Lionel Hamilton was an English theatre director and actor, director of the Northampton Repertory Company in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, England. Much of his work was conducted at the Northampton Repertory Theatre and the Kettering Savoy in the late 1940s and 1950s.

Directing

As part of the Northampton Repertory Theatre, in 1951, Hamilton put on a production of '' The Romantic Young Lady'' at the Kettering Savoy, starring Jean Charlesworth,

Peter Bell Peter Bell may refer to: People * Peter Hansborough Bell (1810–1898), governor of Texas, U.S. representative * Peter Bell (footballer, born 1898) (1898–1965), English footballer * Peter Bell (footballer, born 1976), Australian rules footballe ...

and

Ronald Radd Ronald Radd (22 January 1929 – 23 April 1976) was a British television actor. He originated the role of Hunter in the television thriller series '' Callan''. In 1971, he was nominated for a Tony Award for ''Abelard and Heloise''. Early work ...

. Glyn Idris Jones said that he was "not the most brilliant of directors but a delightfully pleasant man and, competent, I suppose, would be the right word. Even if they lacked imagination, his productions were clean, professional, and at least he didn't always abide by French's acting editions." Upon the resignation of John Ellin as general manager of the Northampton Repertory Theatre in May 1954, Hamilton assumed his position, having already become acting director of productions of the theatre company at the time. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Hamilton was attached to the British military's 02E unit, Headquarters Malta Command, where he produced ''Men in Shadows''. Here, Hamilton worked with

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

Acting

Described as a "hammy actor", Hamilton acted in several plays, including

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's ''

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'' at the Northampton Repertory Theatre with Jonathan Adams, Marion McNaughton, and Valerie Bond. At the end of 1949, he starred as Arthur Gosport in the ''

Harlequinade ''Harlequinade'' is an English comic theatrical genre, defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "that part of a pantomime in which the harlequin and clown play the principal parts". It developed in England between the 17th and mid-19th ce ...

'' at the Northampton Repertory Theatre and Kettering Savoy. In 1952, he played various roles in the

Theatre Royal, Nottingham The Theatre Royal in Nottingham, England, is a theatre venue in the heart of Nottingham City Centre and is owned by Nottingham City Council as part of a complex that also includes the city's Royal Concert Hall. The Theatre Royal attracts maj ...

production of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

's ''

The Mousetrap ''The Mousetrap'' is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. The play opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemi ...

''. At Christmas 1954, Hamilton starred as Dame Whittington opposite John Scott and

Tenniel Evans Walter Tenniel Evans (17 May 1926 – 10 June 2009) was a British actor. Family Walter Tenniel Evans was born in Nairobi, Kenya. His middle name derived from the illustrator Sir John Tenniel, a distant relation.Dick Whittington Richard Whittington ( March 1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal,Will of Richard Whittington: " I leave to my executors named below the entire tenement in which I live in the parish of St. Michael Paternoster Royal, Londo/ ...

'' at the Northampton Repertory Theatre.''Northampton Mercury'' – Friday 31 December 1954, p. 5, Accessed via The

British Newspaper Archive The British Newspaper Archive website provides access to searchable digitized archives of British and Irish newspapers. It was launched in November 2011. History The British Library's Newspapers section was based in Colindale in north London ...

. Retrieved 22 November 2014. He also appeared in the ''

ITV Play of the Week ''Play of the Week'' is a 90-minute British television anthology series produced for the ITV network by a variety of companies including Granada Television, Associated-Rediffusion, ATV and Anglia Television. Synopsis Approximately 500 episodes ...

'' (1964) and ''

BBC Play of the Month ''Play of the Month'' is a BBC television anthology series, which ran from 1965 to 1983 featuring productions of classic and contemporary stage plays (or adaptations) which were usually broadcast on BBC1. Each production featured a different wor ...

'' (1968) and in two episodes of the 1966 serial ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' as Mr. Jorkins.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Lionel English theatre directors English male stage actors People from Northampton