Richard Briers spent two years as a filing clerk and a further two doing the same job in the RAF before getting a place at RADA where he was a contemporary of both Peter O’Toole and Albert Finney.

He has been acting for the last 40 years appearing in everything from Shakespeare to pantomime and has been in 20 plays in the West End spanning Shaw, Coward, Ayckbourn, Simon Gray and Ray Cooney. He has also worked with Kenneth Branagh playing Malvolio, Bottom, King Lear and Uncle Vanya on stage and Bardolph in the film ‘Henry V’ as well as Leonato in Branagh’s film of Much Ado About Nothing.

On television he has appeared in a number of long running comedy series the best remembered of which is ‘Ever Decreasing Circles’ and, of course, ‘The Good Life’. He has just returned from Australia where he has been playing Smee in the film ‘Peter Pan’

FROM DITCHLING PLAYERS NEWSLETTER JUNE 2002:

Isn’t it strange how chance encounters can often lead to other things. Several months ago one of our members, Mary Rabjohns, was in Guildford and found herself outside the local theatre which was putting on a pre-London Production of Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn and starring Richard Briers (above) and June Whitfield. As she was standing there who should come along but the star himself, and he stopped and spoke to Mary about the play. In the course of their conversation she told him that she lived in Ditchling and, much to her surprise, he said that he had appeared on the stage here in the 1950s.

Mary mentioned this meeting to Sonia Stock on her return to Ditchling and it was mooted that, in view of this connection with the village, he may consider becoming a Patron of the Players.

The story then moves on to a theatre trip arranged for Mary by her friend, Joan Dowling, to see Bedroom Farce in London. Joan had heard of the meeting in Guildford and so wrote to Richard Briers explaining it and asking if it was possible for them to come round and meet him again after the show. He kindly replied saying that he would be pleased to see them both and it was at this meeting that the question of patronage was brought up. Following both this and subsequent correspondence Mr Briers has kindly agreed that, although a busy man (he is Patron of about 35 organisations), he would be prepared to be a nominal Patron of the Players.

Ian Clayton, who remembers the occasion, has also found some further information about it in our archives. The Production was Othello with George Pensotti playing the lead and Richard Briers, a fellow student of his at RADA, playing Iago. Not only that but, according to a Review at the time, he also arranged the sound effects too!

The venue would have been the old Ditchling Village Hall and the review mentions several of our members also appearing.

The cast was – Tessa Donovan (Desdemona); Rosemary Bauer (Emilia); Malcolm Gerrard (Roderigo); Simon Campion (Brabantio); Adrain Farncombe (Cassio); Jack Buckwell (the Duke of Venice); Richard Tranfield (Gratiano); Elizabeth Emery (Bianca); James Brown (Montano); Hugh Baker (Lodovico) as well as Gordon Hillman and Sydney Swadling. The late Joy Sinden was the Stage Manager.

I am sure you will agree that this is exciting news and if anyone has any further memories of this Production or any photographs etc. do let us know.

David Tettersell