This was my reward for having being noticed in the Nursery Productions. The Survivor makes a spectacular entrance into the marketplace and dies. I was in impressive company and I felt a bit cowed by them all.
Simon Relph was son of the producer Michael Relph whose own father George, had played Billy Rice in the original "Look Back in Anger". Corin Redgrave's father Sir Michael was knighted for his acting on stage and screen and his sisters Vanessa and Lynn visited. Garry O'Connor's father Cavan was known as "the vagabond singer" on radio and records. Two other future pros: Roger Hammond was a light-footed Baron de Charlus and Richard Cottrell compellingly world-weary, as the ever-present Guttman. Philip Strick became a respected film critic.
I couldn't quite believe the concentration expected and everyone's seriousness. I was in the midst of a crowd who were as fascinated by theatre as I was. — Ian McKellen, December 2006
Banner photo:
Garry O'Connor plays the guitar, Ian McKellen dies, tall Simon Relph watches and Richard Cottrell, sitting, plays out front in Camino Real, ADC 1958
Photo by: Edward Leigh