Robert Longden (born 5 October 1951) is a British composer,

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

, 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 Richard O'Brien (born Richard Timothy Smith; 25 March 1942) is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has since remained in continuous p ...

in the original production of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

''; later with Hereward Kaye he wrote the West End musical ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

''.

Early life

Longden attended The King's School in his native

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

before receiving a scholarship to train at the

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

(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 The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

before taking over the role of Riff Raff from

in the original production of ''

'' 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 ''Hamle ...

'' 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. Nadia Fall has been artistic director since 2025, succeeding ...

; ''

In the Boom Boom Room ''In the Boom Boom Room'' is a play by David Rabe. The play follows a young go-go dancer who has a difficult relationship with her parents. Plot summary Chrissy arrives in 1960s Philadelphia with the dream of becoming a successful dancer. Despe ...

'' 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 ne ...

; 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 in ...

'' for the

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

; he created the role of 'Mum' in the original production of Berkoff's ''

East East 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 fact that ea ...

'' (1975) for the London Theatre Group with Berkoff in the cast; Earl Williams in '' Windy City'' (1982); ''

Me and My Girl ''Me and My Girl'' is a musical with music by Noel Gay and its original book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose. The story, set in the late 1930s, tells of an unapologetically unrefined Cockney gentleman named Bill Snibson, wh ...

'' with Robert Lindsay (1984); Hilary Maddox-Brown in ''Outside Broadcast'' by

Peter Woodward Peter Woodward (born 24 January 1956) is an English actor, screenwriter and stuntman. He is best known for his role as Galen in the '' Babylon 5'' spin-offs '' Babylon 5: A Call to Arms'', ''Crusade'' and '' Babylon 5: The Lost Tales''. He ...

with

David Tomlinson David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film and television actor, singer and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles wit ...

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 starred in the UK Tour of "Salad Days" directed by Ned Sherrin.

Television and film

Television roles include Ginger Higgins in ''

The Fenn Street Gang ''The Fenn Street Gang'' is a British television sitcom which ran for three seasons between 1971 and 1973. Created by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, it was a spin-off from their popular ''Please Sir!'' series. Synopsis The series follows the l ...

'' (1973);

Hablot Knight Browne Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was a British artist and illustrator. Well known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, Augustus Septimus Mayhew and Harrison Ainsworth. Early life Of Fr ...

in ''

Dickens of London ''Dickens of London'' is a 1976 television miniseries from ITV Yorkshire, Yorkshire Television based on the life of English novelist Charles Dickens. Both Dickens and his father John Dickens, John were played by British actor Roy Dotrice. The s ...

'' (1976); Mr Willard in '' Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf'' (1978); Sapper Copping in ''

Danger UXB ''Danger UXB'' is a 1979 British ITV television series set during the Second World War. It was developed by John Hawkesworth and starred Anthony Andrews as Lieutenant Brian Ash, an officer in the Royal Engineers (RE). The series chronicl ...

'' (1979); Jeremy Delf in ''

Agony Agony may refer to: Concepts * Agony, a terminal state of the body before death *Suffering of intense degree, relating to physical or mental suffering *Agony in the Garden, Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane Comics * ''Agony'' (book), ...

'' (1980); appeared as a regular in the series ''

Wood and Walters ''Wood and Walters'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Julie Walters and Victoria Wood for Granada Television and written entirely by Wood. The show was short-lived, with one pilot in 1981 and a series of seven shows in 1982. B ...

'' (1982); Stephen Mowat in '' Cloud Howe'' (1982); Mr Pasco in ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police procedural drama series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 24 November 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a fema ...

'' (1983); Mr Pitt in ''

The Beiderbecke Trilogy ''The Beiderbecke Trilogy'' is a trilogy of television serials written by Alan Plater and made by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in the United Kingdom between 1984 and 1988. Each serial centres on schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin ( James ...

'' (1984 to 1988); Boniface in '' Boon'' (1989); Professor Whitman in '' Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming'' (1990); Dr. Louis Werner in ''

Selling Hitler ''Selling Hitler'' is a 1991 ITV television comedy-drama mini-series about the Hitler Diaries hoax and was based on Robert Harris's 1986 book ''Selling Hitler: The Story of the Hitler Diaries.'' The screenplay was written by Howard Schuman. P ...

'' (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 ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

'' (2006); Adrian Hammill in '' Blue Murder'' (2006); Martin Greenwood in ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' (2007) and Walter Hickling in ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'' (2008). Film work includes Heavenly Bliss in '' Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'' (1973); Apprentice in ''

Confessions of a Window Cleaner ''Confessions of a Window Cleaner'' is a 1974 British sex comedy film, directed by Val Guest.Leach, p.132 Like the other films in the ''Confessions'' series; ''Confessions of a Pop Performer'', '' Confessions of a Driving Instructor'' and '' C ...

'' (1974); '' Never Too Young to Rock (1975); Roadblock Policeman in ''

The Stick Up ''The Stick Up'' is a 1977 British romantic comedy crime film written and directed by Jeffrey Bloom and starring David Soul. It was executive produced by Elliott Kastner. It was one of the first films from financier Arnon Milchan although he felt ...

'' (1977); Pettelson in '' Agatha'' (1979); Badger Beadon in ''

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? ''Why Didn't They Ask Evans?'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in September 1934 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1935 under the title of '' ...

'' 1980; Tape Operator in ''Give My Regards to Broad Street (film), 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 ''

'' (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 The Fly (1958 film), 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 ITV Granada, Granada Television he wrote and presented ''The Small Available Joys'' (1980).''The Small Available Joys''
on the British Film Institute website In addition he was a guest on the BBC chat show ''Wogan'', the entire programme being dedicated to Longden's musical ''

''. Longden lives in Eastbourne in East Sussex.

Filmography

References

External links

Longden
on the Internet Movie Database {{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