Hugh Hastings (31 January 191726 November 2004) was an Australian writer best known for his play ''

Seagulls Over Sorrento ''Seagulls Over Sorrento'' is a 1954 British war drama film made by the Boulting brothers based on the play of the same name by Hugh Hastings. The film stars Gene Kelly and was one of three made by Kelly in Europe over an 18-month period t ...

''. He moved to England in 1936 determined to break into theatre as an actor or writer. He served in the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

for over five years during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Life

Hastings's ''

'' made theatre history by running for 1,551 performances at London's

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

. Only two other plays had then run longer in theatre history:

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...

's ''

Blithe Spirit Blithe Spirit may refer to: * ''Blithe Spirit'' (play), a 1941 comic play written by Noël Coward * ''Blithe Spirit'' (1945 film), a British comedy film based on the play * ''Blithe Spirit'' (2020 film), a British-American comedy film based on th ...

''; and

R. F. Delderfield Ronald Frederick Delderfield (12 February 1912 – 24 June 1972) was an English novelist and dramatist, some of whose works have been adapted for television and film. Biography Childhood in London and Surrey Ronald Frederick Delderfield ...

's ''Worm's Eye View''. Part of the play's appeal was that it was radical for the time. The play was set inside a Royal Navy research station near

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay an ...

. The play was not popular with everyone, and not everyone saw the humor in it. It elicited subdued laughs as well as frowns, depending on whether the audience was liberal or conservative. He estimated he made £50,000 from ''Sorrento''. The fortune grew to £100,000 when in 1954 a film version made by the

Boulting brothers John Edward Boulting (21 December 1913 – 17 June 1985) and Roy Alfred Clarence Boulting (21 December 1913 – 5 November 2001), known collectively as the Boulting brothers, were English filmmakers and identical twins who became known for thei ...

was released. Hastings has an uncredited movie role in the 1952 film ''The Gift Horse'', on which he worked on the script. Hastings also wrote the dialogues for a

Marghanita Laski Marghanita Laski (24 October 1915 – 6 February 1988) was an English journalist, radio panellist and novelist. She also wrote literary biography, plays and short stories, and contributed about 250,000 additions to the ''Oxford English Diction ...

melodrama, ''

It Started In Paradise ''It Started in Paradise'' is a 1952 British drama film directed by Compton Bennett and starring Jane Hylton, Martita Hunt and Muriel Pavlow. Set in the world of haute couture, the film was squarely aimed at female audiences. Its storyline ...

'' (1952). He also wrote another naval play, ''Red Dragon''. It was based on the 1949

Yangtze Incident The ''Amethyst'' Incident, also known as the Yangtze Incident, was a historic event which involved the Royal Navy ships , , , and on the Yangtze River for three months during the Chinese Civil War in the summer of 1949. Description On ...

, which involved . The play failed to make an impression. None of his other works reached the success levels of ''Sorrento''. Even different versions of his most famous work failed to succeed. The television version of ''Sorrento'' was broadcast in 1960 with no real impact. He also financed and wrote a musical version, entitled ''Scapa'', which ran for a few weeks at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

in 1962.

Select credits

*''The Quadrille'' (1936) – play *''

'' (1950) – play *''Red Dragon'' (1950) – based on the

Amethyst Incident The ''Amethyst'' Incident, also known as the Yangtze Incident, was a historic event which involved the Royal Navy ships , , , and on the Yangtze River for three months during the Chinese Civil War in the summer of 1949. Description On ...

*''Inner Circle'' (1952) – play *''

Glory at Sea ''Gift Horse'' (released in the United States as ''Glory at Sea'') is a 1952 British black-and-white World War II drama film. It was produced by George Pitcher, directed by Compton Bennett, and stars Trevor Howard, Richard Attenborough, Jame ...

'' (1952) – screenplay *''A Touch of the Sun'' (1952) – play *''Pink Elephants'' (1955) – play *''Blood Orange'' (1958) – play *''Scapa!'' (1962) – book for musical *''The Green Carnation'' (1973)

References

External links

*
Obituary at ''The Guardian''Obituary at ''The Stage''Hugh Hastings
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Hugh Australian writers 1917 births 2004 deaths Royal Navy personnel of World War II Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom