Jeremy Lloyd Thomas, Karen Henson & Andrew Ryan Interview: Colin McIntyre
Title
Jeremy Lloyd Thomas, Karen Henson & Andrew Ryan Interview: Colin McIntyre
Date
19 July 2017
Description
Oral history interview with actors Karen Henson, Jeremy Lloyd Thomas and Andrew Ryan, stalwarts of the long-running Theatre Royal Classic Thriller Season run every year during the summer.
What's the story?
The Theatre Royal's Classic Thriller season has been a regular fixture during the summer at the theatre since 1986.
Often comprising four plays in repertoire, a company of actors rehearse a play during the day ready for the following week's run, whilst performing in another play during the evening. It is the classic British repertory system.
Working with the Theatre Royal, the season was founded by legendary producer Colin McIntyre, whose extensive experience included working alongside Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic in London.
Following Colin’s sad death in 2011 the season was re-named in his honour and is now co-produced by Chesterfield based Tabs Productions.
On the season’s 30th anniversary in 2018, Karen Henson from Tabs Productions, said:
“Coming back to Nottingham every summer is like coming home. The audience is so loyal and welcoming that it feels like we’re performing for friends. We are thrilled that we have survived thirty years of murder, mystery and mayhem and look forward to many more to come.”
In this interview actors Karen Henson, Jeremy Lloyd Thomas and Andrew Ryan talk about Colin McIntyre and his rich theatrical background.
For added theatrical atmosphere this interview took place in one of the Theatre Royal dressing rooms.
Colin McIntyre: he was a man of many parts. As we found out at his funeral. And his family didn’t realise half of what he’d done, really. He started off as an actor, didn’t he? Just after the war in what used to be called, well they were called “fit up” companies really, weren’t they? They used to tour endlessly and it was the kind of thing where they’d say “Oh, we need a butler in (I’m making it up now) Home at Seven in Kirdcaldy”. So you always had to have your costume, you had a lounge suit or a dress suit or tennis whites. And so you’d turn up in Kirkcaldy, you wouldn’t have met any of the company before, apparently, and they’d almost hiss your direction to you “Stage right, stage right” and you’d just go on with no rehearsal. What, they would pick you because you knew the play? Yes, and you’d have the costume. You’d have to have your dress suit .You had your own costume. And that’s when the actor managers were around. So they would be the star and play the leads in it. Colin used to say “Has the ghost walked?” That meant “Have you been paid?”
He worked for Harry Hanson Players, I think that was one of the big ones. I’d just worked with a lady called Joan Francis, who was Pat Phoenix’ sidekick in Coronation Street when .. what did Pat Phoenix play? Elsie Tanner. Elsie Tanner had a dress shop and Joan Francis, this lady who was in her eighties doing Brecht with Chesterfield, she was Harry Hanson’s daughter, or niece or something like that. So again it was like 52 weeks of weekly rep or you played one part and were “flown” into (not “flown” obviously then. You’d got the steam train, probably) to these various parts of the country. So he started off like that and then he moved in to Management, I think, and then ended up as what was called “Stage Director” or “Stage Producer”. It’s sort of like a Stage Manager cum Assistant Director. So he would take rehearsals for Laurence Olivier at, before it was the National, at the Old Vic. I know quite a lot about this because when he died, they’re doing an archive at Chesterfield, where he was Artistic Director for quite a few years after that and when he died they received all his papers and photos and the signed letters from Laurence Olivier saying “So glad, Colin, you can do the next season with us” and things like that. So it must be true because sometimes when you talked to Colin, you didn’t always know if it was true - if it was slight exaggeration.
Often comprising four plays in repertoire, a company of actors rehearse a play during the day ready for the following week's run, whilst performing in another play during the evening. It is the classic British repertory system.
Working with the Theatre Royal, the season was founded by legendary producer Colin McIntyre, whose extensive experience included working alongside Laurence Olivier at the Old Vic in London.
Following Colin’s sad death in 2011 the season was re-named in his honour and is now co-produced by Chesterfield based Tabs Productions.
On the season’s 30th anniversary in 2018, Karen Henson from Tabs Productions, said:
“Coming back to Nottingham every summer is like coming home. The audience is so loyal and welcoming that it feels like we’re performing for friends. We are thrilled that we have survived thirty years of murder, mystery and mayhem and look forward to many more to come.”
In this interview actors Karen Henson, Jeremy Lloyd Thomas and Andrew Ryan talk about Colin McIntyre and his rich theatrical background.
For added theatrical atmosphere this interview took place in one of the Theatre Royal dressing rooms.
Colin McIntyre: he was a man of many parts. As we found out at his funeral. And his family didn’t realise half of what he’d done, really. He started off as an actor, didn’t he? Just after the war in what used to be called, well they were called “fit up” companies really, weren’t they? They used to tour endlessly and it was the kind of thing where they’d say “Oh, we need a butler in (I’m making it up now) Home at Seven in Kirdcaldy”. So you always had to have your costume, you had a lounge suit or a dress suit or tennis whites. And so you’d turn up in Kirkcaldy, you wouldn’t have met any of the company before, apparently, and they’d almost hiss your direction to you “Stage right, stage right” and you’d just go on with no rehearsal. What, they would pick you because you knew the play? Yes, and you’d have the costume. You’d have to have your dress suit .You had your own costume. And that’s when the actor managers were around. So they would be the star and play the leads in it. Colin used to say “Has the ghost walked?” That meant “Have you been paid?”
He worked for Harry Hanson Players, I think that was one of the big ones. I’d just worked with a lady called Joan Francis, who was Pat Phoenix’ sidekick in Coronation Street when .. what did Pat Phoenix play? Elsie Tanner. Elsie Tanner had a dress shop and Joan Francis, this lady who was in her eighties doing Brecht with Chesterfield, she was Harry Hanson’s daughter, or niece or something like that. So again it was like 52 weeks of weekly rep or you played one part and were “flown” into (not “flown” obviously then. You’d got the steam train, probably) to these various parts of the country. So he started off like that and then he moved in to Management, I think, and then ended up as what was called “Stage Director” or “Stage Producer”. It’s sort of like a Stage Manager cum Assistant Director. So he would take rehearsals for Laurence Olivier at, before it was the National, at the Old Vic. I know quite a lot about this because when he died, they’re doing an archive at Chesterfield, where he was Artistic Director for quite a few years after that and when he died they received all his papers and photos and the signed letters from Laurence Olivier saying “So glad, Colin, you can do the next season with us” and things like that. So it must be true because sometimes when you talked to Colin, you didn’t always know if it was true - if it was slight exaggeration.
Type
Oral interview
Location of item
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall
Rights
Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall
Contributor
Interviewers: Liz MacKenzie & Laura Knowles
Transcriber: David Chilton
Transcriber: David Chilton
