''Chorus Girls'' was a 1981 musical written by

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

lead singer and songwriter

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

, who collaborated with ''

The Long Good Friday ''The Long Good Friday'' is a 1980 British gangster film directed by John Mackenzie from a screenplay by Barrie Keeffe. Starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, the film, set in London, weaves together events and concerns of the late 1970s, inc ...

'' screenwriter

Barrie Keeffe __NOTOC__ Barrie Colin Keeffe (31 October 1945 – 10 December 2019) was an English dramatist and screenwriter. Best known for his screenplay for the gangster classic ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), starring Bob Hoskins and Helen Mirren, Keeffe ...

.Kitts, Thomas M..
Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else
'. N.p., Taylor & Francis, 2008. 205. It opened at the

Theatre Royal, Stratford East Stratford East (formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East) is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with di ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

starring

Marc Sinden Marcus Andrew Sinden (born 9 May 1954) is an English actor, director and producer. Sinden has worked in film and theatre (mainly in London's West End) as both actor and producer and directed the documentary series '' Great West End Theatres'' ...

and also had a supporting cast of

Michael Elphick Michael John Elphick (19 September 1946 – 7 September 2002) was an English film and television actor. He played the eponymous private investigator in the ITV series '' Boon'' and Harry Slater in BBC's ''EastEnders''. He was nominated fo ...

Anita Dobson Anita, Lady May (born 29 April 1949), known as Anita Dobson, is an English actress and singer. She is best known for playing Landlord, landlady Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from the show's inception in 1985 until 1988. She ac ...

Lesley Manville Lesley Ann Manville (born 12 March 1956) is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including two Laurence Olivier Awards and nominations for an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, four British Academy Television ...

, Kate Williams, Sandy Ratcliff and

Charlotte Cornwell Charlotte Cornwell (26 April 1949 – 16 January 2021) was an English actress, singer, and a teacher of acting on the faculty at the University of Southern California (2003–2012). Cornwell began her career as an actress, making her debut for ...

. Directed by

Adrian Shergold Adrian Shergold (born 24 March 1948 in Croydon, Surrey) is a British film and television director. Selected filmography *'' Pierrepoint'' (2005) *'' Funny Cow'' (2017) *'' Cordelia'' (2019) *Denmark (2019) Selected television *'' Christabel'' ( ...

, the

choreography Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

was by

Charles Augins Charles Augins is an American actor, dancer and choreographer for stage and screen. A native of Virginia, in 1981 Augins choreographed Ray Davies' first musical '' Chorus Girls'', at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, as well as appear ...

and

Jim Rodford James Walter Rodford (7 July 1941 – 20 January 2018) was an English musician, who played bass for several British rock bands. He was a founding member of Argent, which was led by his cousin Rod Argent, and performed with them from their forma ...

of The Kinks played bass with the theatre's 'house band'. The plot was set around the story that

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

(played by Sinden) was kidnapped by activists wanting to save the theatre building from demolition. Dobson played the girl who falls in love with him, and Elphick played Sinden's inept bodyguard.

References

{{Charles III 1981 musicals Charles III British musicals