''On Your Way, Riley'' is a 1982 play by

Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. He is best known for the sitcom ''Oh No It's Selwyn Froggitt'' and th ...

and a 1985

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

drama of the same name about the private and theatrical partnership of husband and wife '

Old Mother Riley Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act. Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is a ...

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

performers

Arthur Lucan Arthur Lucan (born Arthur Towle; 16 September 1885 – 17 May 1954) was an English actor who performed the drag act Old Mother Riley on stage, radio and screen, with a series of comedy films from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Early life ...

and

Kitty McShane Kathleen "Kitty" McShane (19 May 1897 – 24 March 1964) was an Irish actress, best known as the wife and acting partner of Arthur Lucan, with whom she appeared in a series of ''Old Mother Riley'' stage shows and films from the 1930s to the ...

. With songs by

Alex Glasgow Alex Glasgow (14 October 1935 – 14 May 2001) was an English singer-songwriter from Low Fell, Gateshead, England. He wrote the songs and music for the musical plays ''Close the Coal House Door'' and '' On Your Way, Riley!'' by Alan Plater, and ...

, the musical play ''On Your Way, Riley!'' premiered 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 ...

in April 1982. The original cast included

Geoffrey Freshwater Geoffrey Freshwater is an English actor. His television appearances include ''The Government Inspector'' and the recurring character of Sgt Eric Rivers in 5 episodes of ''Foyle's War''. He was also a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appea ...

and

Robert Daws Robert Daws (born 4 May 1959) is an English actor, and crime fiction author. He is best known for his television roles, including Tuppy Glossop in ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1990–1993), gruff cricketer Roger Dervish in the comedy '' Outside Ed ...

, with

Brian Murphy Brian Murphy may refer to: Sportspeople * Brian Murphy (Jamaican cricketer) (born 1973), Jamaican cricketer * Brian Murphy (Zimbabwean cricketer) (born 1976), Zimbabwean cricketer * Brian Murphy (baseball) (born 1980), American head baseball coac ...

and

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, columnist and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

as Lucan and McShane. The play was directed by Philip Hedley A 1983 tour of the play had John Halstead and Yvonne Edgell in the leading roles. The play was adapted for television, without the songs, as ''On Your Way, Riley'', and was broadcast on ITV on 2 January 1985, again with Brian Murphy and Maureen Lipman as Lucan and McShane. The play was based on the deteriorating marital relationship between the two main characters, with Lucan expressing his feelings about his wife's many infidelities. This was paralleled with their on-stage personas, where

(Lucan) is concerned about the whereabouts of her daughter Kitty (McShane) in the evenings, and who she is seeing. The 70 minute TV drama was directed by

John Glenister John Glenister (12 October 1932 – November 2024) was an English television director. His credits included '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', '' Emma'', ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', ''Play for Today'', Dennis Potter's 1971 biopic of '' Casanova'' ...

.''On Your Way, Riley'' at the IMDb
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TV Cast

(

) *

(Kitty Riley) *

Norman Bird John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End debut in Peter Brook's production of ''The Wi ...

- Frank *

Hugh Futcher Hugh Futcher (born 29 October 1937) is a retired English actor in theatre, television and film. He was a member of the stock company of the ''Carry On'' films, with notable parts in ''Carry On Spying'', '' Carry On at Your Convenience'', and ...

- Ossie * Peta Bernard - Dorothy * Michael Kingsbury - Danny * Vera Jones - Diane * Tommy Fossett - Charlie * Lesley Scoble - dancer (credited as Lisa Scoble) * Teri Scoble - dancer

References

External links

''On Your Way, Riley'' on 'The Jimmy Clitheroe Website'''On Your Way, Riley''
on the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

website
''On Your Way, Riley'' on 'Complete Index to World Film Index'
{{DEFAULTSORT:On Your Way, Riley 1982 plays 1985 television films 1985 films ITV television dramas British television films Television series by ITV Studios Television series by Yorkshire Television Films shot in Yorkshire 1980s English-language films