eight pages of black and white photographs which were staged and captured by renowned theatrical photographer, Angus McBean.
The introduction to this booklet, written by John Gielgud, reads in its entirety;
"I have directed five plays since my return from America a year ago. Medea, Much Ado About Nothing, The Heiress, The Glass Menagerie, and The Lady's Not For Burning. Each play needed, to some extent, imaginative treatment, but each was utterly dissimilar in style, period, and approach. In the last three plays I had the advantage of working with the authors, who in every case showed me the utmost courtesy and co-operation, even though the two American plays had been acted successfully before under skilled direction and playing. The authors never reminded me of this, though naturally certain suggestion of theirs, deriving from their experience in the former productions, were extremely helpful to me in London.
'The Lady's Not For Burning' was perhaps the most difficult task of the whole five. To begin with, I was to play the leading male part in it as well as directing it. I did not see the original production at the Arts Theatre, when Alec Clunes played in it, and Jack Hawkins directed. The author gave me a very free hand, was entirely willing to make cuts, adjustments and a few additions to his already printed text, and I was fortunate enough to enlist the help of Mr. Oliver Messel for the scenery and costumes. No play I have ever tackled demands more delicate handling. The lyric beauty of certain scenes and passages change, almost violently from time to time, to modern idioms and phrases of wit and irony. The tone of the play is ironic but not bitter, tender yet never sentimental - the fantasy has something of Alice In Wonderland, the words an Elizabethan boldness and splendour of imagery which must somehow be co-ordinated into an easy and fluent acting style. Comedy 'business' and movement must keep the stage alive without disturbing the concentration of the audience on the intricate pattern of the dialogue.
An actor whose opinion I greatly value said to me when I showed him the play: "It is beautiful, original and striking. But if you do not play it with artlessness, the simplicity of children, you will be lost." I have tried to keep this advice in mind during the rehearsals with the company. It is now for the public to say whether our efforts have brought the beauty of the printed text to life upon the stage."
This small booklet was published by New Theatre Publications Limited, based in the Gray's Inn Road, London and was printed by Metcalfe and Cooper Limited, Scrutton Street, London.
The original price of this retrospective booklet at the time of publication was one shilling.
The articles which feature in this rare and collectable booklet include 'An Introductory Note' by John Gielgud, in-depth notes on Christopher Fry and George Bernard Shaw written by cast member and co-director Esme Percy, an interview with Pamela Brown entitled, 'A Memorable Experience', an appreciation of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' written by New Theatre critic Eric Capon as well as detailed biographical notes and eight pages of black and white photographs which were staged and captured by renowned theatrical photographer, Angus McBean.
The introduction to this booklet, written by John Gielgud, reads in its entirety;
"I have directed five plays since my return from America a year ago. Medea, Much Ado About Nothing, The Heiress, The Glass Menagerie, and The Lady's Not For Burning. Each play needed, to some extent, imaginative treatment, but each was utterly dissimilar in style, period, and approach. In the last three plays I had the advantage of working with the authors, who in every case showed me the utmost courtesy and co-operation, even though the two American plays had been acted successfully before under skilled direction and playing. The authors never reminded me of this, though naturally certain suggestion of theirs, deriving from their experience in the former productions, were extremely helpful to me in London.
'The Lady's Not For Burning' was perhaps the most difficult task of the whole five. To begin with, I was to play the leading male part in it as well as directing it. I did not see the original production at the Arts Theatre, when Alec Clunes played in it, and Jack Hawkins directed. The author gave me a very free hand, was entirely willing to make cuts, adjustments and a few additions to his already printed text, and I was fortunate enough to enlist the help of Mr. Oliver Messel for the scenery and costumes. No play I have ever tackled demands more delicate handling. The lyric beauty of certain scenes and passages change, almost violently from time to time, to modern idioms and phrases of wit and irony. The tone of the play is ironic but not bitter, tender yet never sentimental - the fantasy has something of Alice In Wonderland, the words an Elizabethan boldness and splendour of imagery which must somehow be co-ordinated into an easy and fluent acting style. Comedy 'business' and movement must keep the stage alive without disturbing the concentration of the audience on the intricate pattern of the dialogue.
An actor whose opinion I greatly value said to me when I showed him the play: "It is beautiful, original and striking. But if you do not play it with artlessness, the simplicity of children, you will be lost." I have tried to keep this advice in mind during the rehearsals with the company. It is now for the public to say whether our efforts have brought the beauty of the printed text to life upon the stage."
This small booklet was published by New Theatre Publications Limited, based in the Gray's Inn Road, London and was printed by Metcalfe and Cooper Limited, Scrutton Street, London.
The original price of this retrospective booklet at the time of publication was one shilling.
A delightful caricature of John Gielgud and Pamela Brown as they appeared in the Christopher Fry play 'The Lady's Not For Burning', drawn by renowned artist and illustrator, Ronald Searle. The cartoon, along with a detailed review of the play, appeared in the weekly satirical magazine 'Punch' the week commencing the 25th of May 1949, just a fortnight after the play had opened at the Globe Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
The Globe Theatre Original Flyer, December 1949

An extremely rare, double-sided promotional flyer which was published especially by the Globe Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue to be used in the promotion of the 1949 production of the Christopher Fry comedy play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning'.
Unlike theatre programmes, which audience members tended to keep as a memento or keepsake of their evening, these theatre flyers were more of a 'throw-away' item, hence the remarkable survival and rarity of this particular piece of theatrical memorabilia.
Theatre flyers were usually placed in and around the theatre itself or placed as inserts into programmes and were published especially to promote upcoming productions or to notify theatre-goers of changes to performance times or even in some cases, changes to the cast.
In this particular case, the theatre flyer was printed to advertise the future performance times of Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning' at the Globe Theatre over the Christmas period of 1949.
Unlike theatre programmes, which audience members tended to keep as a memento or keepsake of their evening, these theatre flyers were more of a 'throw-away' item, hence the remarkable survival and rarity of this particular piece of theatrical memorabilia.
Theatre flyers were usually placed in and around the theatre itself or placed as inserts into programmes and were published especially to promote upcoming productions or to notify theatre-goers of changes to performance times or even in some cases, changes to the cast.
In this particular case, the theatre flyer was printed to advertise the future performance times of Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning' at the Globe Theatre over the Christmas period of 1949.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
Theatre Royal Brighton, Signed Programme, March 1949

An extremely rare theatre programme for the H. M. Tennent production of the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' which opened at the Theatre Royal, Brighton on March the 7th,1949.
The interior of the programme has been signed by three of the players in this production, Richard Burton, John Gielgud and the distinguished character actor, Peter Bull, who was cast in the role of the Justice, Edward Tappercoom. All three signatures are signed in pencil and it is a nice early example of a confident Richard Burton autograph.
Included in this small twenty-page theatre programme is a full cast and crew list for the production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', advertisments for businesses local to the Brighton area as well as announcements of future productions at the Theatre Royal and Dolphin Theatre and a full page studio portrait of Pamela Brown, possibly taken by theatrical photographer, Angus McBean.
The programme was printed especially for the Theatre Royal by The Southern Publishing Company Limited based in North Street, Brighton and at the time of publication cost six pence.
The interior of the programme has been signed by three of the players in this production, Richard Burton, John Gielgud and the distinguished character actor, Peter Bull, who was cast in the role of the Justice, Edward Tappercoom. All three signatures are signed in pencil and it is a nice early example of a confident Richard Burton autograph.
Included in this small twenty-page theatre programme is a full cast and crew list for the production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', advertisments for businesses local to the Brighton area as well as announcements of future productions at the Theatre Royal and Dolphin Theatre and a full page studio portrait of Pamela Brown, possibly taken by theatrical photographer, Angus McBean.
The programme was printed especially for the Theatre Royal by The Southern Publishing Company Limited based in North Street, Brighton and at the time of publication cost six pence.
The interior of the Theatre Royal, Brighton theatrical programme for the production of the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning', clearly displaying the Richard Burton, John Gielgud and Peter Bull signatures.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, 1949
In the March of 1949, the H. M. Tennent production of the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' was staged and performed at the prestigious Shakespeare Memorial Theatre based in Stratford- Upon-Avon.
The play was produced in association with Tennent Productions Limited and the Arts Council of Great Britain and the production commenced on the 14th of March, 1949, for one week only, and was again directed by John Gielgud and Esme Percy.
The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at that time was under the directorship of Anthony Quayle and Richard Burton's fine performance in the role of Richard, the orphaned clerk, in this adaption of the Christopher Fry play impressed Anthony Quayle so much that it led Richard Burton to be invited by Quayle himself to perform in the cycle of Shakespearean Historical Plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1951.
The play was produced in association with Tennent Productions Limited and the Arts Council of Great Britain and the production commenced on the 14th of March, 1949, for one week only, and was again directed by John Gielgud and Esme Percy.
The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at that time was under the directorship of Anthony Quayle and Richard Burton's fine performance in the role of Richard, the orphaned clerk, in this adaption of the Christopher Fry play impressed Anthony Quayle so much that it led Richard Burton to be invited by Quayle himself to perform in the cycle of Shakespearean Historical Plays at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in 1951.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
The New Theatre Oxford, March 1949

A copy of the original theatre programme for the H. M. Tennent production of the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' which took place at the New Theatre, Oxford.
This programme was printed locally especially for the New Theatre by the Alden Press, at that time based in Witney, Oxfordshire for the run of the play which commenced on Monday, March the 28th,1949 and ran for the whole of that week.
The play was presented by H. M. Tennent in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain and was once again directed by John Gielgud and Esme Percy and starred, alongside Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Claire Bloom, David Evans, Harcourt Williams and Richard Leech.
The incidental music was performed by the New Theatre Orchestra under the direction of William Brightwell and featured the Overture from Mozart's 'Magic Flute' and 'Serenade in G' from Mozart's 'Eine Kliene Nachtmusik'.
This programme was printed locally especially for the New Theatre by the Alden Press, at that time based in Witney, Oxfordshire for the run of the play which commenced on Monday, March the 28th,1949 and ran for the whole of that week.
The play was presented by H. M. Tennent in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain and was once again directed by John Gielgud and Esme Percy and starred, alongside Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Claire Bloom, David Evans, Harcourt Williams and Richard Leech.
The incidental music was performed by the New Theatre Orchestra under the direction of William Brightwell and featured the Overture from Mozart's 'Magic Flute' and 'Serenade in G' from Mozart's 'Eine Kliene Nachtmusik'.
The interior of the programme for the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning', as performed at the New Theatre, Oxford in March, 1949.
The frontage of the New Theatre, based in George Street, Oxford. It was in this theatre that Richard Burton took to the stage in March 1949 in the Christopher Fry comedy drama, 'The Lady's Not For Burning'.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
The Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, April 1949
An original, and rare theatre programme for the week-long provincial run of the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning', which was staged at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham and commenced on April the 4th,1949.
The production, with the same cast as in the other provincial runs, as well as the eventual London run, was again directed by John Gielgud and Esme Percy.
The music which accompanied this performance was performed by Eric Le Fern and his Sextet and included selections from Mozart, Purcell, Boyce and Handel.
The price of the programme, contemporary to this performance, was threepence.
The programme was printed and published especially for the Alexandra Theatre by Parkes and Mainwaring Printing Services, based locally in Coleshill Street, Birmingham.
The production, with the same cast as in the other provincial runs, as well as the eventual London run, was again directed by John Gielgud and Esme Percy.
The music which accompanied this performance was performed by Eric Le Fern and his Sextet and included selections from Mozart, Purcell, Boyce and Handel.
The price of the programme, contemporary to this performance, was threepence.
The programme was printed and published especially for the Alexandra Theatre by Parkes and Mainwaring Printing Services, based locally in Coleshill Street, Birmingham.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
The Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, April 1949
A copy of the rare, original theatre programme for the run of Christopher Fry's, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' which was staged at the impressive Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House in the April of 1949.
The Leeds performances, with the same cast as in the highly successful Birmingham run of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', commenced on the 18th of April 1949, just prior to the London opening at The Globe Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.
This programme was printed and published especially for the Leeds Grand Theatre by John Waddington Limited, based in Leeds and London. The programme, at the time of publication, cost sixpence.
The local papers in Leeds were very favourable in their reviews of the production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' performed at the Leeds Grand Theatre. Sadly, there was no mention of Richard Burton's performance in the play but the reviews, dating from 1949 and held in the Richard Burton Museum, make very interesting reading;
"Mr. John Gielgud, speaking before the curtain at the Grand Theatre, at the end of last night's production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', by Christopher Fry, said that never before had a new author enabled him to bring to the stage such delicate fantasy, wit, and wealth of words. He summed up the quality of the play in a sentence. The fantasy is delicate and graceful, the wit, though ironical, is incisive, and as for verbal richness, I came away thinking, with Shakespeare, that 'I was never so bethumped with words since I first call'd my brother's father dad'.
The time of the play is the 15th century, 'either more or less exactly', and the action takes place in the house of the Mayor of a small market town in the Cotswolds. A soldier - exquisitely played by Mr. Gielgud - returns from seven years campaigning in Flanders. So greatly is he disillusioned with the world as he finds it that he pretends he has committed a murder in order to get himself hanged. Here is is frustrated, for he has not, in the words of the Mayor, 'filled in the necessary forms'. The situation is complicated by the arrival of a girl, falsely accused of being a witch, whom the Mayor is determined to burn. Inevitably, the soldier and the girl fall in love, and the soldier decides that life is worth living after all.
Mr. Harcourt Williams parades all his remarkable gifts for character acting in the role of the Mayor, and Miss Pamela Brown, as the witch who is not a witch, introduces pathos and an air of mysticism into a piece which might otherwise be plain comedy. She is inclined, I think, to let her words trip too readily from her tongue, and this makes her difficult to hear in so large a theatre as the Leeds Grand. A slight slowing of the tempo would be helpful. Mr. Peter Bull is a robust and imposing Justice, and Miss Nora Nicholson, as the Mayor's lackadaisical sister, gives an amusing impression of philosophical helplessness.
The scenery and costumes, by Mr. Oliver Messel, are admirable. I wish we could have seen rather more of Mr. Esme Percy, who appears, a figure of delicious fun, towards the end of the last act."
A further review reads;
"At the close of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' at Leeds Grand Theatre last night, John Gielgud paid handsome tribute to the author, Christopher Fry. It was many years, he said, since he had read a play by a new playwright which gave players lines of such delicate fantasy and wealth of wit.
His praise was not overstated, for this comedy is as remarkable as its title. It is set in the 15th Century, and its central characters are a soldier, so bitterly disillusioned that he invents a murder in a vain attempt to get himself hanged, and a girl who loves life but is mistaken for a witch and is condemned to the stake. The soldier is caught in 'the unholy mantrap of love', has yet another illusion shattered and decides that life is still bearable.
The play is in verse which teems with metaphors in which expressions of extraordinary beauty and shimmering wit alternate rapidly - sometimes too rapidly - with passages which frankly would require a second hearing or reading to appreciate fully. It is Third Programme stuff, but not too far removed for the Home if outside the province of the Light.
John Gielgud (who directs with Esme Percy) rolls his tongue round the delightful language with characteristic relish and fascinates again by the swift changing tints with which he portrays the soldier.
Pamela Brown, who we are happy to find eventually is not for burning, exercises bewitching dramatic powers with an equally enchanting, if sometimes subdued voice.
Notable names in the supporting cast provide the distinguished performances expected of them - Harcourt Williams as a fussing, form-bound Mayor; Eliot Makeham in a rich study of a musical chaplain; Esme Percy in a brief but deliciously funny appearance as a drunk; and Peter Bull, an imposing Justice."
The Leeds performances, with the same cast as in the highly successful Birmingham run of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', commenced on the 18th of April 1949, just prior to the London opening at The Globe Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.
This programme was printed and published especially for the Leeds Grand Theatre by John Waddington Limited, based in Leeds and London. The programme, at the time of publication, cost sixpence.
The local papers in Leeds were very favourable in their reviews of the production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' performed at the Leeds Grand Theatre. Sadly, there was no mention of Richard Burton's performance in the play but the reviews, dating from 1949 and held in the Richard Burton Museum, make very interesting reading;
"Mr. John Gielgud, speaking before the curtain at the Grand Theatre, at the end of last night's production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', by Christopher Fry, said that never before had a new author enabled him to bring to the stage such delicate fantasy, wit, and wealth of words. He summed up the quality of the play in a sentence. The fantasy is delicate and graceful, the wit, though ironical, is incisive, and as for verbal richness, I came away thinking, with Shakespeare, that 'I was never so bethumped with words since I first call'd my brother's father dad'.
The time of the play is the 15th century, 'either more or less exactly', and the action takes place in the house of the Mayor of a small market town in the Cotswolds. A soldier - exquisitely played by Mr. Gielgud - returns from seven years campaigning in Flanders. So greatly is he disillusioned with the world as he finds it that he pretends he has committed a murder in order to get himself hanged. Here is is frustrated, for he has not, in the words of the Mayor, 'filled in the necessary forms'. The situation is complicated by the arrival of a girl, falsely accused of being a witch, whom the Mayor is determined to burn. Inevitably, the soldier and the girl fall in love, and the soldier decides that life is worth living after all.
Mr. Harcourt Williams parades all his remarkable gifts for character acting in the role of the Mayor, and Miss Pamela Brown, as the witch who is not a witch, introduces pathos and an air of mysticism into a piece which might otherwise be plain comedy. She is inclined, I think, to let her words trip too readily from her tongue, and this makes her difficult to hear in so large a theatre as the Leeds Grand. A slight slowing of the tempo would be helpful. Mr. Peter Bull is a robust and imposing Justice, and Miss Nora Nicholson, as the Mayor's lackadaisical sister, gives an amusing impression of philosophical helplessness.
The scenery and costumes, by Mr. Oliver Messel, are admirable. I wish we could have seen rather more of Mr. Esme Percy, who appears, a figure of delicious fun, towards the end of the last act."
A further review reads;
"At the close of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' at Leeds Grand Theatre last night, John Gielgud paid handsome tribute to the author, Christopher Fry. It was many years, he said, since he had read a play by a new playwright which gave players lines of such delicate fantasy and wealth of wit.
His praise was not overstated, for this comedy is as remarkable as its title. It is set in the 15th Century, and its central characters are a soldier, so bitterly disillusioned that he invents a murder in a vain attempt to get himself hanged, and a girl who loves life but is mistaken for a witch and is condemned to the stake. The soldier is caught in 'the unholy mantrap of love', has yet another illusion shattered and decides that life is still bearable.
The play is in verse which teems with metaphors in which expressions of extraordinary beauty and shimmering wit alternate rapidly - sometimes too rapidly - with passages which frankly would require a second hearing or reading to appreciate fully. It is Third Programme stuff, but not too far removed for the Home if outside the province of the Light.
John Gielgud (who directs with Esme Percy) rolls his tongue round the delightful language with characteristic relish and fascinates again by the swift changing tints with which he portrays the soldier.
Pamela Brown, who we are happy to find eventually is not for burning, exercises bewitching dramatic powers with an equally enchanting, if sometimes subdued voice.
Notable names in the supporting cast provide the distinguished performances expected of them - Harcourt Williams as a fussing, form-bound Mayor; Eliot Makeham in a rich study of a musical chaplain; Esme Percy in a brief but deliciously funny appearance as a drunk; and Peter Bull, an imposing Justice."
The impressive Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, the theatre in which Richard Burton opened in the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning', for a week long run which began on the 18th of April 1949.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
The Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, April 1949
A copy of the original and rare theatre programme for the run of the Christopher Fry play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' which was performed at The Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool for one week commencing on Monday, April the 25th 1949.
The play was again presented by H.M. Tennent Productions Limited in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain and was again directed by John Gielgud and Esme Percy.
This programme was especially printed for The Royal Court Theatre by W. Jones and Company Limited and published by Spabas Limited, based in Charles Place, London.
The incidental music for the performance was performed by the Royal Court Theatre Quartette, under the direction of Vincent L. Brannan.
It must have been a triumphant return to the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool for the young Richard Burton amid the success of the run of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', as it was at this theatre in which he made his professional stage debut, in the Emlyn Williams comedy play, 'The Druid's Rest' six years earlier on the 22nd of November 1943.
The play was again presented by H.M. Tennent Productions Limited in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain and was again directed by John Gielgud and Esme Percy.
This programme was especially printed for The Royal Court Theatre by W. Jones and Company Limited and published by Spabas Limited, based in Charles Place, London.
The incidental music for the performance was performed by the Royal Court Theatre Quartette, under the direction of Vincent L. Brannan.
It must have been a triumphant return to the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool for the young Richard Burton amid the success of the run of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', as it was at this theatre in which he made his professional stage debut, in the Emlyn Williams comedy play, 'The Druid's Rest' six years earlier on the 22nd of November 1943.
Noel Coward's Theatrical Garden Party, Chertsey, May 1949
A fascinating, and rare piece of Richard Burton theatrical memorabilia is this beautifully produced brochure for Noel Cowards Theatrical Garden Party dating from May, 1949.
The Garden Party took place on Tuesday the 31st of May, 1949 at the Silverlands Orphanage based in Chertsey, Surrey with all proceeds going to the Orphanage itself.
The President of the Actor's Orphanage charity was Noel Coward.
Many famous names from the world of the theatre gave their services for free to raise money for this worthy charity, including many from the H. M. Tennent Company. John Gielgud, Richard Burton and members of the cast of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', playing at the Globe Theatre at that time, assisted with the running of an antique shop in the grounds.
Many other famous names took part in this event, many theatre actors who, like Richard Burton, went on to become stars of television and film.
Some of the actors who took part in this fund-raising event included such names as; Ralph Richardson, Donald Sinden, Dame Sybil Thorndike, Flora Robson, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Peter Cushing, Paul Scofield, Stanley Baker, Richard Attenborough, Audrey Hepburn, Bill Owen, Irene Handl, Bernard Lee, Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Kenneth Horne, Gertrude Lawrence and Daphne Rye.
This beautifully presented colour and black and white programme was printed especially for this one-day charity event by Clare O' Moseley (Printers) based in East Moseley, Surrey for the Actor's Orphanage.
The Garden Party took place on Tuesday the 31st of May, 1949 at the Silverlands Orphanage based in Chertsey, Surrey with all proceeds going to the Orphanage itself.
The President of the Actor's Orphanage charity was Noel Coward.
Many famous names from the world of the theatre gave their services for free to raise money for this worthy charity, including many from the H. M. Tennent Company. John Gielgud, Richard Burton and members of the cast of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', playing at the Globe Theatre at that time, assisted with the running of an antique shop in the grounds.
Many other famous names took part in this event, many theatre actors who, like Richard Burton, went on to become stars of television and film.
Some of the actors who took part in this fund-raising event included such names as; Ralph Richardson, Donald Sinden, Dame Sybil Thorndike, Flora Robson, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Peter Cushing, Paul Scofield, Stanley Baker, Richard Attenborough, Audrey Hepburn, Bill Owen, Irene Handl, Bernard Lee, Jean Simmons, Stewart Granger, Kenneth Horne, Gertrude Lawrence and Daphne Rye.
This beautifully presented colour and black and white programme was printed especially for this one-day charity event by Clare O' Moseley (Printers) based in East Moseley, Surrey for the Actor's Orphanage.
Richard Burton's contribution to the Theatrical Garden Party charity event as featured in this rare programme.
Christopher Fry's 'The Lady's Not For Burning'
Royale Theatre New York, Signed Playbill Magazine, 1950
An exceptionally rare and original copy of the Playbill Magazine for the New York production of Christopher Fry's play,'The Lady's Not For Burning' which was published during the run of the play at the Royale Theatre, Boston, New York on the week beginning Monday, the 20th of November 1950.
This copy has been made considerably more rare and desirable by having the addition of being signed by three of the stars of the play on the front cover, namely; John Gielgud, David Evans and a lovely clear and confident autograph by Richard Burton signed in light blue fountain pen.
The American production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' was presented by Atlantis Productions, which incorporated The Theatre Guild, H. M. Tennent and John C. Wilson. As with the original London production the play was directed by John Gielgud and co-starred John Gielgud himself, Richard Burton, Pamela Brown, David Evans and Esme Percy. The role of Alizon Eliot, orignally portrayed by Claire Bloom in the London production, was, for the New York run, played by Penelope Munday. The American premiere of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' took place on November the 8th, 1950.
'The Times' newspaper, reviewing the New York production in November 1950 was to write;
"Mr. Christopher Fry's play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' had its first performance here last night, winning instant and unanimous approval that expressed itself on the part of the critics in unrestrained enthusiasm alike for the play, the cast, and the direction by Mr. John Gielgud.
The danger for a play like this in the theatre is that it will be all wings and no feet. But John Gielgud's staging is as precise in detail as it is ebullient in effect; and a finely blended English cast knows how to rumble the lines or caw them, toss them to the roof or throw them away."
This copy has been made considerably more rare and desirable by having the addition of being signed by three of the stars of the play on the front cover, namely; John Gielgud, David Evans and a lovely clear and confident autograph by Richard Burton signed in light blue fountain pen.
The American production of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' was presented by Atlantis Productions, which incorporated The Theatre Guild, H. M. Tennent and John C. Wilson. As with the original London production the play was directed by John Gielgud and co-starred John Gielgud himself, Richard Burton, Pamela Brown, David Evans and Esme Percy. The role of Alizon Eliot, orignally portrayed by Claire Bloom in the London production, was, for the New York run, played by Penelope Munday. The American premiere of 'The Lady's Not For Burning' took place on November the 8th, 1950.
'The Times' newspaper, reviewing the New York production in November 1950 was to write;
"Mr. Christopher Fry's play, 'The Lady's Not For Burning' had its first performance here last night, winning instant and unanimous approval that expressed itself on the part of the critics in unrestrained enthusiasm alike for the play, the cast, and the direction by Mr. John Gielgud.
The danger for a play like this in the theatre is that it will be all wings and no feet. But John Gielgud's staging is as precise in detail as it is ebullient in effect; and a finely blended English cast knows how to rumble the lines or caw them, toss them to the roof or throw them away."
Christopher Fry's 'The Boy With A Cart'
The Lyric Theatre Theatre Flyer, January 1950

After the success of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', John Gielgud again chose Richard Burton to undertake the lead role in another of Christopher Fry's plays which he was to direct, namely, 'The Boy With A Cart'.
This was the role which was to catapult the young Richard Burton to international theatrical stardom.
Originally commissioned to be written by Christopher Fry in 1938, this one-act play tells the story of the Saxon Saint Cuthman, who, after hearing a mysterious call to build a church, pushes his aged grandmother in a cart in search of an appropriate site, which turns out to be Steyning in Sussex.
It was a formidable role for the young Richard Burton and his seventy-two year old co-star Mary Jerrold, who had to make the entire story come alive on what was basically a stage without a set. Much of the acting was in mime and Richard Burton's intense performance made the play deeply moving. Richard Burton himself said in later years that it was due to this role that he finally understood the full command and power he had over a live theatre audience.
The production was again produced by H.M. Tennent and was directed by John Gielgud, the play opened at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on January the 19th, 1950.
The notes, which appear in this two-page flyer, were written by John Gielgud, and read;
"After the great success of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', I was naturally curious to read all Christopher Fry's other plays. I missed the productions of 'A Phoenix Too Frequent' and 'The First Born'. Among the books he gave me was a short miracle play, written in 1938, and performed originally by a village company. It tells in Fry's own particular style of the Saxon saint, Cuthman, who believed he had a mission from God to build a church, and found the chosen site by taking his mother round in a cart until the rope pulling it broke. The church, at Steyning, in Sussex, is still standing.
I began to conceive a way in which the play might be adapted to the ordinary picture stage, and decided to do it, particularly in view of the fact that Richard Burton, who has been playing with me at the Globe, seemed an ideal choice for the part of Cuthman.
Then we had to find another play to do as a curtain raiser, and I remembered seeing J.M. Barrie's famous 'teaser', 'Shall We Join The Ladies?' at a special all-star matinee recently at Drury Lane. The two plays form a perfect contrast - the sophisticated, skilfully contrived Barrie comedy-thriller (which we are doing with Edwardian dresses), and the rustic simplicity of 'The Boy With A Cart'. Mary Jerrold and Ernest Jay head the cast, which includes many artists with whom I have been associated before.
Christopher Fry will have four productions running almost simultaneously, for in addition to 'The Lady's Not For Burning', Laurence Olivier opens on January 18th in his new play, 'Venus Observed', and Peter Brook's production of 'Ring Around The Moon' with Margaret Rutherford and Paul Schofield opens at the Globe the following week. there is a theory that the public does not like plays in verse, but Christopher Fry's success shows how rash it is to generalise on such matters."
The actor Paul Daneman was Richard Burton's understudy for the role of Cuthman during this run of 'The Boy With A Cart' and was to recall working with the twenty-four year old rising star;
"We were young actors striving to achieve some kind of presence at that stage, but Richard had got it already. Extraordinary presence and quite fantastic repose. It was very unusual to see a young man walk on stage with all the maturity and quiet assurance of a middle-aged man. He seemed to know, either by experience or by instinct, exactly what NOT to do...At the first rehearsal he read beautifully and we were all impressed. But as we rehearsed for another six weeks, he never did another thing with it. We were all trying new things; yet he never did. And when we came to the first night, Richard's performance seemed to be exactly as it had been at the first rehearsal. But it was an enormous success."
This was the role which was to catapult the young Richard Burton to international theatrical stardom.
Originally commissioned to be written by Christopher Fry in 1938, this one-act play tells the story of the Saxon Saint Cuthman, who, after hearing a mysterious call to build a church, pushes his aged grandmother in a cart in search of an appropriate site, which turns out to be Steyning in Sussex.
It was a formidable role for the young Richard Burton and his seventy-two year old co-star Mary Jerrold, who had to make the entire story come alive on what was basically a stage without a set. Much of the acting was in mime and Richard Burton's intense performance made the play deeply moving. Richard Burton himself said in later years that it was due to this role that he finally understood the full command and power he had over a live theatre audience.
The production was again produced by H.M. Tennent and was directed by John Gielgud, the play opened at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith on January the 19th, 1950.
The notes, which appear in this two-page flyer, were written by John Gielgud, and read;
"After the great success of 'The Lady's Not For Burning', I was naturally curious to read all Christopher Fry's other plays. I missed the productions of 'A Phoenix Too Frequent' and 'The First Born'. Among the books he gave me was a short miracle play, written in 1938, and performed originally by a village company. It tells in Fry's own particular style of the Saxon saint, Cuthman, who believed he had a mission from God to build a church, and found the chosen site by taking his mother round in a cart until the rope pulling it broke. The church, at Steyning, in Sussex, is still standing.
I began to conceive a way in which the play might be adapted to the ordinary picture stage, and decided to do it, particularly in view of the fact that Richard Burton, who has been playing with me at the Globe, seemed an ideal choice for the part of Cuthman.
Then we had to find another play to do as a curtain raiser, and I remembered seeing J.M. Barrie's famous 'teaser', 'Shall We Join The Ladies?' at a special all-star matinee recently at Drury Lane. The two plays form a perfect contrast - the sophisticated, skilfully contrived Barrie comedy-thriller (which we are doing with Edwardian dresses), and the rustic simplicity of 'The Boy With A Cart'. Mary Jerrold and Ernest Jay head the cast, which includes many artists with whom I have been associated before.
Christopher Fry will have four productions running almost simultaneously, for in addition to 'The Lady's Not For Burning', Laurence Olivier opens on January 18th in his new play, 'Venus Observed', and Peter Brook's production of 'Ring Around The Moon' with Margaret Rutherford and Paul Schofield opens at the Globe the following week. there is a theory that the public does not like plays in verse, but Christopher Fry's success shows how rash it is to generalise on such matters."
The actor Paul Daneman was Richard Burton's understudy for the role of Cuthman during this run of 'The Boy With A Cart' and was to recall working with the twenty-four year old rising star;
"We were young actors striving to achieve some kind of presence at that stage, but Richard had got it already. Extraordinary presence and quite fantastic repose. It was very unusual to see a young man walk on stage with all the maturity and quiet assurance of a middle-aged man. He seemed to know, either by experience or by instinct, exactly what NOT to do...At the first rehearsal he read beautifully and we were all impressed. But as we rehearsed for another six weeks, he never did another thing with it. We were all trying new things; yet he never did. And when we came to the first night, Richard's performance seemed to be exactly as it had been at the first rehearsal. But it was an enormous success."
Christopher Fry's 'The Boy With A Cart'
The Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, January 1950

A copy of the original four-page theatre programme for the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith production of Christopher Fry's play, 'The Boy With A Cart', which was combined with a performance of 'Shall We Join The Ladies?' by J.M. Barrie, a production which Richard Burton and the cast of 'The Boy With A Cart' were not involved.
'The Boy With A Cart' was presented by Tennent Productions Limited in association with The Arts Council of Great Britain and was produced by the H. M. Tennent Company of Four.
'The Boy With A Cart', starring Richard Burton and Mary Jerrold, opened at The Lyric Theatre on January the 19th, 1950 and was again directed by John Gielgud.
A contemporary review, which appeared in 'The Times' in 1950, read:
"The verse, patient and delicately decorative, has not the exuberance it has since developed. It has in some ways more dramatic carrying power, though the incidents chronicled do not provide much drama to be carried. Mr. Richard Burton, Miss Mary Jerrold, and Mr. Noel Willman do admirably what little acting the piece requires."
This rare programme was printed by Cockayne and Company Limited, based on the Waterloo Road, London and was especially published for The Lyric Theatre run of 'A Boy With A Cart' which commenced on January the 16th, 1950.
'The Boy With A Cart' was presented by Tennent Productions Limited in association with The Arts Council of Great Britain and was produced by the H. M. Tennent Company of Four.
'The Boy With A Cart', starring Richard Burton and Mary Jerrold, opened at The Lyric Theatre on January the 19th, 1950 and was again directed by John Gielgud.
A contemporary review, which appeared in 'The Times' in 1950, read:
"The verse, patient and delicately decorative, has not the exuberance it has since developed. It has in some ways more dramatic carrying power, though the incidents chronicled do not provide much drama to be carried. Mr. Richard Burton, Miss Mary Jerrold, and Mr. Noel Willman do admirably what little acting the piece requires."
This rare programme was printed by Cockayne and Company Limited, based on the Waterloo Road, London and was especially published for The Lyric Theatre run of 'A Boy With A Cart' which commenced on January the 16th, 1950.
The facade of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, photographed in the early 1950's. This theatre would have been a familiar sight to Richard Burton during his early career as it was in this impressive theatre in which he would perform in the play's, 'The Boy with a Cart', 'Castle Anna' and finally in 1952, the H. M. Tennent production of Lillian Hellman's adaption of 'Montserrat'.
Christopher Fry's 'The Boy With A Cart'
The Palace Court Theatre Bournemouth, February 1950
A copy of the original programme for the Palace Court Theatre, Bournemouth production of Christopher Fry's play 'The Boy With A Cart'.
The play was presented by Tennent Productions Limited in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain and was again performed alongside the J. M. Barrie play, 'Shall We Join The Ladies?'.
The production of 'The Boy with A Cart' was again directed by John Gielgud and co-starred Mary Jerrold, Hazel Terry, Diana Graves, Paul Daneman and Noel Willman.
The production of 'The Boy With A Cart' commenced on February the 20th,1950 and ran for one week.
Music for the performance was provided by the Palace Court Theatre Trio under the direction of David Ayrer on the violin, Arthur Marston on the piano and Frazer Stewart on the cello.
The programme was published by the Bournemouth Little Theatre Limited and was printed by the Bournemouth Times.
The price of the programme at the time of publication was three pence.
The play was presented by Tennent Productions Limited in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain and was again performed alongside the J. M. Barrie play, 'Shall We Join The Ladies?'.
The production of 'The Boy with A Cart' was again directed by John Gielgud and co-starred Mary Jerrold, Hazel Terry, Diana Graves, Paul Daneman and Noel Willman.
The production of 'The Boy With A Cart' commenced on February the 20th,1950 and ran for one week.
Music for the performance was provided by the Palace Court Theatre Trio under the direction of David Ayrer on the violin, Arthur Marston on the piano and Frazer Stewart on the cello.
The programme was published by the Bournemouth Little Theatre Limited and was printed by the Bournemouth Times.
The price of the programme at the time of publication was three pence.
Christopher Fry's 'The Boy With A Cart'
The Cambridge Arts Theatre, March 1950

A rare original programme published by the Arts Theatre, Cambridge for the production of the Christopher Fry play,'The Boy With A Cart', with Richard Burton in the title role, which ran from February the 27th until March the 4th, 1950.
Again, this production was coupled with the J. M. Barrie play, 'Shall We Join The Ladies?'
This production of 'The Boy With A Cart' was directed by John Gielgud and was presented and produced by H. M. Tennent Productions Limited and A Company Of Four with scenery and costumes being provided by William Chappell.
The prestigious Arts Theatre, located in Peas Hill, Cambridge was owned and controlled by The Cambridge Arts Theatre Trust, and was built for the purpose of providing a place in Cambridge to house the five arts of Drama, Opera, Ballet, Music and Cinema.
This extremely rare four-page programme was printed and published especially for the Arts Theatre by Marshall and Son, a small printing firm based locally in Cambridge.
The British magazine, 'Theatre World', reviewing the play in their March edition of 1950, wrote;
"Richard Burton well expresses the steadfast sincerity of Cuthman, his simple faith, his patience in adversity, his courage, his moments of exaltation. It is moving and admirable performance."
Again, this production was coupled with the J. M. Barrie play, 'Shall We Join The Ladies?'
This production of 'The Boy With A Cart' was directed by John Gielgud and was presented and produced by H. M. Tennent Productions Limited and A Company Of Four with scenery and costumes being provided by William Chappell.
The prestigious Arts Theatre, located in Peas Hill, Cambridge was owned and controlled by The Cambridge Arts Theatre Trust, and was built for the purpose of providing a place in Cambridge to house the five arts of Drama, Opera, Ballet, Music and Cinema.
This extremely rare four-page programme was printed and published especially for the Arts Theatre by Marshall and Son, a small printing firm based locally in Cambridge.
The British magazine, 'Theatre World', reviewing the play in their March edition of 1950, wrote;
"Richard Burton well expresses the steadfast sincerity of Cuthman, his simple faith, his patience in adversity, his courage, his moments of exaltation. It is moving and admirable performance."
Christopher Fry's 'A Phoenix Too Frequent'
The Dolphin Theatre Brighton, April 1950

A copy of the small original theatre programme for the final play by Christopher Fry in which Richard Burton was to perform, the production of the verse drama, 'A Phoenix Too Frequent', which was staged at the Dolphin Theatre, Brighton.
This production of 'A Phoenix Too Frequent' ran for just two weeks, a run which commenced on the 3rd of April,1950.
This adaption of the play co-starred Diana Graves and Jessie Evans and was directed by the author himself, Christopher Fry.
The play revolved around the character of a young Roman widow, in the throes of grief for her recently deceased husband.
During a visit to her husband's tomb she meets a Roman officer, played by Burton, who is guarding the corpses of six recently hanged men. They soon fall in love and while distracted one of the corpses is stolen. Feeling he has failed in his duty, to preserve his honour the officer intends to kill himself. The widow offers him a different solution by offering him the body of her dead husband.
'A Phoenix Too Frequent' was adapted from the tale originally written by Petronius, and this adaption by Christopher Fry was first performed in 1946, opening at the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate, London, with Paul Schofield in the role of Tegeus, the role which Richard Burton was later to undertake for this Brighton production.
This production of 'A Phoenix Too Frequent' ran for just two weeks, a run which commenced on the 3rd of April,1950.
This adaption of the play co-starred Diana Graves and Jessie Evans and was directed by the author himself, Christopher Fry.
The play revolved around the character of a young Roman widow, in the throes of grief for her recently deceased husband.
During a visit to her husband's tomb she meets a Roman officer, played by Burton, who is guarding the corpses of six recently hanged men. They soon fall in love and while distracted one of the corpses is stolen. Feeling he has failed in his duty, to preserve his honour the officer intends to kill himself. The widow offers him a different solution by offering him the body of her dead husband.
'A Phoenix Too Frequent' was adapted from the tale originally written by Petronius, and this adaption by Christopher Fry was first performed in 1946, opening at the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate, London, with Paul Schofield in the role of Tegeus, the role which Richard Burton was later to undertake for this Brighton production.
The Stratford-Upon-Avon Shakespeare Season, 1951
A stunning image of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre from the 1950's, photographed from the banks of the River Avon contemporary to the time Richard Burton was making his triumphant Shakespearean debut.
The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre 1951 Season Brochure

After having impressed the acclaimed actor and director Anthony Quayle with his portrayal of Saint Cuthman in the Christopher Fry play, 'The Boy With A Cart', in the summer of 1951 Richard Burton was invited to commence on a gruelling season of William Shakespeare's Historical plays which were to be performed at the magnificent and prestigious Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon.
The plays in which Richard Burton was cast during this cycle included; 'King Henry IV (Parts I and II), 'Henry V' and 'The Tempest'.
Pictured here is the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre brochure for the 1951 season. These deluxe, embossed booklets were produced for each season by the Memorial Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon and printed by the Journal Press based in Evesham, Worcestershire. This 1951 edition features an introduction by Anthony Quayle, biographies of the producers and musical composers, a history of Shakespearean costume, actor biographies and a retrospective of the previous 1950 season.
The booklet also features striking full page portraits of the major actors, including Richard Burton as photographed by Angus McBean.
The 1951 season featured an array of stars from stage and screen which included Michael Redgrave, Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews, Heather Stannard, Rosalind Atkinson, Hugh Griffith, Robert Hardy, Hugh Griffith, Rachel Roberts and Geoffrey Bayldon.
The plays in which Richard Burton was cast during this cycle included; 'King Henry IV (Parts I and II), 'Henry V' and 'The Tempest'.
Pictured here is the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre brochure for the 1951 season. These deluxe, embossed booklets were produced for each season by the Memorial Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon and printed by the Journal Press based in Evesham, Worcestershire. This 1951 edition features an introduction by Anthony Quayle, biographies of the producers and musical composers, a history of Shakespearean costume, actor biographies and a retrospective of the previous 1950 season.
The booklet also features striking full page portraits of the major actors, including Richard Burton as photographed by Angus McBean.
The 1951 season featured an array of stars from stage and screen which included Michael Redgrave, Anthony Quayle, Harry Andrews, Heather Stannard, Rosalind Atkinson, Hugh Griffith, Robert Hardy, Hugh Griffith, Rachel Roberts and Geoffrey Bayldon.
Richard Burton's theatrical studio portrait as Prince Hal, photographed by Angus McBean, as it appears in the Stratford-Upon-Avon Memorial Theatre Programme for 1951, pictured alongside an image of the programme's title page.
"I am the son of a Welsh miner and one would expect me to be at my happiest playing Peasants, people of the earth; but in actual fact, I'm much happier playing Princes and Kings"....Richard Burton.
William Shakespeare's 'King Henry IV Part I'
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon,1951

An original copy of the two-page fold-out programme, complete with the original insert, for the 1951 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre's production of William Shakespeare's Historical play, 'King Henry IV, Part I.'
Appearing alongside Richard Burton, taking on the demanding title role of Henry, Prince Of Wales, was a cast of the finest actors of the day which included Harry Andrews, Michael Redgrave, Hugh Griffith, Michael Bates, Anthony Quayle, Robert Hardy, Hazel Penwarden, Rosalind Atkinson, Barbara Jefford and in the role of Lady Mortimer, Richard Burton's first wife, Sybil Williams.
The play was directed by Anthony Quayle himself and the run of this production commenced on April the 3rd, 1951.
The run of 'Henry IV Part I' formed just one part of the Cycle of Historical Plays for the 1951 Stratford-Upon-Avon season.
Richard Burton's performance, in this, his first public Shakespearean role, was so powerful and confident that even the harshest theatrical critic of the day, Kenneth Tynan, was moved to write;
"This shrewd Welsh boy shines out with greatness. Burton is still a brimming pool, running disturbingly deep: at twenty-five he commands a repose and can make silence garrulous. His Prince Hal is never a roaring boy; he sits hunched or sprawled, with dark unwinking eyes; he hopes to be amused by his bully companions, but the eyes constantly muse beyond them into the time when he must steady himself for the crown. "He brings his cathedral with him," said one dazed member of the company. For all his bold chivalry this watchful Celt seems surely to have strayed from a wayside pulpit. Fluent and sparing of gesture, compact and spruce of build, Burton smiles where other Hals have guffawed, relaxes where they have strained, and Falstaff, played with affectionate obesity by Anthony Quayle, must work hard to divert him. In battle, Burton's voice cuts urgent and keen - always likeable, always amiable."
Another famous critic of the time, John Barber of the Daily Express, wrote of Richard Burton's performance;
"A young Welsh boy jumped on the back of this play as if it were a fiery charger and rode it to triumph...this man has made Prince Hal noble without arrogance, graceful without effeminacy and handsome without dullness."
Harold Hobson, the drama critic and author, showed remarkable insight in his review of Richard Burton's performance with his words;
"He had hardly got his performance started before I felt that the Stratford audience that night was in the presence of no ordinary player. He had an interior force, so that he is doing everything when he appears to be doing nothing."
Appearing alongside Richard Burton, taking on the demanding title role of Henry, Prince Of Wales, was a cast of the finest actors of the day which included Harry Andrews, Michael Redgrave, Hugh Griffith, Michael Bates, Anthony Quayle, Robert Hardy, Hazel Penwarden, Rosalind Atkinson, Barbara Jefford and in the role of Lady Mortimer, Richard Burton's first wife, Sybil Williams.
The play was directed by Anthony Quayle himself and the run of this production commenced on April the 3rd, 1951.
The run of 'Henry IV Part I' formed just one part of the Cycle of Historical Plays for the 1951 Stratford-Upon-Avon season.
Richard Burton's performance, in this, his first public Shakespearean role, was so powerful and confident that even the harshest theatrical critic of the day, Kenneth Tynan, was moved to write;
"This shrewd Welsh boy shines out with greatness. Burton is still a brimming pool, running disturbingly deep: at twenty-five he commands a repose and can make silence garrulous. His Prince Hal is never a roaring boy; he sits hunched or sprawled, with dark unwinking eyes; he hopes to be amused by his bully companions, but the eyes constantly muse beyond them into the time when he must steady himself for the crown. "He brings his cathedral with him," said one dazed member of the company. For all his bold chivalry this watchful Celt seems surely to have strayed from a wayside pulpit. Fluent and sparing of gesture, compact and spruce of build, Burton smiles where other Hals have guffawed, relaxes where they have strained, and Falstaff, played with affectionate obesity by Anthony Quayle, must work hard to divert him. In battle, Burton's voice cuts urgent and keen - always likeable, always amiable."
Another famous critic of the time, John Barber of the Daily Express, wrote of Richard Burton's performance;
"A young Welsh boy jumped on the back of this play as if it were a fiery charger and rode it to triumph...this man has made Prince Hal noble without arrogance, graceful without effeminacy and handsome without dullness."
Harold Hobson, the drama critic and author, showed remarkable insight in his review of Richard Burton's performance with his words;
"He had hardly got his performance started before I felt that the Stratford audience that night was in the presence of no ordinary player. He had an interior force, so that he is doing everything when he appears to be doing nothing."
William Shakespeare's 'King Henry IV Part II'
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon,1951

An original two-page fold-out theatre programme, complete with the original insert, for the 1951 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre production of William Shakespeare's Historical play, 'King Henry IV, Part II'.
This production was produced by the highly distinguished actor Michael Redgrave and was directed, once again, by Anthony Quayle.
The role of Henry, Prince Of Wales, was played by a majestic and highly praised, Richard Burton.
Supporting Richard Burton was a cast which included some of the highest calibre actors of the day, such as Harry Andrews, Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Bayldon, Barbara Jefford and William Squire.
Also included with this programme is a small insert which reads;
'Owing to the indisposition of Mr. Richard Wordsworth the part of Pistol will be played at this performance by Mr. Leo Ciceri.'
This production formed part of the run of the Memorial Theatre's Cycle of Historical Plays which made up the 1951 season.
The Stratford-Upon-Avon production of 'Henry IV Part II' commenced on May the 8th, 1951.
'Theatre World' reviewing this production of Henry IV, Part II, was to write in their August issue that year;
"The production is well served by Richard Burton as Prince Hal. On his first appearance, he is a prince very far out of his way, more like a barrow-boy with a Second Lieutenant's commission and ideas above himself, but from this unpromising beginning a national hero begins to bud before our eyes, by the thoughtful delivery of all his speeches."
Philip Burton was in the audience of the matinee performance of 'Henry IV Part II' on Saturday the 22nd of September that year and was to recall in his diary;
"Up early to go to Stratford, Rich and Syb met me at the station. Saw Henry IV Part II at the matinee; it is much better; "Oh, polished perturbation" soliloquy particularly impressive. Very moved in the evening by 'Henry V', there's no doubt about Richard's greatness. I feel proud, humble and awed by God's mysterious ways."
This production was produced by the highly distinguished actor Michael Redgrave and was directed, once again, by Anthony Quayle.
The role of Henry, Prince Of Wales, was played by a majestic and highly praised, Richard Burton.
Supporting Richard Burton was a cast which included some of the highest calibre actors of the day, such as Harry Andrews, Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Bayldon, Barbara Jefford and William Squire.
Also included with this programme is a small insert which reads;
'Owing to the indisposition of Mr. Richard Wordsworth the part of Pistol will be played at this performance by Mr. Leo Ciceri.'
This production formed part of the run of the Memorial Theatre's Cycle of Historical Plays which made up the 1951 season.
The Stratford-Upon-Avon production of 'Henry IV Part II' commenced on May the 8th, 1951.
'Theatre World' reviewing this production of Henry IV, Part II, was to write in their August issue that year;
"The production is well served by Richard Burton as Prince Hal. On his first appearance, he is a prince very far out of his way, more like a barrow-boy with a Second Lieutenant's commission and ideas above himself, but from this unpromising beginning a national hero begins to bud before our eyes, by the thoughtful delivery of all his speeches."
Philip Burton was in the audience of the matinee performance of 'Henry IV Part II' on Saturday the 22nd of September that year and was to recall in his diary;
"Up early to go to Stratford, Rich and Syb met me at the station. Saw Henry IV Part II at the matinee; it is much better; "Oh, polished perturbation" soliloquy particularly impressive. Very moved in the evening by 'Henry V', there's no doubt about Richard's greatness. I feel proud, humble and awed by God's mysterious ways."
William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon,1951

An original copy of the two-page theatre programme for the 1951 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Production of William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest.'
The production was produced by Michael Benthall and was directed by Anthony Quayle.
The role of Ferdinand was played, rather begrudgingly, by Richard Burton.
The actors appearing alongside Richard Burton in this production of 'The Tempest' were William Squire, Michael Redgrave, Geoffrey Bayldon, Jack Gwillim, Hugh Griffith, Rachel Roberts and Hazel Penwarden. Also appearing, in a minor role as a Water Nymph, was Richard Burton's then wife, Sybil Williams.
This production was part of the Cycle of Shakespeare's Plays for the 1951 season at Stratford-Upon-Avon and the production of 'The Tempest' commenced on June the 26th of that year.
'The Times' newspaper, in a contemporary review was to write;
"Mr. Michael Benthall's production was quick with invention, each fresh touch cleverly designed to create a sense of magic. He handled the Milanese romantics so cleverly that delicious differences of character appeared in these dull dogs. Miss Hazel Penwarden was a pretty Miranda, Mr. Richard Burton a handsome Ferdinand, and the production is rich enough in strokes of fancy and characterisation to get on very well without any more distinctive contribution from the lovers."
British theatre magazine 'Theatre World' was to add:
"The young lovers were happily cast. Richard Burton was a serious young Ferdinand and Hazel Penwarden appeared the most natural character on the stage as gentle Miranda".
In a later reflective interview with Michael Elwyn on the B.B.C. Arts programme, 'My Time Again' in 1965, Richard Burton spoke of his casting as Ferdinand in 'The Tempest ', saying;
"I was playing the part of Ferdinand in 'The Tempest' and I loathed it with a passionate intensity and I begged them to let me out of it. I said I would be one of the dancers or nymphs, anything, but don't let me play this dreadful, diabolical Ferdinand...The critics were suitably kind, they all said I contributed effectively to the atmosphere of the play except Ken Tynan, who said that, 'This is the first time we have ever seen Ferdinand played by a bull.' "
The production was produced by Michael Benthall and was directed by Anthony Quayle.
The role of Ferdinand was played, rather begrudgingly, by Richard Burton.
The actors appearing alongside Richard Burton in this production of 'The Tempest' were William Squire, Michael Redgrave, Geoffrey Bayldon, Jack Gwillim, Hugh Griffith, Rachel Roberts and Hazel Penwarden. Also appearing, in a minor role as a Water Nymph, was Richard Burton's then wife, Sybil Williams.
This production was part of the Cycle of Shakespeare's Plays for the 1951 season at Stratford-Upon-Avon and the production of 'The Tempest' commenced on June the 26th of that year.
'The Times' newspaper, in a contemporary review was to write;
"Mr. Michael Benthall's production was quick with invention, each fresh touch cleverly designed to create a sense of magic. He handled the Milanese romantics so cleverly that delicious differences of character appeared in these dull dogs. Miss Hazel Penwarden was a pretty Miranda, Mr. Richard Burton a handsome Ferdinand, and the production is rich enough in strokes of fancy and characterisation to get on very well without any more distinctive contribution from the lovers."
British theatre magazine 'Theatre World' was to add:
"The young lovers were happily cast. Richard Burton was a serious young Ferdinand and Hazel Penwarden appeared the most natural character on the stage as gentle Miranda".
In a later reflective interview with Michael Elwyn on the B.B.C. Arts programme, 'My Time Again' in 1965, Richard Burton spoke of his casting as Ferdinand in 'The Tempest ', saying;
"I was playing the part of Ferdinand in 'The Tempest' and I loathed it with a passionate intensity and I begged them to let me out of it. I said I would be one of the dancers or nymphs, anything, but don't let me play this dreadful, diabolical Ferdinand...The critics were suitably kind, they all said I contributed effectively to the atmosphere of the play except Ken Tynan, who said that, 'This is the first time we have ever seen Ferdinand played by a bull.' "
Richard Burton, photographed in the role he detested, that of Ferdinand, pictured alongside Hazel Penwarden as Miranda, in 'The Tempest'. The photograph is credited to theatrical photographer, Angus McBean.
William Shakespeare's 'King Henry V'
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, 1951
A two page, fold-out programme, complete with the original insert, for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre production of 'Henry V'.
The production was produced and directed by Anthony Quayle and was to be the last play in the 1951 Cycle of the Historical Plays season.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton were William Squire, Hugh Griffith, Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Bayldon, Rachel Roberts, Hazel Penwarden and in a minor role, Richard Burton's first wife Sybil Williams.
the music for this performance was performed by the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Orchestra conducted by Leslie Bridgewater.
Theatre critics were not kind when reviewing Richard Burton's performance, as this early appearance as Henry V proved to be a long way short of his majestic performance in the role five years later in 1956 at the Old Vic.
'Theatre World' in their September 1951 issue, wrote, rather disparagingly;
'Henry the king appears with the same plain mask and the same air of self-absorption as Prince Hal, but with much more to express within the same limitations. Richard Burton does wonders with but two organ stops and a blank stare, but a Shakespearean lead demands more variety and more feeling.'
'The Times' newspaper, writing on the first of August that year, was to add;
'Mr. Richard Burton, conforming to the general design, has played Prince Hal as an heir-apparent coolly awaiting his hour. But now that the hour has struck, Mr. Burton is not quite able to make good Shakespeare's conception of the ideal king. He is effective enough in the rough exchanges with his captains and his soldiers, but his voice is scarcely equal to the rhetorical splendour of the patriotic parades and the soliloquies on kingship. These are delivered on one note and lose importance.'
The production was produced and directed by Anthony Quayle and was to be the last play in the 1951 Cycle of the Historical Plays season.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton were William Squire, Hugh Griffith, Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Bayldon, Rachel Roberts, Hazel Penwarden and in a minor role, Richard Burton's first wife Sybil Williams.
the music for this performance was performed by the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Orchestra conducted by Leslie Bridgewater.
Theatre critics were not kind when reviewing Richard Burton's performance, as this early appearance as Henry V proved to be a long way short of his majestic performance in the role five years later in 1956 at the Old Vic.
'Theatre World' in their September 1951 issue, wrote, rather disparagingly;
'Henry the king appears with the same plain mask and the same air of self-absorption as Prince Hal, but with much more to express within the same limitations. Richard Burton does wonders with but two organ stops and a blank stare, but a Shakespearean lead demands more variety and more feeling.'
'The Times' newspaper, writing on the first of August that year, was to add;
'Mr. Richard Burton, conforming to the general design, has played Prince Hal as an heir-apparent coolly awaiting his hour. But now that the hour has struck, Mr. Burton is not quite able to make good Shakespeare's conception of the ideal king. He is effective enough in the rough exchanges with his captains and his soldiers, but his voice is scarcely equal to the rhetorical splendour of the patriotic parades and the soliloquies on kingship. These are delivered on one note and lose importance.'
A contemporary photograph of the stunning and majestic waterside view of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.
Jean Anouilh's 'Legend of Lovers'
The New Gayety Theatre, Washington D.C. December 1951

A copy of the rare, American, New Gayety Playgoer programme for the Theatre Guild and H. M. Tennent production of the Jean Anouilh play, 'Legend of Lovers'.
This particular programme was for the 'Try-Out' performances which began on the 10th of December, 1951 at the New Gayety Theatre in Washington D.C. and ran for two weeks before moving on to the Plymouth Theatre in New York before closing after just twenty-two performances.
The play itself, translated from the French of Jean Anouilh by Kitty Black, was a modern interpretation of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and had briefly toured England and France, without Richard Burton in the cast, under the titles of 'Eurydice' and 'Point of Departure'.
Richard Burton, fresh from his outstanding success on the Stratford stage, flew to America to join the cast members in rehearsal almost immediately after the 1951 Shakespeare Season was complete. The cast for this production included Dorothy McGuire, Hugh Griffith, Noel Willman, Edith King and Bruce Gordon. Richard Burton was cast in the leading male role in a part simply titled, 'The Young Musician'.
The play was directed by Peter Ashmore under the under the production supervision of Lawrence Langner and Theresa Helburn.
The play was not a success and would prove to be the only commercial failure in Richard Burton's long theatrical career.
The main problem with the play appeared to be its European 'confusing wordiness' which the producers attempted to correct so it was clearer for American audiences to understand, but this made the play even more confusing. Another problem was the casting of Dorothy McGuire in the female lead role. She was a big star in America but was hopelessly mis-cast in a European play.
Theatre critics of the time found it to be 'pretentious and wordy' and 'cheerless and muddled' although Richard Burton received good reviews, his performance being described as, 'intelligent and persuasive', and he himself was described as, 'an actor of tremendous promise'.
This particular programme was for the 'Try-Out' performances which began on the 10th of December, 1951 at the New Gayety Theatre in Washington D.C. and ran for two weeks before moving on to the Plymouth Theatre in New York before closing after just twenty-two performances.
The play itself, translated from the French of Jean Anouilh by Kitty Black, was a modern interpretation of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and had briefly toured England and France, without Richard Burton in the cast, under the titles of 'Eurydice' and 'Point of Departure'.
Richard Burton, fresh from his outstanding success on the Stratford stage, flew to America to join the cast members in rehearsal almost immediately after the 1951 Shakespeare Season was complete. The cast for this production included Dorothy McGuire, Hugh Griffith, Noel Willman, Edith King and Bruce Gordon. Richard Burton was cast in the leading male role in a part simply titled, 'The Young Musician'.
The play was directed by Peter Ashmore under the under the production supervision of Lawrence Langner and Theresa Helburn.
The play was not a success and would prove to be the only commercial failure in Richard Burton's long theatrical career.
The main problem with the play appeared to be its European 'confusing wordiness' which the producers attempted to correct so it was clearer for American audiences to understand, but this made the play even more confusing. Another problem was the casting of Dorothy McGuire in the female lead role. She was a big star in America but was hopelessly mis-cast in a European play.
Theatre critics of the time found it to be 'pretentious and wordy' and 'cheerless and muddled' although Richard Burton received good reviews, his performance being described as, 'intelligent and persuasive', and he himself was described as, 'an actor of tremendous promise'.
The interior of the New Gayety Theatre programme for the December 1951 production of 'Legend of Lovers'.
Jean Anouilh's 'Legend of Lovers'
The Plymouth Theatre, New York, Boxing Day 1951

After the brief 'Try-Out' performances of the Theatre Guild production of Jean Anouilh's 'Legend of Lovers' at the New Gayety Theatre in Washington D.C. this ill-fated play moved on to its final destination, the Plymouth Theatre in New York.
This is a copy of the original 'Playbill' magazine for the Plymouth Theatre published during the run of 'Legend of Lovers' which began on Boxing Day, December the 26th,1951.
The cast consisted of the original players from the New Gayety Theatre production, namely; Dorothy McGuire, Hugh Griffith, Edith King and Eric Sinclair.
This copy of 'Playbill' was published by Playbill Incorporated, Wooster Street, New York City, and includes a full cast list, a synopsis of the play and mini-biographies of the main stars.
The American theatre critics disliked this wordy, intellectual play and the run closed after just twenty-two performances. However, Richard Burton received high praise for his performance as 'The Musician'. The New York Times wrote in their December the twenty-seventh edition...
'Legend of Lovers', which the Theatre Guild put on at The Plymouth last evening, is the fourth Jean Anouilh play that has turned up in New York. But this department will have to acknowledge that it does not understand Monsieur Anouilh, and does not have much confidence in the drama of symbols, sorcery and death. Although fifty million Frenchmen cannot be wrong, one of them can be terribly pretentious. As the Orphic musician, Mr. Burton gives an intelligible and persuasive performance."
Time Magazine went on to add;
"...though Dorothy McGuire seems partly mystified and partly miscast as the girl, Richard Burton, as her lover, plays a difficult role persuasively. But the play grows tedious with saucy twists and lethargic with the fumes of 'nachtkultur'. When it doesn't seem all too French, it seems much too German."
This is a copy of the original 'Playbill' magazine for the Plymouth Theatre published during the run of 'Legend of Lovers' which began on Boxing Day, December the 26th,1951.
The cast consisted of the original players from the New Gayety Theatre production, namely; Dorothy McGuire, Hugh Griffith, Edith King and Eric Sinclair.
This copy of 'Playbill' was published by Playbill Incorporated, Wooster Street, New York City, and includes a full cast list, a synopsis of the play and mini-biographies of the main stars.
The American theatre critics disliked this wordy, intellectual play and the run closed after just twenty-two performances. However, Richard Burton received high praise for his performance as 'The Musician'. The New York Times wrote in their December the twenty-seventh edition...
'Legend of Lovers', which the Theatre Guild put on at The Plymouth last evening, is the fourth Jean Anouilh play that has turned up in New York. But this department will have to acknowledge that it does not understand Monsieur Anouilh, and does not have much confidence in the drama of symbols, sorcery and death. Although fifty million Frenchmen cannot be wrong, one of them can be terribly pretentious. As the Orphic musician, Mr. Burton gives an intelligible and persuasive performance."
Time Magazine went on to add;
"...though Dorothy McGuire seems partly mystified and partly miscast as the girl, Richard Burton, as her lover, plays a difficult role persuasively. But the play grows tedious with saucy twists and lethargic with the fumes of 'nachtkultur'. When it doesn't seem all too French, it seems much too German."
The interior of the Playbill for the Plymouth Theatre, New York, published during the run of 'Legend of Lovers' in December 1951.
Lillian Hellman's Adaption of 'Montserrat'
The Theatre Royal, Brighton Programme, March 1952

Prior to the London opening at The Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, the H.M. Tennent production of Lillian Hellman's 'Montserrat' was staged in some of the larger provincial English theatres.
This programme is from one of the largest theatres based outside of the capital at the time, namely the Theatre Royal, Brighton.
'Montserrat' ran for one week commencing on the 24th of March, 1952 and was, quite surprisingly, an incredibly successful run despite the fact that it was an unknown and obscure play.
This production of 'Montserrat' was performed with the same cast as the later Lyric Theatre production and was directed by Noel Willman and Nigel Green and managed and stage-directed by Bernard Gillman.
This production was presented by H. M. Tennent Productions Limited, under the directorship of Daphne Rye.
This programme for 'Montserrat' was especially designed and produced by the Southern Publishing Company Limited, based in Brighton, for this 1952 production.
This programme is from one of the largest theatres based outside of the capital at the time, namely the Theatre Royal, Brighton.
'Montserrat' ran for one week commencing on the 24th of March, 1952 and was, quite surprisingly, an incredibly successful run despite the fact that it was an unknown and obscure play.
This production of 'Montserrat' was performed with the same cast as the later Lyric Theatre production and was directed by Noel Willman and Nigel Green and managed and stage-directed by Bernard Gillman.
This production was presented by H. M. Tennent Productions Limited, under the directorship of Daphne Rye.
This programme for 'Montserrat' was especially designed and produced by the Southern Publishing Company Limited, based in Brighton, for this 1952 production.
Lillian Hellman's Adaption of 'Montserrat'
The Lyric Theatre Advertising Flyer, April 1952

An original copy of the two-page theatre flyer for the 1952 H.M. Tennent production of Lillian Hellman's adaption of the French play, 'Montserrat'.
This production was staged at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith for a limited season, which commenced on Tuesday, April the 8th,1952 and ran for six weeks, with Richard Burton in the title role of Captain Montserrat.
The play itself was set in the Governor's Palace in Valencia during the Venezualan fight for independence of 1812.
The play was adapted for the stage by Lillian Hellman and was based on the French play of the same name which had been originally written by Emanuel Robles.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton in this production were Esmond Knight, Elspeth March and Noel Willman, who along with Nigel Green also directed the play.
This production was staged at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith for a limited season, which commenced on Tuesday, April the 8th,1952 and ran for six weeks, with Richard Burton in the title role of Captain Montserrat.
The play itself was set in the Governor's Palace in Valencia during the Venezualan fight for independence of 1812.
The play was adapted for the stage by Lillian Hellman and was based on the French play of the same name which had been originally written by Emanuel Robles.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton in this production were Esmond Knight, Elspeth March and Noel Willman, who along with Nigel Green also directed the play.
Lillian Hellman's Adaption of 'Montserrat'
The Cambridge Arts Theatre, March 1952

A copy of an extremely rare four-page programme for the H.M. Tennent production of Lillian Hellman's 'Montserrat'.
The production ran at the Cambridge Arts Theatre from Monday the 31st of March until Saturday the 5th of April, 1952.
This production of 'Montserrat' was again presented by H. M. Tennent Productions Limited and was directed by Noel Willman and Nigel Green.
This programme was especially printed and published for the Cambridge Arts Theatre by S. G. Marshall and Son, based in Cambridge.
The British theatre magazine, 'Theatre World' reviewed this production of 'Montserrat' in their May issue that year, and were to comment that;
"The part of Montserrat offers little to an actor but Richard Burton made the most of the captain's smouldering taciturnity before discovery and contrived to introduce some variety into his tortured silences after it."
The production ran at the Cambridge Arts Theatre from Monday the 31st of March until Saturday the 5th of April, 1952.
This production of 'Montserrat' was again presented by H. M. Tennent Productions Limited and was directed by Noel Willman and Nigel Green.
This programme was especially printed and published for the Cambridge Arts Theatre by S. G. Marshall and Son, based in Cambridge.
The British theatre magazine, 'Theatre World' reviewed this production of 'Montserrat' in their May issue that year, and were to comment that;
"The part of Montserrat offers little to an actor but Richard Burton made the most of the captain's smouldering taciturnity before discovery and contrived to introduce some variety into his tortured silences after it."
Lillian Hellman's Adaption of 'Montserrat'
The Lyric Theatre, April 1952

A copy of the four-page fold-out theatre programme for the six week run of 'Montserrat', which commenced on April the 8th 1952 at the Lyric Theatre, London.
Aside from The Globe and The Old Vic, the original Lyric was a theatre which Richard Burton would have known well during his early career on the stage.
Now housed in King Street in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the theatre was originally built in 1888 on Bradmore Grove, Hammersmith as a Music Hall called the Lyric Hall, which was later reconstructed on the same site and re-opened as the Lyric opera House on the 17th of November 1890. Just five years later the theatre was demolished and rebuilt on the same site yet again under the guidance and plans of theatrical architect Frank Matcham and was re-opened on the 20th of July 1895.
In 1899 the theatre was slightly rebuilt and enlarged, again to the designs of Frank Matcham.
The theatre ran for many years at this location on Bradmore Grove and this would have been the building which Richard Burton would have known. The theatre was finally demolished in 1969 although the auditorium was removed and painstakingly rebuilt inside the modern building at the current site in Lyric Square, just off King Street, Hammersmith.
Aside from The Globe and The Old Vic, the original Lyric was a theatre which Richard Burton would have known well during his early career on the stage.
Now housed in King Street in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, the theatre was originally built in 1888 on Bradmore Grove, Hammersmith as a Music Hall called the Lyric Hall, which was later reconstructed on the same site and re-opened as the Lyric opera House on the 17th of November 1890. Just five years later the theatre was demolished and rebuilt on the same site yet again under the guidance and plans of theatrical architect Frank Matcham and was re-opened on the 20th of July 1895.
In 1899 the theatre was slightly rebuilt and enlarged, again to the designs of Frank Matcham.
The theatre ran for many years at this location on Bradmore Grove and this would have been the building which Richard Burton would have known. The theatre was finally demolished in 1969 although the auditorium was removed and painstakingly rebuilt inside the modern building at the current site in Lyric Square, just off King Street, Hammersmith.
The Sunday Times 'Homage To Dylan Thomas'
The Globe Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue, January 1954

An incredibly rare programme for the special one-night event which was entitled, 'Homage To Dylan Thomas'.
Held at The Globe Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, on Sunday the 24th of January 1954, the evening was staged in order to raise money for the Dylan Thomas Memorial Fund, which was set up to assist the recently widowed Caitlin Thomas in the support and education of her three children, Llewelyn, Aeronwy and Colm.
The evening was devised by the poet Louis MacNiece, Rupert Doone and Vera Lindsay and was sponsored by The Sunday Times newspaper.
The evening began with a moving rendition of Dylan Thomas's poem 'In My Craft And Sullen Art', which had been set to music by Elizabeth Luryens and performed by Hedli Anderson. Two personal tributes were then read, the first having been written by Edith Sitwell and read on her behalf by Dame Edith Evans and which was followed by a moving tribute spoken by acclaimed Welsh actor, Hugh Griffith.
'A Requiem Canto', written and read by Louis MacNiece was followed by a rendition of Dylan Thomas's wonderful prose piece, 'A Visit To Grandpa's' read by Emlyn Williams which was followed by Richard Burton's first performance of the evening, a reading of the beautiful poem, 'Poem In October'.
Closing the first part of the evening was Dylan Thomas's early poem 'Paper And Sticks', once again set to music and extracts from 'Under Milk Wood', as performed by Richard Burton, Richard Bebb, Hugh Griffith, Rachel Thomas, Richard Burton's then wife Sybil Williams and Philip Burton.
After a brief interval the evening recommenced with readings of Dylan Thomas's poetry and prose by Richard Burton, Dame Edith Evans, Hugh Griffiths and Emlyn Williams. Richard Burton's selections were to include 'Lament', 'The Hunchback In The Park', 'After The Funeral' and 'Fern Hill'.
The evening concluded with the theatre being filled with a recording of Dylan Thomas's own booming voice reading the haunting poem, 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion'.
The programme for the evening was designed and printed by Lund Humphries in 1953 and consists of a personal message written by poet W. H. Auden, an article entitled 'A Grief Ago', written by Cyril Connolly, the full programme of readings and performances, a facsimile of Dylan Thomas's drafts for 'Under Milk Wood', a copy of Edith Sitwell's historic appraisal of Dylan Thomas's 'Twenty-Five Poems' which was first published in The Sunday Times on the 15th of November 1946, three drawings by Dylan Thomas himself circa 1945, two photographs of Dylan and Caitlin Thomas taken in Laugharne, and the full text to the haunting poem 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion'.
Held at The Globe Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue, on Sunday the 24th of January 1954, the evening was staged in order to raise money for the Dylan Thomas Memorial Fund, which was set up to assist the recently widowed Caitlin Thomas in the support and education of her three children, Llewelyn, Aeronwy and Colm.
The evening was devised by the poet Louis MacNiece, Rupert Doone and Vera Lindsay and was sponsored by The Sunday Times newspaper.
The evening began with a moving rendition of Dylan Thomas's poem 'In My Craft And Sullen Art', which had been set to music by Elizabeth Luryens and performed by Hedli Anderson. Two personal tributes were then read, the first having been written by Edith Sitwell and read on her behalf by Dame Edith Evans and which was followed by a moving tribute spoken by acclaimed Welsh actor, Hugh Griffith.
'A Requiem Canto', written and read by Louis MacNiece was followed by a rendition of Dylan Thomas's wonderful prose piece, 'A Visit To Grandpa's' read by Emlyn Williams which was followed by Richard Burton's first performance of the evening, a reading of the beautiful poem, 'Poem In October'.
Closing the first part of the evening was Dylan Thomas's early poem 'Paper And Sticks', once again set to music and extracts from 'Under Milk Wood', as performed by Richard Burton, Richard Bebb, Hugh Griffith, Rachel Thomas, Richard Burton's then wife Sybil Williams and Philip Burton.
After a brief interval the evening recommenced with readings of Dylan Thomas's poetry and prose by Richard Burton, Dame Edith Evans, Hugh Griffiths and Emlyn Williams. Richard Burton's selections were to include 'Lament', 'The Hunchback In The Park', 'After The Funeral' and 'Fern Hill'.
The evening concluded with the theatre being filled with a recording of Dylan Thomas's own booming voice reading the haunting poem, 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion'.
The programme for the evening was designed and printed by Lund Humphries in 1953 and consists of a personal message written by poet W. H. Auden, an article entitled 'A Grief Ago', written by Cyril Connolly, the full programme of readings and performances, a facsimile of Dylan Thomas's drafts for 'Under Milk Wood', a copy of Edith Sitwell's historic appraisal of Dylan Thomas's 'Twenty-Five Poems' which was first published in The Sunday Times on the 15th of November 1946, three drawings by Dylan Thomas himself circa 1945, two photographs of Dylan and Caitlin Thomas taken in Laugharne, and the full text to the haunting poem 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion'.
'Homage To Dylan Thomas' Original Ticket
The Globe Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue, January 1954
An extremely rare, original and unused ticket for the evening of poetry, drama and music, 'Homage To Dylan Thomas', which took place on Sunday the 24th of January, 1954. The event was sponsored by The Sunday Times and was organized by the Group Theatre in association with the Institute of Contemporary Arts. This especially printed 'fold-out' ticket also contains an detachable application form to apply for membership of the Group Theatre, based in St. Martin's Lane, London WC2. The ticket for this special event, as with the programme, was printed by Lund Humphries and Company Limited.
The Richard Burton Museum is indebted to the kind generosity of Mr. Jeff Towns, the 'Dylan Thomas Guy' and owner of Dylan's Bookstore who donated this wonderful and rare item to the Richard Burton Collection.
The Richard Burton Museum is indebted to the kind generosity of Mr. Jeff Towns, the 'Dylan Thomas Guy' and owner of Dylan's Bookstore who donated this wonderful and rare item to the Richard Burton Collection.
'Under Milk Wood' by Dylan Thomas
The Old Vic Theatre, Waterloo Road, London, February 1954

An exceptionally rare Old Vic Theatre promotional flyer for the first ever reading in the United Kingdom of Dylan Thomas' s play for voices, 'Under Milk Wood'.
This was to be the first complete stage reading of 'Under Milk Wood' to take place in Britain and featured the vocal talents of Richard Burton, cast in the role of 'First Voice', accompanied by Emlyn Williams, Sybil Thorndike, Clifford Evans, Meredith Edwards, Rachel Roberts and Jessie Evans.
The reading was specially adapted for this performance by Philip Burton and was directed by Douglas Cleverdon, who incidentally was the producer of the first B.B.C. recording of the play.
The performance took place at the Old Vic Theatre, based in the Waterloo Road, London over the two consecutive Sunday evenings of the 28th of February and the 7th of March, 1954.
Seats for this special event were only available to members of the Old Vic Club and The Old Vic-Wells Association.
This was to be the first complete stage reading of 'Under Milk Wood' to take place in Britain and featured the vocal talents of Richard Burton, cast in the role of 'First Voice', accompanied by Emlyn Williams, Sybil Thorndike, Clifford Evans, Meredith Edwards, Rachel Roberts and Jessie Evans.
The reading was specially adapted for this performance by Philip Burton and was directed by Douglas Cleverdon, who incidentally was the producer of the first B.B.C. recording of the play.
The performance took place at the Old Vic Theatre, based in the Waterloo Road, London over the two consecutive Sunday evenings of the 28th of February and the 7th of March, 1954.
Seats for this special event were only available to members of the Old Vic Club and The Old Vic-Wells Association.
William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' and 'Twelfth Night'
The Palace Theatre Manchester, June 1954
A copy of an original and rare theatre programme from The Palace Theatre, Manchester for the one week run of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' and 'Twelfth Night', as performed by the Old Vic Company of Players in association with The Arts Council of Great Britain.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton in these two productions were Claire Bloom, Michael Hordern and Fay Compton.
The run of these two plays, performed in the majestic Palace Theatre, took place on consecutive evenings and commenced on June the 7th, 1954.
The orchestral musical score was performed under the direction of Christopher Whelan.
The programme was printed locally in Manchester especially for The Palace Theatre by C. Nicholls and Company Limited at the Philips Park Press, Manchester.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton in these two productions were Claire Bloom, Michael Hordern and Fay Compton.
The run of these two plays, performed in the majestic Palace Theatre, took place on consecutive evenings and commenced on June the 7th, 1954.
The orchestral musical score was performed under the direction of Christopher Whelan.
The programme was printed locally in Manchester especially for The Palace Theatre by C. Nicholls and Company Limited at the Philips Park Press, Manchester.
William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' Edinburgh International Festival Brochure and Programme Set, August 1953
The deluxe rare brochure and complete set of programmes for the Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama, which ran from the 23rd of August until the 12th of September, 1953.
The Old Vic Trust Limited and Old Vic Company production of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' was performed at the International Festival with Richard Burton in the lead role. This was to be the first ever performance undertaken by Richard Burton of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, prior to the London opening at The Old Vic Theatre.
The production was performed at the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall on The Mound in Edinburgh and the cast also included Claire Bloom, Robert Hardy, William Squire, Michael Hordern, Fay Compton and John Neville.
The musical orchestrations were composed by John Gardner under the musical direction of Christopher Whelen.
The Edinburgh production of 'Hamlet', produced in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain, the British Council and the Corporation of the City of Edinburgh was directed by Michael Benthall and ran from the 24th of August until the 5th of September, 1953.
A contemporary review of the first night performance of 'Hamlet' at Edinburgh, reads,
"On August 24, at the Assembly Hall, the Old Vic Trust Ltd. presented the Old Vic Company in Shakespeare's tragedy.
Michael Benthall's brilliant production, with striking costumes and decor by Kenneth Rowell, flows swiftly and surely along, making full use of the spaciousness of the large apron stage with very clever lighting effects.
A new Hamlet always causes great interest, and Richard Burton's arresting performance is of a sturdy, virile Prince bent on revenge, yet sensitive and with poignant moments of gripping intensity. The exciting fight at the finish is cleverly staged leading to a spectacular climax with vivid dramatic effect.
Claire Bloom is a delicate, graceful Ophelia from her first entrance as a sweet young maid in love to her pitiful mad-scene.
Fay Compton is a regal Gertrude, the fine clarity of her diction being a notable feature. Laurence Hardy plays Claudius in a
powerful, ruffianly manner, and Michael Hordern's rather bluff Polonious is an outstanding success. William Squire is a fine Horatio, unobtrusive yet warmly expressive, and Robert Hardy plays Laertes wih assurance and skill.
All the smaller parts are well handled and the entire production proves a worthy opening to the drama side of the Festival."
The programme for 'Hamlet' was especially published and printed for the Edinburgh International Festival by Robert Mitchell and Sons (Printers), based locally in the city.
The Old Vic Trust Limited and Old Vic Company production of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' was performed at the International Festival with Richard Burton in the lead role. This was to be the first ever performance undertaken by Richard Burton of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, prior to the London opening at The Old Vic Theatre.
The production was performed at the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall on The Mound in Edinburgh and the cast also included Claire Bloom, Robert Hardy, William Squire, Michael Hordern, Fay Compton and John Neville.
The musical orchestrations were composed by John Gardner under the musical direction of Christopher Whelen.
The Edinburgh production of 'Hamlet', produced in association with the Arts Council of Great Britain, the British Council and the Corporation of the City of Edinburgh was directed by Michael Benthall and ran from the 24th of August until the 5th of September, 1953.
A contemporary review of the first night performance of 'Hamlet' at Edinburgh, reads,
"On August 24, at the Assembly Hall, the Old Vic Trust Ltd. presented the Old Vic Company in Shakespeare's tragedy.
Michael Benthall's brilliant production, with striking costumes and decor by Kenneth Rowell, flows swiftly and surely along, making full use of the spaciousness of the large apron stage with very clever lighting effects.
A new Hamlet always causes great interest, and Richard Burton's arresting performance is of a sturdy, virile Prince bent on revenge, yet sensitive and with poignant moments of gripping intensity. The exciting fight at the finish is cleverly staged leading to a spectacular climax with vivid dramatic effect.
Claire Bloom is a delicate, graceful Ophelia from her first entrance as a sweet young maid in love to her pitiful mad-scene.
Fay Compton is a regal Gertrude, the fine clarity of her diction being a notable feature. Laurence Hardy plays Claudius in a
powerful, ruffianly manner, and Michael Hordern's rather bluff Polonious is an outstanding success. William Squire is a fine Horatio, unobtrusive yet warmly expressive, and Robert Hardy plays Laertes wih assurance and skill.
All the smaller parts are well handled and the entire production proves a worthy opening to the drama side of the Festival."
The programme for 'Hamlet' was especially published and printed for the Edinburgh International Festival by Robert Mitchell and Sons (Printers), based locally in the city.
The interior of the 1953 Edinburgh International Festival brochure, alongside the programme for the production of 'Hamlet'.
Richard Burton On Stage At The Old Vic, 1953 - 1956
William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'
The Old Vic Theatre, September 1953

An original Old Vic theatre programme for the 1953 Old Vic Company's run of the production of William Shakespeare's tragedy, 'Hamlet, Prince Of Denmark'.
Alongside Richard Burton, in the title role of Hamlet, were Michael Hordern, Robert Hardy, Claire Bloom and John Neville.
The production was directed by Michael Benthall, and this powerful adaption of 'Hamlet' commenced on Monday the 14th of September, 1953.
'The Times' newspaper, in a review published on September the 15th that year was to read:
"Mr. Richard Burton's playing of Hamlet in the new surroundings has become something altogether different. On the platform stage it was curiously without charm. That Hamlet seemed to be suffering acutely but rather sullenly and unsympathetically. The delivery of the soliloquies was the most powerful part of the performance. This Hamlet has charm which, for all its melancholy, is not to be resisted, and the power still felt in the soliloquies is felt now everywhere."
'Theatre World' magazine, writing in the November of that year, stated;
"Eight former Hamlets have been to see young Richard at the Old Vic and all went back-stage to offer their sincere congratulations. They were Sir John Gielgud, Paul Scofield, Alec Clunes, Michael Redgrave, Alec Guinness, Ernest Milton, Esme Percy and Robert Helpmann, who has seen the performance three times. To evoke such interest is no mean achievement for an actor who only ten years ago was making his first professional appearance."
The original price of this programme during Richard Burton's run of Hamlet was six pence.
This, and the other Old Vic programmes shown here were printed especially for the Old Vic Theatre by John Waddington Printers Limited, based in London.
Alongside Richard Burton, in the title role of Hamlet, were Michael Hordern, Robert Hardy, Claire Bloom and John Neville.
The production was directed by Michael Benthall, and this powerful adaption of 'Hamlet' commenced on Monday the 14th of September, 1953.
'The Times' newspaper, in a review published on September the 15th that year was to read:
"Mr. Richard Burton's playing of Hamlet in the new surroundings has become something altogether different. On the platform stage it was curiously without charm. That Hamlet seemed to be suffering acutely but rather sullenly and unsympathetically. The delivery of the soliloquies was the most powerful part of the performance. This Hamlet has charm which, for all its melancholy, is not to be resisted, and the power still felt in the soliloquies is felt now everywhere."
'Theatre World' magazine, writing in the November of that year, stated;
"Eight former Hamlets have been to see young Richard at the Old Vic and all went back-stage to offer their sincere congratulations. They were Sir John Gielgud, Paul Scofield, Alec Clunes, Michael Redgrave, Alec Guinness, Ernest Milton, Esme Percy and Robert Helpmann, who has seen the performance three times. To evoke such interest is no mean achievement for an actor who only ten years ago was making his first professional appearance."
The original price of this programme during Richard Burton's run of Hamlet was six pence.
This, and the other Old Vic programmes shown here were printed especially for the Old Vic Theatre by John Waddington Printers Limited, based in London.
William Shakespeare's 'King John'
The Old Vic Theatre, November 1953

A copy of the original theatre programme for the 1953 Old Vic Company's run of the production of William Shakespeare's Historical play, 'King John'.
Richard Burton, cast in the co-starring role of Phillip the Bastard, appeared alongside Michael Hordern in the title role of King John.
Also appearing in this production were Robert Hardy, William Squire, John Neville and Fay Compton.
This production of King John was directed by Michael Benthall and the run commenced on the 28th of November, 1953.
On October the twenty-eighth, 'The Times' published a review which read, in part;
"Mr. Richard Burton gives the whimsically observant Bastard some of that silent momentousness which Sir Laurence Olivier once gave to Hotspur. Even when silent among the bawling barons he rivets attention, and when it is his turn to act as chorus to the action he catches the blunt humour of the man."
'Theatre World' magazine were to also add;
"Richard Burton as the Bastard gave one of his most convincing performances. The role of an amused commentator, who is also vigorous and lively when occasion calls, seems ideally suited to his voice and presence."
First night reviews, written by theatre critics Elizabeth Frank and W. A. Darlington say of Burton's performance:
"For the first time in my experience this is a really believable 'King John'. As Philip the Bastard, Richard Burton gives his finest performance to date. A bluff young Hercules, he fills the scene with his impatient but controlled vitality."
"Richard Burton revelled in the Bastard's 'devil-may-care' attitude, and his timing of the interpolated cracks with which he loves to take the pompous people down a peg was masterly. For the big speeches he was in very good voice."
"Mr. Richard Burton gives the whimsically observant Bastard some of that silent momentousness which Sir Laurence Olivier once gave to Hotspur. Even when silent among the bawling barons he rivets attention, and when it is his turn to act as chorus to the action he catches the blunt humour of the man."
Richard Burton, cast in the co-starring role of Phillip the Bastard, appeared alongside Michael Hordern in the title role of King John.
Also appearing in this production were Robert Hardy, William Squire, John Neville and Fay Compton.
This production of King John was directed by Michael Benthall and the run commenced on the 28th of November, 1953.
On October the twenty-eighth, 'The Times' published a review which read, in part;
"Mr. Richard Burton gives the whimsically observant Bastard some of that silent momentousness which Sir Laurence Olivier once gave to Hotspur. Even when silent among the bawling barons he rivets attention, and when it is his turn to act as chorus to the action he catches the blunt humour of the man."
'Theatre World' magazine were to also add;
"Richard Burton as the Bastard gave one of his most convincing performances. The role of an amused commentator, who is also vigorous and lively when occasion calls, seems ideally suited to his voice and presence."
First night reviews, written by theatre critics Elizabeth Frank and W. A. Darlington say of Burton's performance:
"For the first time in my experience this is a really believable 'King John'. As Philip the Bastard, Richard Burton gives his finest performance to date. A bluff young Hercules, he fills the scene with his impatient but controlled vitality."
"Richard Burton revelled in the Bastard's 'devil-may-care' attitude, and his timing of the interpolated cracks with which he loves to take the pompous people down a peg was masterly. For the big speeches he was in very good voice."
"Mr. Richard Burton gives the whimsically observant Bastard some of that silent momentousness which Sir Laurence Olivier once gave to Hotspur. Even when silent among the bawling barons he rivets attention, and when it is his turn to act as chorus to the action he catches the blunt humour of the man."
William Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus'
The Old Vic Theatre, February 1954

An original Old Vic theatre programme and ticket for the 1954 Old Vic Company's run of the production of William Shakespeare's Historical play, 'Coriolanus'.
With Richard Burton magnificent in the title role, the actors appearing alongside him included John Neville, Robert Hardy, Claire Bloom and Fay Compton.
'The Times' newspaper, reviewing the Old Vic production of 'Coriolanus' wrote:
"Mr. Richard Burton gives Coriolanus most of his dues. The actor has the voice and the stage presence for the part. He lacks only a certain harshness of nature. we can scarcely believe that a hero with so much charm in reserve would have made Rome impossible for him."
Robert Hardy, recalling his friend Richard Burton as Coriolanus, was to say;
"He was stunning in it. And all those curious elements of his physical and mental nature which presented danger and extra power and extra strength that filled the room, however big, were of course usable. one moment an iceberg, and the next moment a flaming meteor, he was tremendous, and always dangerous. I've never seen Coriolanus better done. and you could see why people loved him in the play and why people....hated him in the play. The whole thing was so clear. Richard had a great arrogance of his own which matched an irony all his own. A kind of...'why is it that humankind is so perverse, so weak, so heir to the ills of the world', which, of course, in some senses he was himself, and proved it true. But the irony, the toss of the head, the glance off into a plane which he could inhabit by himself; all were very characteristic of him - and were of course shattering in Coriolanus...".
This production of Coriolanus was directed by Michael Benthall and the run commenced on the 23rd of February, 1954. This particular programme is from the Old Vic Company performance of Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus' which took place on the evening of Monday the 29th of March, 1954.
With Richard Burton magnificent in the title role, the actors appearing alongside him included John Neville, Robert Hardy, Claire Bloom and Fay Compton.
'The Times' newspaper, reviewing the Old Vic production of 'Coriolanus' wrote:
"Mr. Richard Burton gives Coriolanus most of his dues. The actor has the voice and the stage presence for the part. He lacks only a certain harshness of nature. we can scarcely believe that a hero with so much charm in reserve would have made Rome impossible for him."
Robert Hardy, recalling his friend Richard Burton as Coriolanus, was to say;
"He was stunning in it. And all those curious elements of his physical and mental nature which presented danger and extra power and extra strength that filled the room, however big, were of course usable. one moment an iceberg, and the next moment a flaming meteor, he was tremendous, and always dangerous. I've never seen Coriolanus better done. and you could see why people loved him in the play and why people....hated him in the play. The whole thing was so clear. Richard had a great arrogance of his own which matched an irony all his own. A kind of...'why is it that humankind is so perverse, so weak, so heir to the ills of the world', which, of course, in some senses he was himself, and proved it true. But the irony, the toss of the head, the glance off into a plane which he could inhabit by himself; all were very characteristic of him - and were of course shattering in Coriolanus...".
This production of Coriolanus was directed by Michael Benthall and the run commenced on the 23rd of February, 1954. This particular programme is from the Old Vic Company performance of Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus' which took place on the evening of Monday the 29th of March, 1954.
William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'
The Old Vic Theatre, May 1954

A copy of the original theatre programme for the 1954 Old Vic Company's run of William Shakespeare's comedy play, 'Twelfth Night'.
Richard Burton appeared almost unrecognisable due to the heavy make-up he had to wear for the role of Sir Toby Belch, much to the disappointment of his growing number of female admirers.
Burton disliked intensely having to wear heavy theatrical make-up and stage costume and this would often reflect in his performance in the production. The heavy make-up he had to endure for his portrayal of Sir Toby Belch seemed to greatly diminish his power as an actor, making him withdrawn and too unconvincing. The actor, Richard Leech commenting on his performance in 'Twelfth Night' noted;
"He could have been much better, if you think it's better to give a character performance, but he quite deliberately didn't. It was just Richard, our lovely lad, pretending to be Toby Belch."
'Theatre World', in their February, 1954 issue, wrote;
"Richard Burton's Sir Toby was not a very fully developed characterisation but he seemed fundamentally a man of sense gone to seed and he was in excellent voice."
'The Times' newspaper went further, and wrote;
"Mr. Richard Burton models his Sir Toby on the gently humorous plotter presented with assured accomplishment by Sir Cedric Hardwicke some years ago, but the later model suffers from the producer's firm intention to turn humour to prettiness and to favour."
Appearing alongside Richard Burton in this production were John Neville, Fay Compton, Claire Bloom and Michael Hordern.
This production of 'Twelfth Night' was directed by Michael Benthall, and the run commenced on the 5th of May, 1954. This programme for 'Twelfth Night' was printed by John Waddington (Printers) Limited based in Stoke Newington, London, and at the time of publication cost four pence.
Richard Burton appeared almost unrecognisable due to the heavy make-up he had to wear for the role of Sir Toby Belch, much to the disappointment of his growing number of female admirers.
Burton disliked intensely having to wear heavy theatrical make-up and stage costume and this would often reflect in his performance in the production. The heavy make-up he had to endure for his portrayal of Sir Toby Belch seemed to greatly diminish his power as an actor, making him withdrawn and too unconvincing. The actor, Richard Leech commenting on his performance in 'Twelfth Night' noted;
"He could have been much better, if you think it's better to give a character performance, but he quite deliberately didn't. It was just Richard, our lovely lad, pretending to be Toby Belch."
'Theatre World', in their February, 1954 issue, wrote;
"Richard Burton's Sir Toby was not a very fully developed characterisation but he seemed fundamentally a man of sense gone to seed and he was in excellent voice."
'The Times' newspaper went further, and wrote;
"Mr. Richard Burton models his Sir Toby on the gently humorous plotter presented with assured accomplishment by Sir Cedric Hardwicke some years ago, but the later model suffers from the producer's firm intention to turn humour to prettiness and to favour."
Appearing alongside Richard Burton in this production were John Neville, Fay Compton, Claire Bloom and Michael Hordern.
This production of 'Twelfth Night' was directed by Michael Benthall, and the run commenced on the 5th of May, 1954. This programme for 'Twelfth Night' was printed by John Waddington (Printers) Limited based in Stoke Newington, London, and at the time of publication cost four pence.
Comparison photographs of how Richard Burton appeared in the Old Vic theatre programme for the production of William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night' and how he appeared on stage as Sir Toby Belch for the actual performance. The image of Richard Burton in full theatrical costume is credited to his great friend, Robert Hardy, who applied Richard Burton's make-up prior to each performance.
William Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'
The Old Vic Theatre, April 1954
An original programme for the 1954, Old Vic Company production of William Shakespeare's, 'The Tempest'. Once again, to Richard Burton's disdain and to the disappointment of the female members of the audience, he appeared in full theatrical make-up and stage costume for his portrayal of the half-man, half-monster, Caliban, making him virtually unrecognisable.
Also appearing in this production, in the role of Ariel, was Burton's good friend Robert Hardy, alongside Michael Hordern, John Neville, Paul Daneman, Ronald Hines and Claire Bloom as Miranda.
This production of 'The Tempest' was produced and directed by the Australian dancer, actor and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, the actor who is probably best known for his eerie portrayal of the 'Child-Catcher' in the 1968 film adaption of Ian Fleming's 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
Interestingly, 'The Times' newspaper initially refused to review this production owing to the costume, or rather the lack of it, worn by Robert Hardy in the role of Ariel. It was deemed to offensive and 'risque' for the time. When the problem was addressed and a more suitable costume was found, 'The Times' relented, and wrote of Richard Burton's performance in their April the 14th, 1954 edition;
"The resonantly comic Caliban of Mr. Richard Burton, though vigorously alive, hardly succeeds in interfering with the grossness of the offending animal, the pathetic yearning for human status without which the monster is maligned."
'Theatre World' in their May issue of the same year, wrote;
"Richard Burton, with voice in full volume, seems more mischievous than elemental as Caliban, and plays for laughs, only touching the primeval when, with astonishing agility, he strides around with both Trinculo and Stephano on his back."
This original Old Vic programme dates from April 1954 and at the time, contemporary to the production of 'The Tempest' cost sixpence.
Also appearing in this production, in the role of Ariel, was Burton's good friend Robert Hardy, alongside Michael Hordern, John Neville, Paul Daneman, Ronald Hines and Claire Bloom as Miranda.
This production of 'The Tempest' was produced and directed by the Australian dancer, actor and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, the actor who is probably best known for his eerie portrayal of the 'Child-Catcher' in the 1968 film adaption of Ian Fleming's 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
Interestingly, 'The Times' newspaper initially refused to review this production owing to the costume, or rather the lack of it, worn by Robert Hardy in the role of Ariel. It was deemed to offensive and 'risque' for the time. When the problem was addressed and a more suitable costume was found, 'The Times' relented, and wrote of Richard Burton's performance in their April the 14th, 1954 edition;
"The resonantly comic Caliban of Mr. Richard Burton, though vigorously alive, hardly succeeds in interfering with the grossness of the offending animal, the pathetic yearning for human status without which the monster is maligned."
'Theatre World' in their May issue of the same year, wrote;
"Richard Burton, with voice in full volume, seems more mischievous than elemental as Caliban, and plays for laughs, only touching the primeval when, with astonishing agility, he strides around with both Trinculo and Stephano on his back."
This original Old Vic programme dates from April 1954 and at the time, contemporary to the production of 'The Tempest' cost sixpence.
William Shakespeare's 'King Henry V'
The Old Vic Theatre, January 1956
An original Old Vic Company theatre programme for the 1956 Old Vic run of the magnificent production of William Shakespeare's Historical play, 'King Henry V'.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton, in the title role of Henry, were John Neville, Jack Gwillim, Paul Rogers and Wendy Hiller.
In January, 1956, 'The Evening Standard' newspaper commended Richard Burton's performance as Henry V with their coveted Best Actor Drama Award for best stage performance.
'Theatre World' magazine was to write in their January 1956 edition;
"Richard Burton gives one of his best performances to date as the king, conveying perfectly the seriousness with which the young monarch takes on the heavy responsibility of kingship, his growing wisdom and humanity, but gives glimpses yet in the love scene of the gay young Prince whose boon companion was the rascally old Falstaff."
'The Times' newspaper was to write in December, 1955;
"Mr. Burton's progress as an actor is such that already he is able to make good all the lacks of a few short years ago. The Harfleur speech remains mere ferocious rant, but this is the only conspicuous flaw in a performance which excitingly combines all the qualities of Shakespeare's ideal king."
Directed by Michael Benthall, this production of Henry V commenced on Monday the 23rd of January, 1956.
The portrait displayed alongside the programme was painted by distinguished artist Frank Owen Salisbury (1874-1962) sometime around 1956, a majestic portrait which now hangs in the Victoria and Albert Museum after being kindly donated by Richard Burton's widow Sally, shortly after his death.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton, in the title role of Henry, were John Neville, Jack Gwillim, Paul Rogers and Wendy Hiller.
In January, 1956, 'The Evening Standard' newspaper commended Richard Burton's performance as Henry V with their coveted Best Actor Drama Award for best stage performance.
'Theatre World' magazine was to write in their January 1956 edition;
"Richard Burton gives one of his best performances to date as the king, conveying perfectly the seriousness with which the young monarch takes on the heavy responsibility of kingship, his growing wisdom and humanity, but gives glimpses yet in the love scene of the gay young Prince whose boon companion was the rascally old Falstaff."
'The Times' newspaper was to write in December, 1955;
"Mr. Burton's progress as an actor is such that already he is able to make good all the lacks of a few short years ago. The Harfleur speech remains mere ferocious rant, but this is the only conspicuous flaw in a performance which excitingly combines all the qualities of Shakespeare's ideal king."
Directed by Michael Benthall, this production of Henry V commenced on Monday the 23rd of January, 1956.
The portrait displayed alongside the programme was painted by distinguished artist Frank Owen Salisbury (1874-1962) sometime around 1956, a majestic portrait which now hangs in the Victoria and Albert Museum after being kindly donated by Richard Burton's widow Sally, shortly after his death.
William Shakespeare's 'King Henry V'
The Old Vic Theatre Programme and Ticket, March 1956
A further copy of an original Old Vic programme for William Shakespeare's 'King Henry V' is held in the Richard Burton Museum collection. This copy is a white-cover 'Matinee' edition which is complete with the original ticket for the March the 10th, 1956 afternoon performance. The actors whose photographs appear in the programme include Richard Burton, John Neville, Paul Rogers, Wendy Hiller, Richard Wordsworth, Jack Gwillim, Gerald Cross and Rosemary Harris.
Interestingly, the programme erroneously advertises its next production as being William Shakespeare's 'Troilus and Cressida' with Richard Burton in the role of Thersites. This production never took place, as Richard Burton never performed in any production of that particular play.
The programme was printed by John Waddington (Printers), based in Stoke Newington, London.
Interestingly, the programme erroneously advertises its next production as being William Shakespeare's 'Troilus and Cressida' with Richard Burton in the role of Thersites. This production never took place, as Richard Burton never performed in any production of that particular play.
The programme was printed by John Waddington (Printers), based in Stoke Newington, London.
William Shakespeare's 'Othello, The Moor of Venice'
The Old Vic Theatre, March 1956

A copy of an original theatre programme for the 1956 Old Vic Theatre Company's matinee performance of the production of William Shakespeare's Tragedy,'Othello'.
The production saw the roles of Othello and Iago being played alternately each performance by Richard Burton and John Neville, the first time such a massive and challenging undertaking had been known or undertaken.
The theatre critic Kenneth Tynan wrote in 1956 of Richard Burton's performance in 'Othello';
"Tuesday's performance, with Mr. Burton blacked up and Mr. Neville a capering spiv, was a drab squabble between the Chocolate Soldier and the Vagabond King. On Wednesday we were in a different world. Mr. Burton was playing Iago and the production rose to him...Mr. Burton never underestimates Othello, nor in consequence, do we. His Iago is dour and earthy enough to convince any jury in the world. He does not simulate sincerity, he embraces it; not by the least wink or snicker does his outward action demonstrate the native act and figure of his heart. The imposture is total and terrifying...Mr. Burton gives us a single, dirty, smouldering drive towards power without responsibility. With a touch more of daemonism in the soliloquies, this will be an incomparable performance."
This programme display includes the original ticket for Monday, March the 12th, 1956 with Richard Burton, for this performance, taking on the role of Iago.
J.C. Trewin's excellent 1961 biography of John Neville, a signed copy of which is held in the Richard Burton Museum collection, goes into great detail regarding the Burton / Neville production of 'Othello'. In a chapter entitled 'Royal and Ancient', J.C. Trewin writes;
'Michael Benthall, who was preparing Othello, decided that Burton and Neville should alternate Othello and Iago, and the way was open for the most stimulating experience of Neville's career; noble Moor to demi-devil and back again, the Irving-Booth experiment of more than seventy years earlier.
The Old Vic might have been capitalizing a national love of sport. At once some newspapers described this Othello in terms of a Grand Thespian Contest ('The Willesden Wizard' v 'The Welsh Wonder'; 'Battling Burton' and 'Nipper Neville'), almost as if the actors were in rivalry, one trying to pull down the other. It was exasperating, for neither was competitive by nature nor wished to rock the balance of the play. Burton, most easy-natured of men, had watched Neville in small parts during the first season of the plan and proclaimed that here was a star to be; he had not realized that in less than three years the quiet young man would be known to every stage astronomer.
'Each actor, ready to applaud the other, would feel worried by the gallery's adoration which on the two first nights did become excessively partisan. 'It's nice of the girls to make all that fuss over both of us', said Burton ( Neville concurring ), 'but I wish they wouldn't'.
On 21st February 1956 Burton opened with Othello, uncompromisingly black, stockily noble, likeable, unimaginative, and frightening us (and himself) only when Desdemona lay dead. Neville, with a desolating crew-cut, was Iago, much the longer part. He spoke with a pinched nasality, and moved in a restless flicker, a personified sneer.'
The theatre critic Stephen Williams wrote in 'The Evening News';
'This Iago is all brain. He conveys brilliantly and unmistakably a man whose intellect is so restlessly active that he must make mischief among his fellows as a showman manipulates puppets, and appraise the tragic results with a critical, almost impersonal, calculation'.
Alan Dent, writing in 'The News-Chronicle', stated;
'It is Othello's evening, whatever a good half of the gallery may think. Burton, in his poetic grief at the very end, is quite simply a young Shakespearean actor on the stage of becoming a great one.'
The production saw the roles of Othello and Iago being played alternately each performance by Richard Burton and John Neville, the first time such a massive and challenging undertaking had been known or undertaken.
The theatre critic Kenneth Tynan wrote in 1956 of Richard Burton's performance in 'Othello';
"Tuesday's performance, with Mr. Burton blacked up and Mr. Neville a capering spiv, was a drab squabble between the Chocolate Soldier and the Vagabond King. On Wednesday we were in a different world. Mr. Burton was playing Iago and the production rose to him...Mr. Burton never underestimates Othello, nor in consequence, do we. His Iago is dour and earthy enough to convince any jury in the world. He does not simulate sincerity, he embraces it; not by the least wink or snicker does his outward action demonstrate the native act and figure of his heart. The imposture is total and terrifying...Mr. Burton gives us a single, dirty, smouldering drive towards power without responsibility. With a touch more of daemonism in the soliloquies, this will be an incomparable performance."
This programme display includes the original ticket for Monday, March the 12th, 1956 with Richard Burton, for this performance, taking on the role of Iago.
J.C. Trewin's excellent 1961 biography of John Neville, a signed copy of which is held in the Richard Burton Museum collection, goes into great detail regarding the Burton / Neville production of 'Othello'. In a chapter entitled 'Royal and Ancient', J.C. Trewin writes;
'Michael Benthall, who was preparing Othello, decided that Burton and Neville should alternate Othello and Iago, and the way was open for the most stimulating experience of Neville's career; noble Moor to demi-devil and back again, the Irving-Booth experiment of more than seventy years earlier.
The Old Vic might have been capitalizing a national love of sport. At once some newspapers described this Othello in terms of a Grand Thespian Contest ('The Willesden Wizard' v 'The Welsh Wonder'; 'Battling Burton' and 'Nipper Neville'), almost as if the actors were in rivalry, one trying to pull down the other. It was exasperating, for neither was competitive by nature nor wished to rock the balance of the play. Burton, most easy-natured of men, had watched Neville in small parts during the first season of the plan and proclaimed that here was a star to be; he had not realized that in less than three years the quiet young man would be known to every stage astronomer.
'Each actor, ready to applaud the other, would feel worried by the gallery's adoration which on the two first nights did become excessively partisan. 'It's nice of the girls to make all that fuss over both of us', said Burton ( Neville concurring ), 'but I wish they wouldn't'.
On 21st February 1956 Burton opened with Othello, uncompromisingly black, stockily noble, likeable, unimaginative, and frightening us (and himself) only when Desdemona lay dead. Neville, with a desolating crew-cut, was Iago, much the longer part. He spoke with a pinched nasality, and moved in a restless flicker, a personified sneer.'
The theatre critic Stephen Williams wrote in 'The Evening News';
'This Iago is all brain. He conveys brilliantly and unmistakably a man whose intellect is so restlessly active that he must make mischief among his fellows as a showman manipulates puppets, and appraise the tragic results with a critical, almost impersonal, calculation'.
Alan Dent, writing in 'The News-Chronicle', stated;
'It is Othello's evening, whatever a good half of the gallery may think. Burton, in his poetic grief at the very end, is quite simply a young Shakespearean actor on the stage of becoming a great one.'
William Shakespeare's 'Troilus and Cressida' (Non-Burton)
The Old Vic Theatre, April 1956
An interesting piece of Old Vic ephemera is this matinee programme for the production of William Shakespeare's tragedy, 'Troilus and Cressida'. The play formed part of the 1955 / 6 season of William Shakespeare's plays at the Old Vic and ran alongside the plays in which Richard Burton was taking part, 'Othello' and 'Henry V'.
Richard Burton played no part in this production, yet strangely his studio portrait, photographed by Angus McBean, appeared in the programme for the production alongside the actors who did, namely; John Neville, Gerald Cross, Paul Rogers, Wendy Hillier, Richard Wordsworth, Jack Gwillim and Rosemary Harris. This may have been an error on the printer's behalf, John Waddington of Stoke Newington, or perhaps the fault of the Old Vic itself.
The production of 'Troilus and Cressida', (without Burton), commenced on the 3rd of April 1956 with John Neville in the role of Troilus and Rosemary Harris appearing as Cressida.
Richard Burton played no part in this production, yet strangely his studio portrait, photographed by Angus McBean, appeared in the programme for the production alongside the actors who did, namely; John Neville, Gerald Cross, Paul Rogers, Wendy Hillier, Richard Wordsworth, Jack Gwillim and Rosemary Harris. This may have been an error on the printer's behalf, John Waddington of Stoke Newington, or perhaps the fault of the Old Vic itself.
The production of 'Troilus and Cressida', (without Burton), commenced on the 3rd of April 1956 with John Neville in the role of Troilus and Rosemary Harris appearing as Cressida.
'The William Shakespeare Birthday Performance'
The Old Vic Theatre, April the 23rd,1954

An exceptionally rare Old Vic Company programme for the 'One-Night Only' theatrical production entitled, 'The Shakespeare Birthday Performance' which took place at The Old Vic Theatre on Friday the 23rd of April, 1954.
This special Old Vic programme is illustrated throughout with images of the leading Shakespearean actors of 'The Old Vic Company' including Richard Burton in various roles such as Sir Toby Belch, Hamlet and Coriolanus as well as photographs of John Neville, Claire Bloom, Fay Compton, Michael Hordern and William Squire.
The evening commenced with a reading by Richard Burton of the prologue, 'To the memory of my Beloved, the Author, Mr. William Shakespeare, and what he hath left us' by Ben Johnson, which was followed by carefully selected performances by members of the Old Vic Company. The playlist for the evening included;
'All's Well That Ends Well' Act IV, Scene III' , Featuring John Neville and Michael Hordern.
'Hamlet' Act III, Scene I', Featuring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom.
'King John' Act III, Scene IV', Featuring William Squire, John Neville and Fay Compton.
'Twelfth Night' Act I, Scenes III and IV, and Act II, Scenes II and III, Featuring Richard Burton (unrecognisable as Sir Toby Belch), Claire Bloom, Michael Hordern and William Squire.
'Coriolanus' Act III, Scene III and Act IV, Scenes I and II', Featuring Richard Burton, John Neville, William Squire, Fay Compton and Claire Bloom.
'The Tempest' Act I, Scene II'', Featuring Michael Hordern and Robert Hardy.
The evening closed with the epilogue to 'The Tempest' read by Michael Hordern followed by The National Anthem with the orchestral ensemble under the direction of Christopher Whelan.
This rare programme was issued by The Old Vic Theatre Company and was printed by John Waddington of Stoke Newington, London. This rare programme is also complete with the original ticket for the evening's performance.
The evening's performance was reviewed the next day by the Daily Mail, who's unnamed theatre critic wrote;
"All that was missing was the birthday cake - but then what cake would hold 390 candles? The guest of honour was bound to be absent, but the greater part of him was there in spirit, speaking through the mouths and hearts of his best modern interpreters.
It was a wonderful party. Ernie Davies, the stage doorkeeper, bought a birthday card and pinned it to the call-board of the Old Vic. On it he wrote; "Many happy returns to William" and added verbally; "Everyone knows who I mean."
For the Old Vic was reviving an old custom last night - the Shakespeare Birthday Party. Until the war it was celebrated at special commemorative performances by the season's stars and players. Then it was dropped.
But last night - it was the 390th anniversary - the theatre that helps to keep Shakespeare's memory alive echoed and scintillated to some of the greatest moments of his great plays.
Eleven hundred people, some standing and all chosen by ballot from the Old Vic's audience associations wore rosemary in their gowns and buttonholes - "Rosemary, that's for remembrance."
And on stage were the stars - Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Fay Compton, Michael Hordern and the rest.
Richard Burton opened the evening by delivering Ben Jonson's sonnet to the Bard - "To the memory of my Beloved, the author, Mr. William Shakespeare..." - and went on to play the soliloquy and prayer scenes from Hamlet with Claire Bloom as Ophelia - "Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered."
Then Miss Fay Compton was at her most dramatic as Constance, pining for her dead Arthur in "King John". and at her haughtiest as Volumnia in "Coriolanus."
Mr. Michael Hordern rang the changes as Parolies, blindfold and ridiculous in the stocks, as the pompous Malvolio and the grand Prospero.
And as at all good parties the surprise came at the end.
The curtain was lowered to thunderous applause. We waited for it to rise so that we could greet the whole company, but it rose on an almost empty stage...almost, for in the centre stood a marble bust of Shakespeare."
This special Old Vic programme is illustrated throughout with images of the leading Shakespearean actors of 'The Old Vic Company' including Richard Burton in various roles such as Sir Toby Belch, Hamlet and Coriolanus as well as photographs of John Neville, Claire Bloom, Fay Compton, Michael Hordern and William Squire.
The evening commenced with a reading by Richard Burton of the prologue, 'To the memory of my Beloved, the Author, Mr. William Shakespeare, and what he hath left us' by Ben Johnson, which was followed by carefully selected performances by members of the Old Vic Company. The playlist for the evening included;
'All's Well That Ends Well' Act IV, Scene III' , Featuring John Neville and Michael Hordern.
'Hamlet' Act III, Scene I', Featuring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom.
'King John' Act III, Scene IV', Featuring William Squire, John Neville and Fay Compton.
'Twelfth Night' Act I, Scenes III and IV, and Act II, Scenes II and III, Featuring Richard Burton (unrecognisable as Sir Toby Belch), Claire Bloom, Michael Hordern and William Squire.
'Coriolanus' Act III, Scene III and Act IV, Scenes I and II', Featuring Richard Burton, John Neville, William Squire, Fay Compton and Claire Bloom.
'The Tempest' Act I, Scene II'', Featuring Michael Hordern and Robert Hardy.
The evening closed with the epilogue to 'The Tempest' read by Michael Hordern followed by The National Anthem with the orchestral ensemble under the direction of Christopher Whelan.
This rare programme was issued by The Old Vic Theatre Company and was printed by John Waddington of Stoke Newington, London. This rare programme is also complete with the original ticket for the evening's performance.
The evening's performance was reviewed the next day by the Daily Mail, who's unnamed theatre critic wrote;
"All that was missing was the birthday cake - but then what cake would hold 390 candles? The guest of honour was bound to be absent, but the greater part of him was there in spirit, speaking through the mouths and hearts of his best modern interpreters.
It was a wonderful party. Ernie Davies, the stage doorkeeper, bought a birthday card and pinned it to the call-board of the Old Vic. On it he wrote; "Many happy returns to William" and added verbally; "Everyone knows who I mean."
For the Old Vic was reviving an old custom last night - the Shakespeare Birthday Party. Until the war it was celebrated at special commemorative performances by the season's stars and players. Then it was dropped.
But last night - it was the 390th anniversary - the theatre that helps to keep Shakespeare's memory alive echoed and scintillated to some of the greatest moments of his great plays.
Eleven hundred people, some standing and all chosen by ballot from the Old Vic's audience associations wore rosemary in their gowns and buttonholes - "Rosemary, that's for remembrance."
And on stage were the stars - Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Fay Compton, Michael Hordern and the rest.
Richard Burton opened the evening by delivering Ben Jonson's sonnet to the Bard - "To the memory of my Beloved, the author, Mr. William Shakespeare..." - and went on to play the soliloquy and prayer scenes from Hamlet with Claire Bloom as Ophelia - "Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered."
Then Miss Fay Compton was at her most dramatic as Constance, pining for her dead Arthur in "King John". and at her haughtiest as Volumnia in "Coriolanus."
Mr. Michael Hordern rang the changes as Parolies, blindfold and ridiculous in the stocks, as the pompous Malvolio and the grand Prospero.
And as at all good parties the surprise came at the end.
The curtain was lowered to thunderous applause. We waited for it to rise so that we could greet the whole company, but it rose on an almost empty stage...almost, for in the centre stood a marble bust of Shakespeare."
The Old Vic Company Commemorative Booklet, 1963
A delightful, large booklet compiled by The Old Vic publicity department in consultation with Esco Partners, issued in order to commemorate the final performance by The Old Vic Company on the 15th of June, 1963.
The booklet consists of a complete history of the Old Vic Company and is illustrated throughout with many historic images of The Old Vic, posters, flyers and photographs of the many famous names who had appeared in this prestigious theatre as part of The Old Vic Company between the years 1914 to 1963. Included are photographs of Olivier, Gielgud, Edith Evans, Sybil Thorndike, Ralph Richardson, Alec Guinness, Vivien Leigh, Emlyn Williams and of course Richard Burton, seen here in a very striking image from the September, 1953 production of 'Hamlet' alongside Fay Compton in the role of Gertrude, as captured by theatrical photographer Angus McBean.
This historic and rare booklet was published by The Old Vic Trust and printed by V. Cooper and Partners Limited based in Flitcroft Street, London.
The booklet consists of a complete history of the Old Vic Company and is illustrated throughout with many historic images of The Old Vic, posters, flyers and photographs of the many famous names who had appeared in this prestigious theatre as part of The Old Vic Company between the years 1914 to 1963. Included are photographs of Olivier, Gielgud, Edith Evans, Sybil Thorndike, Ralph Richardson, Alec Guinness, Vivien Leigh, Emlyn Williams and of course Richard Burton, seen here in a very striking image from the September, 1953 production of 'Hamlet' alongside Fay Compton in the role of Gertrude, as captured by theatrical photographer Angus McBean.
This historic and rare booklet was published by The Old Vic Trust and printed by V. Cooper and Partners Limited based in Flitcroft Street, London.
Jean Anouilh's 'Time Remembered'
The Colonial Theatre, Boston Playbill Magazine,1957

A copy of the Playbill Magazine for the Colonial Theatre Boston, which features the 1957 theatrical run of Jean Anouilh's 'Time Remembered'.
This edition of Playbill Magazine was published by ABC Publishers, based in Boston, in the October of 1957.
'Time Remembered' was a romantic comedy, originally written by Jean Anouilh, which was translated from the original French by Patricia Moyes. The two week run of 'Time Remembered' opened in Boston on the 22nd of October, 1957 and co-starred Helen Hayes and Susan Strasberg.
'The New York Times' in a review for this production, was to write;
"Richard Burton plays the bemused suitor as if it were part of a masquerade. It is elegant and a little stuffy, on the surface, but a little ridiculous, too, for Mr. Burton never forgets that the author's tongue is in cheek."
The American magazine, 'Newsweek' was to add;
"Miss Strasberg, once of 'The Diary of Anne Frank', plays a grown-up for the first time, and eats orchids - literally - with the aplomb of an actress who definitely knows where she is going. Richard Burton surmounts a stuffy role with the tongue-in-cheek authority of an actor who has played 'Othello' for the Old Vic, as Burton has. Miss Hayes has no problem. The first lady of the theatre has merely switched from drama to comedy, without perceptible strain and with delightful effect."
The Playbill includes a full cast list and mini-biographies.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton in this production was 'The First Lady of American Theatre', the actress Helen Hayes.
Born in 1900 she was one in only a handful of actresses to have won an Emmy, Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. She was also the recipient of The Presidential Medal of Freedom and The National Medal of Arts.
In a career lasting almost eighty years she is probably best known for her screen performances in Ernest Hemmingway's 'A Farewell To Arms', 'Anastasia', 'Candleshoe' and 'The Sin Of Madelon Claudet'.
Her illustrious stage career had included the plays; 'She Stoops To Conquer', 'Caesar And Cleopatra', 'Mary Of Scotland', 'The Glass Menagerie', 'The Cherry Orchard', and 'The School For Scandal'.
A philanthropist and tireless supporter of charities throughout her life, in 1983 she received the award for 'Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged', an award especially given by the Jaycees.
Helen Hayes died in New York on March the 17th, 1993, aged ninety-two.
Also appearing in this production was the young actress Susan Strasburg who, during an affair with her co-star, was considered to be the greatest threat to Richard Burton's marriage to Sybil at that time.
The daughter of Lee and Paula Strasburg, founders of the prestigious Actors Studio, she went on to achieve great success in film, television and on stage, being nominated for a Tony award for 'The Diary Of Anne Frank' when she was just eighteen.
Her affair with Richard Burton, which began during the run of 'Time Remembered', was written about at length in her 1980 autobiography entitled, 'Bittersweet'.
Susan Strasberg died in New York on January the 21st, 1999 aged just sixty years old.
This edition of Playbill Magazine was published by ABC Publishers, based in Boston, in the October of 1957.
'Time Remembered' was a romantic comedy, originally written by Jean Anouilh, which was translated from the original French by Patricia Moyes. The two week run of 'Time Remembered' opened in Boston on the 22nd of October, 1957 and co-starred Helen Hayes and Susan Strasberg.
'The New York Times' in a review for this production, was to write;
"Richard Burton plays the bemused suitor as if it were part of a masquerade. It is elegant and a little stuffy, on the surface, but a little ridiculous, too, for Mr. Burton never forgets that the author's tongue is in cheek."
The American magazine, 'Newsweek' was to add;
"Miss Strasberg, once of 'The Diary of Anne Frank', plays a grown-up for the first time, and eats orchids - literally - with the aplomb of an actress who definitely knows where she is going. Richard Burton surmounts a stuffy role with the tongue-in-cheek authority of an actor who has played 'Othello' for the Old Vic, as Burton has. Miss Hayes has no problem. The first lady of the theatre has merely switched from drama to comedy, without perceptible strain and with delightful effect."
The Playbill includes a full cast list and mini-biographies.
Appearing alongside Richard Burton in this production was 'The First Lady of American Theatre', the actress Helen Hayes.
Born in 1900 she was one in only a handful of actresses to have won an Emmy, Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. She was also the recipient of The Presidential Medal of Freedom and The National Medal of Arts.
In a career lasting almost eighty years she is probably best known for her screen performances in Ernest Hemmingway's 'A Farewell To Arms', 'Anastasia', 'Candleshoe' and 'The Sin Of Madelon Claudet'.
Her illustrious stage career had included the plays; 'She Stoops To Conquer', 'Caesar And Cleopatra', 'Mary Of Scotland', 'The Glass Menagerie', 'The Cherry Orchard', and 'The School For Scandal'.
A philanthropist and tireless supporter of charities throughout her life, in 1983 she received the award for 'Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged', an award especially given by the Jaycees.
Helen Hayes died in New York on March the 17th, 1993, aged ninety-two.
Also appearing in this production was the young actress Susan Strasburg who, during an affair with her co-star, was considered to be the greatest threat to Richard Burton's marriage to Sybil at that time.
The daughter of Lee and Paula Strasburg, founders of the prestigious Actors Studio, she went on to achieve great success in film, television and on stage, being nominated for a Tony award for 'The Diary Of Anne Frank' when she was just eighteen.
Her affair with Richard Burton, which began during the run of 'Time Remembered', was written about at length in her 1980 autobiography entitled, 'Bittersweet'.
Susan Strasberg died in New York on January the 21st, 1999 aged just sixty years old.
The interior of the Boston Colonial Theatre Playbill Magazine for the 1957 run of 'Time Remembered'.
'Camelot' Try-Out Performances Programme
The O' Keefe Centre, Toronto, October 1960
A copy of the 1960 programme for the first 'try-out' performances of Lerner and Loewe's production of 'Camelot' which opened at the newly-built O' Keefe Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Canada.
This specially produced programme includes a history of the conception, building and aims of the newly constructed theatre. The programme also features a full cast list for the production, a synopsis of the scenes, a list of the musical numbers and biographies of the main stars, Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, Robert Coote and M'el Dowd.
The programme was printed by Offset Print and Litho Limited, Toronto, Canada.
This specially produced programme includes a history of the conception, building and aims of the newly constructed theatre. The programme also features a full cast list for the production, a synopsis of the scenes, a list of the musical numbers and biographies of the main stars, Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, Robert Coote and M'el Dowd.
The programme was printed by Offset Print and Litho Limited, Toronto, Canada.
A photographic postcard image of the newly-built O' Keefe Centre in Toronto, Canada from the early 1960's.
Lerner and Loewe's 'Camelot', Majestic Theatre Broadway Signed Programme, December 1960
An exceptionally rare copy of the original theatre programme for Lerner and Loewe's musical 'Camelot',which opened at the Majestic Theatre, Broadway on the third of December, 1960 and closed on the fifth of January, 1963 after a total of eight hundred and seventy-three performances. The 1960 production of 'Camelot' won four 'Tony Awards' and the original cast album was the top-selling American vinyl album for a total of sixty weeks.
The story of 'Camelot' began in 1959 when Alan Jay Lerner and Moss Hart decided to adapt T. H. White's 'The Once And Future King' for the musical stage. Frederick Loewe, who initially was against the idea of the adaption, finally agreed to write the music. After securing the strong cast of Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet and Roddy McDowall, and ironing out the problems of over-running, it was soon very clear that the partnership of Lerner and Loewe had yet another Broadway success on their hands.
Theatre critic, Kenneth Tynan, was to write of Richard Burton's performance in 'Camelot' ;
"Richard Burton of the furrowed face and accusing eyes, makes a peerless king. His singing is bold rather than beautiful but his stage presence has that intangible quality of weight, as distinct from bulk, by which great actors always reveal themselves. This is a majestic performance".
This incredibly rare and original programme was designed and produced by the Writers and Artists Press Incorporated and was printed by the Western Printing and Lithographing Company. All of the many stunning colour and black and white photographs included in this programme were by Milton H. Greene and Friedman - Abeles.
The programme features a full cast-list as well as mini-biographies of the main cast and writers, Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Moss Hart, Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, Roddy McDowall, Robert Coote and M'el Dowd. A brief synopsis of 'Camelot', written by Alan Jay Lerner, is also included.
The story of 'Camelot' began in 1959 when Alan Jay Lerner and Moss Hart decided to adapt T. H. White's 'The Once And Future King' for the musical stage. Frederick Loewe, who initially was against the idea of the adaption, finally agreed to write the music. After securing the strong cast of Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet and Roddy McDowall, and ironing out the problems of over-running, it was soon very clear that the partnership of Lerner and Loewe had yet another Broadway success on their hands.
Theatre critic, Kenneth Tynan, was to write of Richard Burton's performance in 'Camelot' ;
"Richard Burton of the furrowed face and accusing eyes, makes a peerless king. His singing is bold rather than beautiful but his stage presence has that intangible quality of weight, as distinct from bulk, by which great actors always reveal themselves. This is a majestic performance".
This incredibly rare and original programme was designed and produced by the Writers and Artists Press Incorporated and was printed by the Western Printing and Lithographing Company. All of the many stunning colour and black and white photographs included in this programme were by Milton H. Greene and Friedman - Abeles.
The programme features a full cast-list as well as mini-biographies of the main cast and writers, Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, Moss Hart, Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, Roddy McDowall, Robert Coote and M'el Dowd. A brief synopsis of 'Camelot', written by Alan Jay Lerner, is also included.
This delightful programme has the lovely addition of having been signed and dedicated by Richard Burton himself, made extra special as in the dedication he mentions his home town of Port Talbot. On his own biography page he has written;
"Thanks for coming, Love to P. T. and District when you return home, Richard Burton."
Prior to being added to the Richard Burton Museum collection the programme had been the property of the grandson of the original recipient of the signed programme. In an accompanying letter with the programme he wrote that the programme had been in his family since it was first signed in 1960. His grandparents, and other members of his family, had been very involved with the Port Talbot Amateur Dramatic Society from the late 1940's through to the 1980's. His grandparents had both been committee members, scene builders and players in the chorus. His grandfather was also a member of the Cymric Glee and the Cor Mebion Aberavon. It had been through their involvement with the Port Talbot Amateur Dramatic Society that they got to know Richard Burton and whilst working for an American company in 1960 were personally invited to the Majestic Theatre to attend a performance of 'Camelot' after which they were able to have this lovely programme signed. As well as being signed by Richard Burton, this 'Camelot' programme also features the autograph of Roddy McDowall, Richard Burton's co-star in the production and interestingly, the childhood friend of Elizabeth Taylor.
"Thanks for coming, Love to P. T. and District when you return home, Richard Burton."
Prior to being added to the Richard Burton Museum collection the programme had been the property of the grandson of the original recipient of the signed programme. In an accompanying letter with the programme he wrote that the programme had been in his family since it was first signed in 1960. His grandparents, and other members of his family, had been very involved with the Port Talbot Amateur Dramatic Society from the late 1940's through to the 1980's. His grandparents had both been committee members, scene builders and players in the chorus. His grandfather was also a member of the Cymric Glee and the Cor Mebion Aberavon. It had been through their involvement with the Port Talbot Amateur Dramatic Society that they got to know Richard Burton and whilst working for an American company in 1960 were personally invited to the Majestic Theatre to attend a performance of 'Camelot' after which they were able to have this lovely programme signed. As well as being signed by Richard Burton, this 'Camelot' programme also features the autograph of Roddy McDowall, Richard Burton's co-star in the production and interestingly, the childhood friend of Elizabeth Taylor.
'An Afternoon of Poetry' Original Programme
The American National Theatre, Broadway, January 1961
An exceptionally rare theatre programme for an event directed by Philip H. Burton and organised by Lucille Lortel, the Artistic Director of the Greater New York Chapter of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA).
The event took place on the afternoon of Tuesday the 17th of January, 1961 and was held at the American National Theatre, based on 1545 Broadway, New York.
Appearing on-stage alongside Richard Burton were the English actress Cathleen Nesbitt and the American character actor, Walter Abel.
The selections of poetry which Richard Burton chose to read were;
'The Great Lover' by Rupert Brooke, 'The View from the Window' and 'Death of a Poet' by R.S. Thomas, 'The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo' by Gerard Manley Hopkins, 'Joe's Requiem' by Ernest Rhys, 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion' and 'Fern Hill' by Dylan Thomas, 'Portrait of a Lady' by T.S. Eliot, a selection from 'In Parenthesis' by David Jones and together with Cathleen Nesbitt, 'Santorin' by James Elroy Flecker. The three actors chose to read together Robert Graves's dramatic piece, 'Welsh Incident'.
Cathleen Nesbitt C.B.E. was a distinguished actress of stage, film and television. Born in 1888, she made her film debut in the 1919 silent film, 'Star Over Night' and went on to play well over a hundred roles on stage and in film. Of her many screen roles, she appeared in many classic films, including such titles as 'Pygmalion', 'Fanny By Gaslight', 'Three Coins in the Fountain', 'An Affair To Remember' and 'Promise Her Anything'.
She appeared twice on screen with Richard Burton, both times appearing as his mother. Firstly in the 1969 production of 'Staircase' and, two years later, in the 1971 British crime thriller, 'Villain'.
After a long, distinguished career, Cathleen Nesbitt died at her London home on the 2nd of August, 1982. She was ninety-three years of age.
The event took place on the afternoon of Tuesday the 17th of January, 1961 and was held at the American National Theatre, based on 1545 Broadway, New York.
Appearing on-stage alongside Richard Burton were the English actress Cathleen Nesbitt and the American character actor, Walter Abel.
The selections of poetry which Richard Burton chose to read were;
'The Great Lover' by Rupert Brooke, 'The View from the Window' and 'Death of a Poet' by R.S. Thomas, 'The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo' by Gerard Manley Hopkins, 'Joe's Requiem' by Ernest Rhys, 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion' and 'Fern Hill' by Dylan Thomas, 'Portrait of a Lady' by T.S. Eliot, a selection from 'In Parenthesis' by David Jones and together with Cathleen Nesbitt, 'Santorin' by James Elroy Flecker. The three actors chose to read together Robert Graves's dramatic piece, 'Welsh Incident'.
Cathleen Nesbitt C.B.E. was a distinguished actress of stage, film and television. Born in 1888, she made her film debut in the 1919 silent film, 'Star Over Night' and went on to play well over a hundred roles on stage and in film. Of her many screen roles, she appeared in many classic films, including such titles as 'Pygmalion', 'Fanny By Gaslight', 'Three Coins in the Fountain', 'An Affair To Remember' and 'Promise Her Anything'.
She appeared twice on screen with Richard Burton, both times appearing as his mother. Firstly in the 1969 production of 'Staircase' and, two years later, in the 1971 British crime thriller, 'Villain'.
After a long, distinguished career, Cathleen Nesbitt died at her London home on the 2nd of August, 1982. She was ninety-three years of age.
John Gielgud's Production of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' Lunt-Fontanne Theatre Playbill Magazine, April 1964

A copy of the Playbill Magazine especially produced for the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre's 1964 run of John Gielgud's production of William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'.
This copy of Playbill Magazine is Issue four of volume one and is dated April 1964, and features a cover image of Richard Burton.
Published by Playbill International New York, the magazine includes various articles and features on the production of John Gielgud's 'Hamlet' including; 'The Prince of Denmark - Four Views', written by Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Maurice Evans and Christopher Plummer, 'England: The Land Of Shakespeare' written by broadcaster Malcolm Muggeridge and 'The Bard In America 1730 - 1964', written by Louis Marder.
The American publications, 'Life', 'The New Yorker', 'Newsweek' and 'Time', were to write of this production of 'Hamlet' with the following reviews;
"Richard Burton, whose Broadway 'Hamlet' is now a tremendous success, leaps to action with a tigerish snarl. He creates a dynamic hero who is wracked by reasonable doubts instead of neurotic hesitations. When he finally decides to rip the truth from his mother about his father's murder, he storms up to her chamber like an avenging angel."
"In John Gielgud's production of 'Hamlet', at the 'Lunt-Fontanne', Richard Burton depicts the Danish prince as a man cold, bold and ironic. He makes no attempt to demonstrate any of the customary Freudian conclusions about the character, and the question here is not whether Hamlet will revenge himself upon the king who murdered his father but when...Though this version of the Prince may now and then seem rather roughhewn, he is commanding, and Mr. Burton delivers the Shakespearean verses effectively and without any unnecessary flourishes."
"Burton offers an unprecedented 'Hamlet' - a fusion of the grand manner of the role's great nineteenth-century interpreters with the most contemporary wit and indirection. Cutting through all the sanctified recent conceptions of the part, from the pallid intellectual to the neurotic son, he plays Hamlet to the full, as the complex, tortured but infinitely conscious and, above all, animate figure of the text."
"Burton's 'Hamlet' is master of the stage, master of Elsinore, and master of himself. And there's the rub. A masterful Hamlet is more heroic than tragic, and can scarcely evoke the torment of a man who is to be overmastered by fortune and by fate."
This 'Hamlet' edition of Playbill also includes a full cast list of the major performers and biographies of both Richard Burton and John Gielgud.
This copy of Playbill Magazine is Issue four of volume one and is dated April 1964, and features a cover image of Richard Burton.
Published by Playbill International New York, the magazine includes various articles and features on the production of John Gielgud's 'Hamlet' including; 'The Prince of Denmark - Four Views', written by Richard Burton, John Gielgud, Maurice Evans and Christopher Plummer, 'England: The Land Of Shakespeare' written by broadcaster Malcolm Muggeridge and 'The Bard In America 1730 - 1964', written by Louis Marder.
The American publications, 'Life', 'The New Yorker', 'Newsweek' and 'Time', were to write of this production of 'Hamlet' with the following reviews;
"Richard Burton, whose Broadway 'Hamlet' is now a tremendous success, leaps to action with a tigerish snarl. He creates a dynamic hero who is wracked by reasonable doubts instead of neurotic hesitations. When he finally decides to rip the truth from his mother about his father's murder, he storms up to her chamber like an avenging angel."
"In John Gielgud's production of 'Hamlet', at the 'Lunt-Fontanne', Richard Burton depicts the Danish prince as a man cold, bold and ironic. He makes no attempt to demonstrate any of the customary Freudian conclusions about the character, and the question here is not whether Hamlet will revenge himself upon the king who murdered his father but when...Though this version of the Prince may now and then seem rather roughhewn, he is commanding, and Mr. Burton delivers the Shakespearean verses effectively and without any unnecessary flourishes."
"Burton offers an unprecedented 'Hamlet' - a fusion of the grand manner of the role's great nineteenth-century interpreters with the most contemporary wit and indirection. Cutting through all the sanctified recent conceptions of the part, from the pallid intellectual to the neurotic son, he plays Hamlet to the full, as the complex, tortured but infinitely conscious and, above all, animate figure of the text."
"Burton's 'Hamlet' is master of the stage, master of Elsinore, and master of himself. And there's the rub. A masterful Hamlet is more heroic than tragic, and can scarcely evoke the torment of a man who is to be overmastered by fortune and by fate."
This 'Hamlet' edition of Playbill also includes a full cast list of the major performers and biographies of both Richard Burton and John Gielgud.
'The Tragical History Of Doctor Faustus' Programme
Oxford University Theatre, February 1966

An exceptionally rare and original programme for the Oxford University Dramatic Society's (OUDS) production of Christopher Marlowe's historical play, 'Doctor Faustus'
The production was staged in order to raise funds for the Oxford University Theatre and the production was organised by Richard Burton and Nevill Coghill on behalf of the University.
The programme features articles on the history of The University Theatre as well as The University Dramatic Society, a full cast list (all the actors, aside from Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were members of the Oxford University Dramatic Society of 1966) and 'A History Of The Play And Its Productions'.
The critic's were not favourable when it came to reviewing Richard Burton's performance as Doctor Faustus, claiming he was unprepared and dispassionate about the role. They further accused him of not knowing his lines and having such a casual attitude to the production he distracted many of the other actors, who found it nearly impossible to act with him. An example of one of these unfavourable reviews reads;
"Mr. Burton seems to be walking through the part and his contribution to the stiff high jinks in the Vatican are almost as embarrassing as those of the undergraduate actors. Those who visit the production to see Miss Taylor as a speechless apparition of Helen of Troy will not be out of the theatre before 10:45".
The programme was printed and published by The Oxford University Press by Vivian Ridler, printer to the University.
The front cover to the programme features an engraving by M. Lammel of Mephistophilis, based upon an 1864 drawing by Fredrich Pecht. The rear of the cover features a striking reproduction of a lithograph by Delacroix of Goethe's 'Faust'.
Nevill Coghill, head of the committee of the Oxford University Dramatic Society was to write as a foreword, and as a letter of thanks to Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, this introduction to the programme;
"On behalf of the Curators of the University Theatre and of the Oxford University Dramatic Society, I would like to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Richard Burton and Miss Elizabeth Taylor for their unexampled generosity in suggesting and making possible the production of Dr. Faustus for the benefit of the University Theatre Appeal Fund.
I would like to add the special gratitude felt by the cast and myself for the privilege of working with two such artists in a common cause."
In further notes, and as a form of synopsis of the play, included in this programme and relating to the history of 'Doctor Faustus' and its various productions, Professor Nevill Coghill writes;
"Dr. Faustus" is a tragical poem designed for the stage.Mixed in with it are passages of farce and pantomime. It is a story of a man who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge and power, in the hope 'to gain a deity'. we hear that he made Homer sing for him and that he went on a journey to outer space; but his grander, more serious aspirations are undermined by an inner levity of character; he is taken in by toys and has a childish delight in showing off. Mephistophilis makes adroit use of his weaknesses: he blinds him with illusions, distracts him with spectacular visitations and gaudy gifts, and intimidates him with sudden terrors, to keep his thoughts from God and from the open door of repentance. Faustus is overcome with his own vanity and he wastes the riches of his dearly-bought knowledge on badinage and conjuring.
His last use of magic power is to summon the figure of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in history, to be his paramour; and after that he esteems himself lost; for though he feels remorse, he has lost the faculty for repentance. Despair has mastered him. The hour strikes and he is damned. the Renaissance man has to pay the medieval price.
There is no certainty when the play was written or first performed; at some time between 1588 and 1594, it is thought; for Henslowe's Diary tells us it was performed seven times between the 30th of September 1594 and the end of that year; but it may not have been a new play then. It has come down to us in two principal texts, the Quarto of 1604 and 1616. This production is based on the earlier text, but has incorporated some passages from the later, that seems to have an authentic Marlovian ring."
The production was staged in order to raise funds for the Oxford University Theatre and the production was organised by Richard Burton and Nevill Coghill on behalf of the University.
The programme features articles on the history of The University Theatre as well as The University Dramatic Society, a full cast list (all the actors, aside from Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were members of the Oxford University Dramatic Society of 1966) and 'A History Of The Play And Its Productions'.
The critic's were not favourable when it came to reviewing Richard Burton's performance as Doctor Faustus, claiming he was unprepared and dispassionate about the role. They further accused him of not knowing his lines and having such a casual attitude to the production he distracted many of the other actors, who found it nearly impossible to act with him. An example of one of these unfavourable reviews reads;
"Mr. Burton seems to be walking through the part and his contribution to the stiff high jinks in the Vatican are almost as embarrassing as those of the undergraduate actors. Those who visit the production to see Miss Taylor as a speechless apparition of Helen of Troy will not be out of the theatre before 10:45".
The programme was printed and published by The Oxford University Press by Vivian Ridler, printer to the University.
The front cover to the programme features an engraving by M. Lammel of Mephistophilis, based upon an 1864 drawing by Fredrich Pecht. The rear of the cover features a striking reproduction of a lithograph by Delacroix of Goethe's 'Faust'.
Nevill Coghill, head of the committee of the Oxford University Dramatic Society was to write as a foreword, and as a letter of thanks to Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, this introduction to the programme;
"On behalf of the Curators of the University Theatre and of the Oxford University Dramatic Society, I would like to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Richard Burton and Miss Elizabeth Taylor for their unexampled generosity in suggesting and making possible the production of Dr. Faustus for the benefit of the University Theatre Appeal Fund.
I would like to add the special gratitude felt by the cast and myself for the privilege of working with two such artists in a common cause."
In further notes, and as a form of synopsis of the play, included in this programme and relating to the history of 'Doctor Faustus' and its various productions, Professor Nevill Coghill writes;
"Dr. Faustus" is a tragical poem designed for the stage.Mixed in with it are passages of farce and pantomime. It is a story of a man who sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for knowledge and power, in the hope 'to gain a deity'. we hear that he made Homer sing for him and that he went on a journey to outer space; but his grander, more serious aspirations are undermined by an inner levity of character; he is taken in by toys and has a childish delight in showing off. Mephistophilis makes adroit use of his weaknesses: he blinds him with illusions, distracts him with spectacular visitations and gaudy gifts, and intimidates him with sudden terrors, to keep his thoughts from God and from the open door of repentance. Faustus is overcome with his own vanity and he wastes the riches of his dearly-bought knowledge on badinage and conjuring.
His last use of magic power is to summon the figure of Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in history, to be his paramour; and after that he esteems himself lost; for though he feels remorse, he has lost the faculty for repentance. Despair has mastered him. The hour strikes and he is damned. the Renaissance man has to pay the medieval price.
There is no certainty when the play was written or first performed; at some time between 1588 and 1594, it is thought; for Henslowe's Diary tells us it was performed seven times between the 30th of September 1594 and the end of that year; but it may not have been a new play then. It has come down to us in two principal texts, the Quarto of 1604 and 1616. This production is based on the earlier text, but has incorporated some passages from the later, that seems to have an authentic Marlovian ring."
The interior of this specially produced programme for the OUDS production of 'Doctor Faustus'. The title page displays a lovely portrait of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor as well as a list of contributors to this unique 1966 production.
'An Evening With Richard Burton, Donald Houston and John Neville' The Nottingham Playhouse, March 1968

The original theatre flyer and ticket for the evening of Sunday the 3rd of March, 1968 when, after a regional premiere of the Columbia Pictures film of 'Doctor Faustus' at the Moulin Rouge Cinema, Milton Street, Nottingham, Richard Burton, John Neville and Donald Houston came together at The Nottingham Playhouse for a charity evening of readings and conversation.
John Neville was at the time of this charity performance, along with Peter Ustinov and Frank Dunlop, the artistic director for The Nottingham Playhouse.
The writers chosen to be read by Richard Burton, John Neville and Donald Houston were W. H. Auden, Norman Cameron, Alex Comfort, Hugh Sykes Davies, Robert Graves, T. E. Hulme, Philip Larkin, Christopher Logue, Betty Parvin, Allan Rodway and of course, Dylan Thomas.
Stage-managed by Tony Burrows, the concert was a benefit in aid of the Haemophilia Society, a charity which was close to Richard Burton's heart as he was a mild sufferer of the disease himself.
The evening also featured an impromptu appearance from Elizabeth Taylor, much to the delight of the assembled audience.
The accompanying music was arranged by Iwan Williams and featured songs performed by Adele Weston.
John Neville was at the time of this charity performance, along with Peter Ustinov and Frank Dunlop, the artistic director for The Nottingham Playhouse.
The writers chosen to be read by Richard Burton, John Neville and Donald Houston were W. H. Auden, Norman Cameron, Alex Comfort, Hugh Sykes Davies, Robert Graves, T. E. Hulme, Philip Larkin, Christopher Logue, Betty Parvin, Allan Rodway and of course, Dylan Thomas.
Stage-managed by Tony Burrows, the concert was a benefit in aid of the Haemophilia Society, a charity which was close to Richard Burton's heart as he was a mild sufferer of the disease himself.
The evening also featured an impromptu appearance from Elizabeth Taylor, much to the delight of the assembled audience.
The accompanying music was arranged by Iwan Williams and featured songs performed by Adele Weston.
Two images of the Nottingham Playhouse, a contemporary photograph on the right and on the left, a photograph taken around 1968 just as it would have appeared to Richard Burton on this special night, appearing alongside his friend and artistic director of the Playhouse, John Neville.
'Son-et-Lumiere' Blenheim Palace Oxford, July 1969
In the July of 1969, Richard Burton was asked to provide the voices of Sir Winston Churchill, John Churchill, the First Duke of Marlborough and also the fifth Duke of Marlborough to be used for the production of 'Son-et-Lumiere' which was to be staged in the beautiful and grand surroundings of Blenheim Palace, located in Woodstock, just outside Oxford.
The first performance of this historic event took place on the 16th of July, 1969 and was presented in the stunning grounds of Blenheim Palace every evening until the 20th of September of that same year.
The production itself was written and narrated by Brian Connell and was directed by Christopher Ede. Other actors who gave their services to the production included Barbara Jefford and Derek Nimmo as well as the inclusion of Richard Burton's fellow Shakespearean actors and friends, John Neville and Michael Hordern.
The music for the performance was composed and arranged by John Cook with the orchestra being conducted by Herbert Menges. The organist for the performances was Christopher Dearnley.
The recording, and performances of 'Son-et-Lumiere', were staged to raise much needed funds for the preservation of the exterior and interior of the grand and historic stately house of Blenheim.
This exceedingly rare programme, proudly held in the Richard Burton Museum collection, was produced by Playbill Limited, based in Shaftesbury Avenue, especially for this important and historic event and was printed by Waterlow and Sons Limited, London. The photograph of Richard Burton used in the programme was taken from the 1964 promotional photographic material used for John Gielgud's production of 'Hamlet'.
The first performance of this historic event took place on the 16th of July, 1969 and was presented in the stunning grounds of Blenheim Palace every evening until the 20th of September of that same year.
The production itself was written and narrated by Brian Connell and was directed by Christopher Ede. Other actors who gave their services to the production included Barbara Jefford and Derek Nimmo as well as the inclusion of Richard Burton's fellow Shakespearean actors and friends, John Neville and Michael Hordern.
The music for the performance was composed and arranged by John Cook with the orchestra being conducted by Herbert Menges. The organist for the performances was Christopher Dearnley.
The recording, and performances of 'Son-et-Lumiere', were staged to raise much needed funds for the preservation of the exterior and interior of the grand and historic stately house of Blenheim.
This exceedingly rare programme, proudly held in the Richard Burton Museum collection, was produced by Playbill Limited, based in Shaftesbury Avenue, especially for this important and historic event and was printed by Waterlow and Sons Limited, London. The photograph of Richard Burton used in the programme was taken from the 1964 promotional photographic material used for John Gielgud's production of 'Hamlet'.
The actor profile pages from the 1969 Blenheim Palace 'Son-et-Lumiere' programme. Richard Burton's notes read;
'Richard Burton, who has donated his services for this production in aid of the fund for the Preservation of Blenheim Palace is well-known for his many stage and screen characterisations. As well as having played most of the heroic roles of Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic in Britain, Mr. Burton has starred on the Broadway stage in 'Time remembered', 'Camelot' and 'Hamlet'. In this 'Son et-Lumiere, Mr. Burton's voice is heard as the Dukes of Marlborough and as Sir Winston Churchill'.
'Richard Burton, who has donated his services for this production in aid of the fund for the Preservation of Blenheim Palace is well-known for his many stage and screen characterisations. As well as having played most of the heroic roles of Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon and at the Old Vic in Britain, Mr. Burton has starred on the Broadway stage in 'Time remembered', 'Camelot' and 'Hamlet'. In this 'Son et-Lumiere, Mr. Burton's voice is heard as the Dukes of Marlborough and as Sir Winston Churchill'.
Peter Shaffer's 'Equus'
The Plymouth Theatre Playbill Magazine, April 1976

A copy of the American theatre magazine 'Playbill' for the Plymouth Theatre, Boston, dating from April 1976, promoting the American production of the Peter Shaffer play, 'Equus'.
Richard Burton had taken over the demanding and powerful lead role of Dr. Martin Dysart from Anthony Perkins in February 1976 and was to perform in 'Equus' for three months. Alongside Burton were Keith McDermott, in the role of Alan Strang, Marian Seldes, Michael Higgins and Page Johnson.
The Broadway production of 'Equus' was produced by Kermit Bloomgarden and Doris Cole Abrahams and was directed by John Dexter.
This copy of 'Playbill' includes a full cast list for the production, a synopsis of the play, notes on the background of the play, written by Peter Shaffer, and mini-biographies of the main cast members.
Two contemporary American reviews, from 'The New York Times' and 'Newsweek' respectively, read;
"This - more than that of any of his predecessors - is unabashedly a star performance. It starts from the posture - he stands at the centre of a world, and when he muses he does so with a kind of interior poetry. He is not one's idea who would be a moderately failed psychiatrist trying to investigate a disturbed boy who has put out the eyes of horses, yet somehow his larger-than-life approach works."
"Burton is not yet fully into the role of Dysart, as occasional fluffs and a tentative rhythm reveal. But he gives the self-lacerating psychiatrist, who's envious of his patient's sick and real passion, a vulnerability that becomes movingly personal.
When he speaks the play's last line: 'I have now in my mouth this sharp chain and it never comes out,' that great voice, full of flowers and iron, seems to be making a statement about a gifted, lusty man who knows better than anyone that he's trapped between discipline and desire."
This copy of 'Playbill' was published in April 1976 by The American Theatre Press Incorporated, New York.
Richard Burton had taken over the demanding and powerful lead role of Dr. Martin Dysart from Anthony Perkins in February 1976 and was to perform in 'Equus' for three months. Alongside Burton were Keith McDermott, in the role of Alan Strang, Marian Seldes, Michael Higgins and Page Johnson.
The Broadway production of 'Equus' was produced by Kermit Bloomgarden and Doris Cole Abrahams and was directed by John Dexter.
This copy of 'Playbill' includes a full cast list for the production, a synopsis of the play, notes on the background of the play, written by Peter Shaffer, and mini-biographies of the main cast members.
Two contemporary American reviews, from 'The New York Times' and 'Newsweek' respectively, read;
"This - more than that of any of his predecessors - is unabashedly a star performance. It starts from the posture - he stands at the centre of a world, and when he muses he does so with a kind of interior poetry. He is not one's idea who would be a moderately failed psychiatrist trying to investigate a disturbed boy who has put out the eyes of horses, yet somehow his larger-than-life approach works."
"Burton is not yet fully into the role of Dysart, as occasional fluffs and a tentative rhythm reveal. But he gives the self-lacerating psychiatrist, who's envious of his patient's sick and real passion, a vulnerability that becomes movingly personal.
When he speaks the play's last line: 'I have now in my mouth this sharp chain and it never comes out,' that great voice, full of flowers and iron, seems to be making a statement about a gifted, lusty man who knows better than anyone that he's trapped between discipline and desire."
This copy of 'Playbill' was published in April 1976 by The American Theatre Press Incorporated, New York.
The cast list for the Plymouth Theatre production of 'Equus', as it appears in the April 1976 issue of 'Playbill'.
Lerner and Loewe's 'Camelot' The Revival Tour
New York Theatre Programme, 1980/1

A copy of the original American theatre programme produced for the 1980 'Twentieth Anniversary' revival tour of the Lerner and Lowe musical production of 'Camelot'.
This original American programme features an article relating to 'The History of Camelot and King Arthur' and also includes a full cast-list and crew profile pages.
Some early editions of this American programme mistakingly featured a photograph of Richard Burton pictured with Elizabeth Taylor instead of his then wife Susan Hunt. These particular copies were hastily withdrawn and are now exceedingly rare.
The programme was written by Seymour Krawitz and features a striking cover photograph of Richard Burton in the title role of King Arthur captured by theatrical photographer Harry Langdon.
The programme was published and printed by K & K Publishing Incorporated of New York, with art direction provided by Karen Watts.
Additional images of the 1980 'Camelot' production were provided by Martha Swope, and the costume sketches were by artist Desmond Heeley.
This original American programme features an article relating to 'The History of Camelot and King Arthur' and also includes a full cast-list and crew profile pages.
Some early editions of this American programme mistakingly featured a photograph of Richard Burton pictured with Elizabeth Taylor instead of his then wife Susan Hunt. These particular copies were hastily withdrawn and are now exceedingly rare.
The programme was written by Seymour Krawitz and features a striking cover photograph of Richard Burton in the title role of King Arthur captured by theatrical photographer Harry Langdon.
The programme was published and printed by K & K Publishing Incorporated of New York, with art direction provided by Karen Watts.
Additional images of the 1980 'Camelot' production were provided by Martha Swope, and the costume sketches were by artist Desmond Heeley.
Richard Burton's biography page from the 1980 'Camelot' programme, incorporating a lovely image of himself and his then wife, Susan Hunt, captured by theatrical photographer, Harry Langdon.
Lerner and Loewe's 'Camelot Revival Tour' Window Card New York, July 1980

An original American theatre window card which was used to promote the 1980 'Twentieth Anniversary' revival tour of Lerner and Lowe's musical production of 'Camelot'.
The production co-starred Christine Ebersole, Richard Muenz and Paxton Whitehead, was directed by Frank Dunlop and produced by Mike Merrick and Don Gregory.
The show opened at the O' Keefe Centre in Toronto, Canada and on July 8th, 1980, moved to New York.
The 'New York Times' reviewed the production on the 27th of July that year, and wrote beautifully;
"Who says you can't go home again? Richard Burton returned to the kingdom of Camelot, and it was as if he had never abdicated his throne. He remains every inch the King Arthur of our most majestic storybook dreams. He doen't merely command the stage; he seems to own it by divine right. By the time he sings for a final time of that one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot, the audience is ready to weep for every noble ideal that ever has been smashed on the hard rocks of history. In Camelot he is our once, our present and - who knows? Maybe our future King".
The 'New Yorker' went on to add:
"..It is Burton, of course, who makes this a royal musical. In the beginning, he looks a bit too old and ill at ease to be a young king: with his bravura voice scaled down and his shoulders a bit haunched, as if accepting the extra years, he seems almost deliberately underacting. But there is no question who is in command - of Camelot or of the stage."
This 'Camelot Twentieth Anniversary' poster was designed by the famous Broadway production artist Don Weller and was printed by Artcraft Lithograph and Printing Company, based in New York.
The production co-starred Christine Ebersole, Richard Muenz and Paxton Whitehead, was directed by Frank Dunlop and produced by Mike Merrick and Don Gregory.
The show opened at the O' Keefe Centre in Toronto, Canada and on July 8th, 1980, moved to New York.
The 'New York Times' reviewed the production on the 27th of July that year, and wrote beautifully;
"Who says you can't go home again? Richard Burton returned to the kingdom of Camelot, and it was as if he had never abdicated his throne. He remains every inch the King Arthur of our most majestic storybook dreams. He doen't merely command the stage; he seems to own it by divine right. By the time he sings for a final time of that one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot, the audience is ready to weep for every noble ideal that ever has been smashed on the hard rocks of history. In Camelot he is our once, our present and - who knows? Maybe our future King".
The 'New Yorker' went on to add:
"..It is Burton, of course, who makes this a royal musical. In the beginning, he looks a bit too old and ill at ease to be a young king: with his bravura voice scaled down and his shoulders a bit haunched, as if accepting the extra years, he seems almost deliberately underacting. But there is no question who is in command - of Camelot or of the stage."
This 'Camelot Twentieth Anniversary' poster was designed by the famous Broadway production artist Don Weller and was printed by Artcraft Lithograph and Printing Company, based in New York.
'Dylan Thomas - A Celebration' Original Poster
The Duke of York's Theatre London, February 1982

An exceptionally rare and original theatre poster produced to promote the special charity event entitled, 'Dylan Thomas - A Celebration', which took place at the Duke Of York's Theatre, St. Martin's Lane, London on Sunday, February the 28th 1982.
This special charity concert, devised and produced by actor and director Hugh David, was presented by the Dylan Thomas Memorial Plaque Committee in order to raise funds for the installation of a long-overdue Memorial Stone in honour of Dylan Thomas in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey.
The event was also organised in association with Capital Radio.
Richard Burton led an impressive cast of Welsh celebrities, giving their services for free, in order to raise money for a lasting memorial to Dylan Thomas.
The evening began with the Caedmon recording of Dylan Thomas reading his own beautiful and haunting poem, 'Fern Hill', which was followed by an introduction to the evening given by B.B.C executive and respected broadcaster Sir Huw Wheldon, O.B.E.
Various performances of Dylan Thomas' work were then performed which included; 'Reminiscences Of Childhood', 'Adventures In The Skin Trade', 'A Visit To America', 'Laugharne', 'Return Journey' and 'Wales And The Artist' among them, these were interspersed with musical performances from harpist Sioned Williams and recordings of Dylan Thomas's own readings of 'Poem On His Birthday' and 'In My Craft And Sullen Art'. The first part of the evening ended with a piece entitled 'Reminiscences', read by renowned radio and television broadcaster, Wynford Vaughn-Thomas and a harp rendition entitled, 'Every Morning When I Wake' by Welsh composer Osian Ellis, C.B.E.
Following a fifteen minute interval, the second half of the evening reconvened with an auction for a portrait of Dylan Thomas which had been drawn by one of Dylan Thomas's close friends from the Kardomah days, Mervyn Levy. The auction for the portrait was presided over by Sir Huw Wheldon, who also introduced the assembled audience to the artist himself.
Following this, Douglas Cleverdon took to the stage and introduced the audience to a performance of 'Under Milk Wood'. Richard Burton, cast of course in the role of 'The Narrator', was joined on stage by such talented actors and actresses as; Sir Geraint Evans, Kenneth Griffith, Glyn Houston, Nerys Hughes, Philip and Ruth Madoc, Angharad Rees, Ray Smith and Talfryn Thomas.
The evening then ended with a stirring harp solo by Osian Ellis and a recording of Dylan Thomas himself, booming throughout the auditorium the powerful and haunting poem, 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion'.
Other actors who had appeared over the course of the evening included Hywel Bennett, Angela Crow, Sue Jones Davis, Meredith Edwards, Clifford Evans, Beth Morris, Glyn Owen, William Thomas and Wendy Williams.
The evening performance was stage managed by Sally Flemington, Terri Winders and Tegfryn Davies.
The members of the Dylan Thomas Memorial Plaque Committee included, as Chairman, Lord Harlech, The Dean of Westminster, Dylan Thomas's daughter, Aeronwy Thomas Ellis, Wynford Vaughan Thomas, Sir Huw Wheldon and George Tremlett.
Not many copies of this striking and powerful poster were ever produced, and it is believed that only a few true originals have survived. This copy however has an incredible provenance as it was obtained personally from George Tremlett, one of the members of the original Dylan Thomas Memorial Plaque Committee, who graciously parted with this copy from his own personal collection so that it may be added to the 'Dylan Thomas Treasury' collection of the Richard Burton Museum.
It took three years of persuasion, but it now has pride of place among the Richard Burton Museum's collection of Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton related memorabilia.
This special charity concert, devised and produced by actor and director Hugh David, was presented by the Dylan Thomas Memorial Plaque Committee in order to raise funds for the installation of a long-overdue Memorial Stone in honour of Dylan Thomas in Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey.
The event was also organised in association with Capital Radio.
Richard Burton led an impressive cast of Welsh celebrities, giving their services for free, in order to raise money for a lasting memorial to Dylan Thomas.
The evening began with the Caedmon recording of Dylan Thomas reading his own beautiful and haunting poem, 'Fern Hill', which was followed by an introduction to the evening given by B.B.C executive and respected broadcaster Sir Huw Wheldon, O.B.E.
Various performances of Dylan Thomas' work were then performed which included; 'Reminiscences Of Childhood', 'Adventures In The Skin Trade', 'A Visit To America', 'Laugharne', 'Return Journey' and 'Wales And The Artist' among them, these were interspersed with musical performances from harpist Sioned Williams and recordings of Dylan Thomas's own readings of 'Poem On His Birthday' and 'In My Craft And Sullen Art'. The first part of the evening ended with a piece entitled 'Reminiscences', read by renowned radio and television broadcaster, Wynford Vaughn-Thomas and a harp rendition entitled, 'Every Morning When I Wake' by Welsh composer Osian Ellis, C.B.E.
Following a fifteen minute interval, the second half of the evening reconvened with an auction for a portrait of Dylan Thomas which had been drawn by one of Dylan Thomas's close friends from the Kardomah days, Mervyn Levy. The auction for the portrait was presided over by Sir Huw Wheldon, who also introduced the assembled audience to the artist himself.
Following this, Douglas Cleverdon took to the stage and introduced the audience to a performance of 'Under Milk Wood'. Richard Burton, cast of course in the role of 'The Narrator', was joined on stage by such talented actors and actresses as; Sir Geraint Evans, Kenneth Griffith, Glyn Houston, Nerys Hughes, Philip and Ruth Madoc, Angharad Rees, Ray Smith and Talfryn Thomas.
The evening then ended with a stirring harp solo by Osian Ellis and a recording of Dylan Thomas himself, booming throughout the auditorium the powerful and haunting poem, 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion'.
Other actors who had appeared over the course of the evening included Hywel Bennett, Angela Crow, Sue Jones Davis, Meredith Edwards, Clifford Evans, Beth Morris, Glyn Owen, William Thomas and Wendy Williams.
The evening performance was stage managed by Sally Flemington, Terri Winders and Tegfryn Davies.
The members of the Dylan Thomas Memorial Plaque Committee included, as Chairman, Lord Harlech, The Dean of Westminster, Dylan Thomas's daughter, Aeronwy Thomas Ellis, Wynford Vaughan Thomas, Sir Huw Wheldon and George Tremlett.
Not many copies of this striking and powerful poster were ever produced, and it is believed that only a few true originals have survived. This copy however has an incredible provenance as it was obtained personally from George Tremlett, one of the members of the original Dylan Thomas Memorial Plaque Committee, who graciously parted with this copy from his own personal collection so that it may be added to the 'Dylan Thomas Treasury' collection of the Richard Burton Museum.
It took three years of persuasion, but it now has pride of place among the Richard Burton Museum's collection of Dylan Thomas and Richard Burton related memorabilia.
'Dylan Thomas - A Celebration' Programme
The Duke of York's Theatre London, February 1982
A copy of the original programme for the special fund-raising gala, 'Dylan Thomas - A Celebration' which includes a full running order and cast list for the nights performances. The programme, as with the poster, was designed by Avon Publicity Limited, based in Bristol and was printed by Kingsdale Print and Marketing Limited.
Richard Burton in performance during the 'Dylan Thomas - A Celebration' charity event which was held on the evening of Sunday, February the 28th, 1982. Richard Burton's contribution to the evening's performance was to act as 'The Narrator' in a performance of 'Under Milk Wood', which was adapted and directed for the event by Douglas Cleverdon.
The impressive frontage of the Duke Of York's Theatre, based in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London
Noel Coward's 'Private Lives' Theatre Programme
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre New York, May 1983

A copy of the original American theatre programme for the 1983 run of the Noel Coward play,'Private Lives', which was staged at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, New York.
The production was presented by Elizabeth Taylor's own production company, the 'Elizabeth Theatre Group'.
Based on the original play 'Private Lives', written by Noel Coward, the production co-starred Elizabeth Taylor, John Cullum and Kathryn Walker, was directed by Milton Katselas and produced by Elizabeth Taylor herself with the assistance of Zev Bufman.
The programme includes profiles on all the major cast members and crew and features an article on Noel Coward entitled, 'Someday I'll Find You', focusing on the history of the writing, and various stagings, of the play.
This original American theatre programme also includes a five-page supplement focusing on the stage and screen performances of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, both separately and together.
The programme is illustrated throughout with stunning colour and black and white photographs.
This 1983 souvenir programme was conceived by Charles Cinnamon, Michael Kram and Leslie Feldman and was published by the Southern Playbill Publishing Incorporated especially for the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
The play opened in New York on May the 9th, 1983 before moving on to the cities of Boston and Los Angeles where it finally closed, much to the delight and relief of Richard Burton, on November the 6th, 1983.
The critics were not kind when reviewing the Burton / Taylor production of 'Private Lives'. Frank Rich, of the New York Times, was to write in a rather acidic review;
"Private Lives, as reprised by Burton and Taylor has all the vitality of a Madame Tussaud exhibit. Life doesn't imitate art in 'Private Lives' - it obliterates it. Early on, we see that, unlike Elyot and Amanda, Mr. Burton and Miss Taylor have little lingering affection for each other - or none that they can convey or fake onstage. When Mr. Burton finally crosses from his side of the terrace to embrace Miss Taylor in Act One, he approaches the task with the steady gait of Count Dracula stalking a victim."
The production was presented by Elizabeth Taylor's own production company, the 'Elizabeth Theatre Group'.
Based on the original play 'Private Lives', written by Noel Coward, the production co-starred Elizabeth Taylor, John Cullum and Kathryn Walker, was directed by Milton Katselas and produced by Elizabeth Taylor herself with the assistance of Zev Bufman.
The programme includes profiles on all the major cast members and crew and features an article on Noel Coward entitled, 'Someday I'll Find You', focusing on the history of the writing, and various stagings, of the play.
This original American theatre programme also includes a five-page supplement focusing on the stage and screen performances of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, both separately and together.
The programme is illustrated throughout with stunning colour and black and white photographs.
This 1983 souvenir programme was conceived by Charles Cinnamon, Michael Kram and Leslie Feldman and was published by the Southern Playbill Publishing Incorporated especially for the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.
The play opened in New York on May the 9th, 1983 before moving on to the cities of Boston and Los Angeles where it finally closed, much to the delight and relief of Richard Burton, on November the 6th, 1983.
The critics were not kind when reviewing the Burton / Taylor production of 'Private Lives'. Frank Rich, of the New York Times, was to write in a rather acidic review;
"Private Lives, as reprised by Burton and Taylor has all the vitality of a Madame Tussaud exhibit. Life doesn't imitate art in 'Private Lives' - it obliterates it. Early on, we see that, unlike Elyot and Amanda, Mr. Burton and Miss Taylor have little lingering affection for each other - or none that they can convey or fake onstage. When Mr. Burton finally crosses from his side of the terrace to embrace Miss Taylor in Act One, he approaches the task with the steady gait of Count Dracula stalking a victim."
The interior of the American theatre programme for 'Private Lives'. The programme features studio portraits of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor contemporary to the 1983 run of the play as well as brief illustrated filmographies of both Burton and Taylor from their long stage and film careers, both separately and together.
This page was updated on the 25th of January, 2021