''Semi-Detached'' is a play written by David Turner. It premiered at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry in June 1962 with Leonard Rossiter in the lead role, the production was directed by

Tony Richardson Cecil Antonio Richardson (5 June 1928 – 14 November 1991) was an English theatre and film director, producer and screenwriter, whose career spanned five decades. He was identified with the "angry young men" group of British directors and play ...

. In 1964, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

recorded a radio adaptation starring Rossiter, rebroadcast in 2016 in its series ''Repertory in Britain''. The Belgrade Theatre production transferred to London, still directed by Richardson, but with

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

(replacing Rossiter),

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins (born 15 June 1934) is an English actress. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting ...

, John Thaw, James Bolam (replacing

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

) and

Mona Washbourne Mona Lee Washbourne (27 November 1903 – 15 November 1988) was an English people, English actress of stage, film, and television. Her most critically acclaimed role was in the film ''Stevie (1978 film), Stevie'' (1978), late in her career, for ...

. The play reached Broadway in New York for a season in 1963 and a film version '' All the Way Up'' (1970), directed by James MacTaggart, starred Warren Mitchell. The play was revived at the Chichester Festival in 1999.

Plot

Set in the Midlands, Fred Midway is working his way up the social ladder. His desire to be accepted in the social circles to which he aspires occupies much of his energy. At first, Fred's carefully laid plans to boost his standing in the local community backfire, before coming right in the end.

Original cast

*Arnold Makepiece - Brendan Barry *Avril Hadfield - Bridget Turner *Eileen Midway - Fiona Duncan *Fred Midway - Leonard Rossiter *Garnet Hadfield - Sheila Keith *Hilda Midway - Gillian Raine *Nigel Hadfield - Michael Rothwell *Robert Freeman - William Holmes *Tom Midway -

References

External links

* 1962 plays British plays {{1960s-play-stub