Robert Longden (born 5 October 1951) is a British composer, librettist, director and film, stage and television actor whose career has spanned four decades. In 1974 he took over the role of Riff Raff from Richard O'Brien in the original production of '' The Rocky Horror Show''; later with Hereward Kaye he wrote the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

musical '' Moby Dick''.

Early life

Longden attended The King's School in his native Macclesfield before receiving a scholarship to train at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (1969 to 1974) where he was awarded the Diploma of Speech and Drama and the John Gielgud Award for comedy.

Stage career

Longden's theatre career started with the Royal Shakespeare Company before taking over the role of Riff Raff from Richard O'Brien in the original production of '' The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1974 aged 24. Theatre roles include ''

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Haml ...

'' for the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 20 ...

; '' In the Boom Boom Room'' for

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to n ...

; Cholly in ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major i ...

'' for the Chichester Festival Theatre; he created the role of 'Mum' in the original production of

Berkoff Berkov or Berkoff is a surname of Jewish (Berkovich) or Dutch/German origin (Berkhoff). In Slavic countries it is only used for men, while the feminine variant is Berkova or Berková. Notable people with the name include: * David Berkoff (born 196 ...

's ''

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

'' (1975) for the London Theatre Group with Berkoff in the cast; Earl Williams in '' Windy City'' (1982); '' Me and My Girl'' with Robert Lindsay (1984); Hilary Maddox-Brown in ''Outside Broadcast'' by Peter Woodward with David Tomlinson for the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

and Cardinal in the musical ''Casanova'' (2008) at the Greenwich Playhouse.

Television and film

Television roles include Ginger Higgins in '' The Fenn Street Gang'' (1973);

Hablot Knight Browne Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was an English artist and illustrator. Well-known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, and Harrison Ainsworth. Early life Of Huguenot ancestry, Hablo ...

in '' Dickens of London'' (1976); Mr Willard in '' Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf'' (1978); Sapper Copping in '' Danger UXB'' (1979); Jeremy Delf in '' Agony'' (1980); appeared as a regular in the series '' Wood and Walters'' (1982); Stephen Mowat in '' Cloud Howe'' (1982); Mr Pasco in '' The Gentle Touch'' (1983); Mr Pitt in '' The Beiderbecke Trilogy'' (1984 to 1988); Boniface in '' Boon'' (1989); Professor Whitman in '' Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming'' (1990); Dr. Louis Werner in '' Selling Hitler'' (1991); Flossie in ''

The Blackheath Poisonings ''The Blackheath Poisonings'' is a 1978 historical mystery novel by the British writer Julian Symons.Bargainnier, Earl F. ''Twelve Englishmen of Mystery''. Popular Press, 1984. p. 217. . It is a murder mystery set in the late Victorian era. Plot ...

'' (1992); Freddie in '' Down to Earth'' (2005); Mr Weston in '' Torchwood'' (2006); Adrian Hammill in '' Blue Murder'' (2006); Martin Greenwood in '' Casualty'' (2007) and Walter Hickling in '' Doctors'' (2008). Film work includes Heavenly Bliss in '' Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'' (1973); Apprentice in '' Confessions of a Window Cleaner'' (1974); '' Never Too Young to Rock (1975); Roadblock Policeman in '' The Stick Up'' (1977); Pettelson in '' Agatha'' (1979); Badger Beadon in '' Why Didn't They Ask Evans?'' 1980; Tape Operator in '' Give My Regards to Broad Street'' (1984) and Vicar in '' Night Train to Murder'' with Morecambe and Wise (1985).

As a writer and composer

Longden wrote the music and words for the musical '' Moby Dick'' (1990) and directed it in the West End for Sir Cameron Mackintosh. The score was co composed with Hereward Kaye. He also wrote ''Pretty for the People'' (1989) and the musical ''The Fly'' based on the 1958 film of the same name. Longden fronted two television documentaries: for Southern Television he wrote and presented ''The Grand'' about the Grand Brighton Hotel; and for

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

he wrote and presented ''The Small Available Joys'' (1980).''The Small Available Joys''
on the

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

website In addition he was a guest on the BBC chat show '' Wogan'', the entire programme being dedicated to Longden's musical '' Moby Dick''. Longden lives in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...

in East Sussex.

Filmography

References

External links

Longden
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longden, Robert 1951 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English male stage actors English male television actors English male film actors Royal Shakespeare Company members English male Shakespearean actors English musical theatre librettists English male composers English theatre directors English musical theatre directors