#gawn grainger

[mariocki]

Play for Today: Bavarian Night (BBC, 1981)

"These bloody middle class parents, ooh, they do get up my nose! You can work yourself blue in the face for them, go out of your way to accommodate them, but it's no use! They're just out to carve and criticise and try to make a fool out of you! Oh, I felt like - I'm ashamed to tell you what I felt like."

"Giving her a good hiding?"

"Yes, somebody should have done, I don't mind saying so! Oh, they make me sick! Always had their own way, always had the best of everything; she should have been brought up in our house, my dad would've had her sorted! I'm sorry, Estelle, this isn't like me, I know. Well, that's my evening spoilt for a start!"

"But what about the sausages?"

[ladyjaneasherr]

April 5th 2024, happy beloved 78th birthday to the one and only Jane! She’s been my inspiration for around 12 years since I first discovered about her. It’s been a wonderful journey getting to share new pictures I find, my scans, colourisations and accurate information in regards of the pictures I found. May I be able to meet her one day. 🤍

This post will be divided in two, as the picture shown was used for two different newspapers that I scanned therefore the subtle mark on the photos. And you might have seen the photos with my old username so I am sharing them with the new one!

Jane Asher and Gawn Grainger as Juliet Capulet and Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” presentation while being on tour in the USA, 1967.

First picture is my edition and enhancement from historical picture auction scan, second one is my scan from the newspaper, and third one is the scan of the newspaper.

Jane Asher-More Than a Beatle's Bird

In cities all across the U.S. this spring Beatle fans are swarming to a touring production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet staged by the Bristol Old Vic Company. When Juliet appears on stage for the first time the reaction is almost always the same. Applause thunders through the theater. Flash bulbs pop—electrifying the scene like summer lightning. At the end of the play young girls scream the name of the actress who plays Juliet: "Jane Asher! Jane Asher!" This is the girl they have come to see. To a Beatle fan Jane Asher's romance is even more exciting than the story of Romeo and Juliet. Jane Asher, in case you haven't heard, is the girl friend of Paul McCartney-the last unmarried Beatle.

An Interview With Jane

To find out what kind of girl dates a Beatle and also has enough talent to

perform in one of England's most respected theatre groups, CURRENT EVENTS Editor Nancy Malone talked to Jane Asher in New York City. The 20-year-old actress seemed puzzled when asked why teen-age girls scream for her. "I don't really know," she said “and I don’t think they’re quite sure themselves. Once they’re with me, they seem a little lost and aren’t sure what to do or say”.

Miss Asher, in contrast to her fans, is not at all confused. She is looking the forward to a successful career in the theatre—on her own merit, not because of her friendship with a Beatle. The actress with the golden-red hair is well on her way to stardom. Her portrayal of Juliet with England’s Bristol Old Vic company has been highly praised. The company is nearing the end of 16-city american tour, which began in Boston last January. After appearances next month in Bloomington, Ind., Detroit, and Cleveland, the company will perform at expo 67 in Montreal. Then the actors and actresses will retur to England.

Does Jane Asher hope to do more Shakespeare? "Oh, yes." she said, “I'd like to do all the Shakespearean heroines-especially Lady Macbeth. But I'd also like to do modern comedy. I wouldn't like ever to stick to just one thing. For example, I don't want to do all movies or all stage. Though if I had to choose, I'd choose stage. I like having a live audience.

Movie Fame Unimportant

"I know you can become more famous by being in movies,", Jane said. "but I've had a taste of that kind of glamor, and I know I don't want it. I want to be a good actress." Jane, who has been acting since she was five years old, comes from a show business family. Her brother, Peter Asher, has toured the U.S. several times. He makes up one-half of the popular singing duo Peter and Gordon.

But Jane hesitates to encourage outer young people to become entertainers. "It's really not the glamorous life people imagine. It's hard work with rehearsals all day and shows every night. And when you come right down to it, acting is really only pretending you're something else on stage." Although Jane made several films during her childhood, she attended regular m schools—not acting schools for m professionals. "I'm glad I got a normal education," she said. "I think it gave me a more balanced view of life. In addition to several Shakespearean roles, Jane has played Alice in Alice in Wonderland, Wendy in Peter Pan, and Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion. Juliet, however, is the highlight of her career.

Jane and the Bard

She is particularly delighted that she is helping to acquaint American teenagers with Shakespeare. She commented on her own attitude as a 13-year-old: "I suppose I felt as all English schoolchildren do-that Shakespeare was pretty dull stuff with lots of language I didn't understand. I know I wasn't mad about it." Now, at 20, she believes that Shakespeare wrote "the greatest roles in the world." She added: "On this tour, I've gotten a lot of mail and it has meant a great deal to me. Some of the letters from kids say “We came to see you. We were so surprised. We really liked the play.” “That’s great. That’s a real accomplishment to me —as an actress”.

[ludmilachaibemachado]

Jane Asher and Gawn Grainger as Juliet Capulet and Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet" presentation while being on tour in the USA, 1967🌺🌺🌺

Via @ladyjaneasher on Instagram🌺

[cleowho]

“Like as not.”

The Mark of the Rani - season 22 - 1984

[bluebeatlesgirls]

Jane Asher sightseeing and shopping with British actor Gawn Grainger in New York City , 21st February 1967

[digthe60s]

Jane Asher window-shopping with Gawn Grainger in New York City, 1967. Photo by Harry Benson.

[vicivefallen]

Saint George and the Dragon production photos [X] By Johan Persson

[littlequeenies]

English actess Jane Asher window-shopping with British actor Gawn Grainger in New York City, 21st February 1967.

[strangeparticles]

Adrian Scarborough, David Tennant and Gawn Grainger in Don Juan in Soho, Wyndham’s Theatre, 2017.

[monsterintheballroom]

'Sir John Hurt: A Celebration' At The BFI Southbank

She´s so beautiful <3

[foolforlesserthings]

March Theatre Madness, Play 4: Don Juan in Soho at Wyndham’s Theatre

To be honest, this was one of the bigger piles of silliness that I've ever seen - but just what I needed to cheer me up again after the incredibly intense angstfest that was Hedda Gabler in the afternoon.

I’m still not sure if I liked it or not - some parts were ridiculuously funny, others were...a bit too much. It was the 4th preview, and I think they definitely have to tweak it here and there.

[librarian222]

Well this is very interesting! I liked the last one the best......the 2nd one, well I don't know what to say.....

[ladyjaneasherr]

Jane Asher and Gawn Grainger as Juliet Capulet and Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” presentation while being on tour in the USA, 1967. Part 2. 🩶

Previously posted pictures with my old username, updating it with the new one.

Old Vic Brings First Spoken Drama to The Music Center. By Cecil Smith. Los Angeles times— March 5th, 1967.

It seems a curious bit of scheduling to have the Bristol Old Vic in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of The Music Center, opening a three-week season of Shakespeare Tuesday night.The company is doing the first spoken drama ever performed in the new complex and it arrives on the threshold, the very eve, of the twin openings of the new theaters designed primarily for drama next month. Not that the spoken word is a stranger to the Pavilion. Some of the more interesting musical plays produced there, notably "Fiddler on the Roof," have been as dependent on their dramatic as on their musical structure. And if the Pavilion is fundamentally a music hall, still the verbal music of Shakespeare can be as stirring and compelling as any instrumental or vocal music ever devised. No one plays this music better than a British ensemble and among the great companies of England the Bristol Old Vic is considered one of the best. No less an authority than Sir Tyrone Guthrie says it is among the world's finest acting companies and that its managing director, Val May, is an immensely vital force in the English-speaking theater.

Suited the Action

Sir Tyrone suited the action to the word by staging the production of "Measure for Measure" that opens the BOV season here. May directed the production of "Hamlet" that enters the repertory Thursday and the "Romeo and Juliet" that will open next week. The three plays will rotate through March 25. The Bristol Old Vic was initially formed in 1946 as an offshoot, a sort of farm club for London's justly celebrated Old Vic. When the latter was melded into the British National Theater three years ago, the BOV became an independent entity.

It is supported by an annual grant of 40,000 pounds from the Federal Arts Council, plus a grant from the city of Bristol and its thriving box offices in two theaters-the legendary Theater Royal and its new Little Theater. But even in its days as m the outpost of the London company, the Bristol Old Vic had an individuality and a spirit all its own. I remember when the parent organization was in the Philharmonic on one of its tours some years ago, I asked John Neville, who was playing Hamlet, what his plans were after the tour, and he said he was leaving the London company to return to Bristol. I asked him why. "It's more adventurous, more experimental, more daring and," he smiled, "more fun."

Although the BOV is only doing Shakespeare on this first American tour under the sponsorship of S. Hurok, the Bard is not its primary product in England. The company is known as an innovator, launching new plays and new playwrights, trying new areas of stagecraft, new methods and new approaches. It was in the vanguard of the new wave of British drama that spawned Pinter, Shaffer, Osborne, Arden, Wesker, and others. It was the first company to produce an English version of Erwin Piscator's "War and Peace" (later staged with immense success in this country by the APA) and it first provided a stage for such plays as "A Severed Head" and "The Killing of Sister George." ⠀⠀⠀

The company has a vigorous acting school and training program that has a spawned a legendary crop of stars, among them Rosemary Harris, Peter O'Toole, Dorothy Tutin and Paul Rogers. m Although the concentration is on youth, many an established star has played at Bristol, including Wendy Hiller, Moira Shearer, Pamela Brown and Neville.

The Hamlet of the current company is one of England's brightest young stars, Richard Pasco. He's little known in this country, though he was in the movie "Room at the Top" and played Broadway with Laurence Olivier in

"The Entertainer." Pasco, who also plays the key role of Angelo in "Measure for Measure," told a Times correspondent in Bristol recently that he sees Hamlet as "a fish out of water." "He's plunked right in the middle of all this political intrigue and violence and that's what he hates most— violence," Pasco said.

He approves director May's decision to set the play in the Napoleonic era-"lots of conspiracy and blood around in those days." Pasco said his first West End job as an actor was in "Hamlet"-playing Fortinbras to the prince of Paul Scofield. He feels Scofield saw the character as "an angry young man." "Yet," said Pasco, "he's really pretty cool. He likes to think about things-in a world that likes to act. Not that he's unable to take care of himself—he learned that as a soldier. But he's a scholar who knows that violence only leads to more violence. It's not in his nature to do the things that have to be done.

That's the terrible part." Pasco was the original angry young man—he played Jimmy Porter in the English Stage Company's famous production of "Look Back in Anger" in 1956, which launched the new wave of British drama. Most of his career has been in classical repertory though he's also starred in British television and movies. He joined the Bristol Old Vic in 1964 for its first tour of Europe, which extended as far as Israel.

Famous member⠀⠀⠀

Actually, the most famous member of the current troupe is its Juliet, 20-year old Jane Asher-particularly with the miniskirt set. The fame that preceded her had nothing to do with her acting but her fan magazine reputation as the girl friend of Beatle Paul McCartney, which has brought out swarms of teenagers on the cross-country tour. In proper repertory fashion, she balances Juliet with the tiny role of Julietta in "Measure for Measure." There are other players quite celebrated in Britain among them, John Franklyn Robbins, Frank Barrie, Madge Ryan, Frank Middlemass, Gwan Granger, Barbara Leigh-Hunt. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

But as in the National Theater, the Comedie Francaise, the Moscow Art Theater, one goes to see an ensemble, not an individual. This is a new wrinkle in this country but with the success of such ensembles as the APA, ACT and others, it's gaining momentum. There's an immense sense of pride in the Bristol company and in its homebase theater, the 200-year-old Theater Royal in cred Eritain on a heater where Sarah Siddons played and Edmund Kean, William Charles Macready, Jenny Lind, Henry Irving and Ellen, Terry-the ghost of Mrs. Siddons is said to stalk its stage.

Some feel it prophetic that the Blitz, which levered much of Bristol, spared the theater. Val May accompanied his players to this country and stayed with them through their highly acclaimed New York openings, then returned to Bristol to prepare his spring season, which includes such varied offerings as "The Hostage," "The Taming of the Shrew," Galsworthy's "Strife" and Pinter's "The Homecoming."

Among three new plays to be produced is one by American author Robert Rich, "Message from the Grassroots," a play about Malcolm X with an all-white cast.

Dr. Guthrie met the troupe in Philadelphia to brush up his initial staging of "Measure for Measure," that blackest of black comedies, which was much condemned in Victorian England for its outspoken attitudes on sex and morals and its cynicism. Dr. Guthrie told me later he was quite pleased with the production and it was greeted in Philadelphia, Boston and New York with warmth and a goodly share of critical hosannas.

The play is out of Shakespeare's middle period when he was at the height of his powers, written at about the time he wrote "Othello," after "Hamlet" and prior to "Lear." Although labeled a comedy, it is quite a serious work and tragedy is narrowly averted and then only through good fortune. It's easy to see how it shocked the Victorians, dealing with the stern enforcer of a Viennese law holding fornication illegal and punishable by death.

When a young man gets his girl with child, he is sentenced to die, and his sister, a novice in a nunnery, offers her own chastity in exchange for her brother's life. What particularly upset the Victorians was Shakespeare's straightforward appraisal of humanity, as when he has the wry Pompey ask the young governor if, to enforce the law, he plans "to geld and spay all the youth of the city?" Eras change. The candor that delights one age shocks another and can delight a third. But what endures is the essential truth in the poet in his evaluation of man for all his vice and folly.

When he has Angelo say: "They say best men are moulded out of faults, and, for the most part, become much the better for being a little bad," it's downright comforting.

[ludmilachaibemachado]

Jane Asher window-shopping with British actor Gawn Grainger in New York City, 21st February, 1967🌺

Via @lovely_janeasher on Instagram🌺

[peterviney1]

Don Juan in Soho review Review of Patrick Marber's Don Juan in Soho ( review linked), starring David Tennant as "DJ" (Don Juan) and Adrian Scarborough as Stan, his loyal servant. Moliere in 21st century London in a major "must see" production.

[girlonfilms]

First Look: David Tennant is Don Juan In Soho

First Look: David Tennant is Don Juan In Soho

Don Juan in Soho, starring David Tennant, officially opens in the West End on March 28th. The production’s producers have released a number of pictures from the play to whet everyone’s appetite. (more…)