John Arthur (actor)
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John Arthur is an English actor best known for his work in the theatre – notably with Sir Alan Ayckbourn. Theatre work also includes work at the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. On television he is predominantly known for situation comedy.
Early life[edit]
Born John Arthur Smith on 20th October 1945 in Birmingham, he is the only son of Sydney Arthur Smith, toolmaker, and Jessie Smith, née Evans, occasional shorthand/typing teacher. Before attending Drama School he worked in export as cost clerk exporting metal tubes for Tube Investments Birmingham, plus a variety of temporary jobs.
Education[edit]
- Wylde Green College for Boys,
- Bordesley Green County Technical School, Brooklyn Technical College – now the James Watt College,
- The Birmingham School of Speech training and Dramatic Art – now the Birmingham School of Acting.
Career[edit]
After leaving drama school in Birmingham in 1970, he worked for 10 years or so in repertory; the old Derby Playhouse, the Lyceum Theatre, Crewe, the Swan Theatre, Worcester and three years with the EMMA Theatre Company based in Loughborough, performing throughout the East Midlands in village halls, pubs, schools and prisons. Also during this period he worked in weekly rep in Rotherham, Hull and Bradford.
In 1977 he joined Sir Alan Ayckbourn's company in Scarborough North Yorkshire, where he stayed for over three years. While there he played central roles in 9 new Ayckbourn plays, as well as major parts in other plays,[1] such as John Procter in Arthur Miller's The Crucible.[2] Ayckbourn roles included Roland Crabbe in Taking Steps,[3] Len Coker in Sisterly Feelings and Richard in Joking Apart.
Subsequently, his Ayckbourn work continued in other theatres such as The Palace, Watford, Greenwich Theatre and The Theatre Royal, Windsor.
At Greenwich Theatre in 1984 he was the Mayor of London in Anthony Minghella's play Two Planks and a Passion, directed by Danny Boyle. West End work includes Michael Frayne's Look Look, Sir Peter Hall's revival of Piaf[4] and Alan Ayckbourn's Communicating Doors.[5] He has completed two seasons at theThe Royal National Theatre, appearing as 'Enery in Tons of Money and Desmond in A Small Family Business among others.,[6] For Jude Kelly in Leeds he played Simon Eyre in The Shoemaker's Holiday. In 2003 he played Philp Larkin in Larkin with Women at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry[7]
30 years television work have included John in Fresh Fields, Jack in Andy Capp[8] Constable Dunstable in Pilgrims Rest[9] (1995) and Phil in Carlton TV's Barbara[10] (1996/7). Filmography incudes Thunderpants (2002) and The Abduction Club (2002).[11] He has worked several times with Mark Gatiss, notably as Bill Wilson in the BBC 4 film of The Worst Journey in the World[12] and as Coil in The Crooked House,[13] also for BBC 4. From 2017 on-going he is Bishop Barry[14] in Emmerdale.
Following his earlier work with director Christopher Luscombe on Dandy Dick,[15]and as Wilf in the successful revival of Alan Bennett's Enjoy,[16] and Single Spies,[17] he worked again with Luscombe in 2016 -2017 for the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Sir Nathaniel and Antonio in Luscombe's acclaimed productions of Love's Labours Lost[18] and Much Ado about Nothing at The Royal Haymarket Theatre in the West End.
In 1982 he began a relationship with Scottish actress Jeni Giffen, who he eventually married in 1992 in Scarborough. They were divorced in 1998.
In 1996 he acquired an amateur pilot's licence, flying out of Biggin Hill Airport, Kent.
In 2003, with business partner ccmedian Bobby Bragg, he co-founded It's a Funny Business Ltd,[19] teaching stand-up comedy in a weekend course in Minster Loveell, Oxfordshire. The company was dissolved in 2009.
He lives in Oxfordshire with his partner Penelope Gee of the Astor String Quartet.
Ayckbourn plays performed[edit]
| Play | Role | Theatre | Date | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joking Apart[20] | Richard | The Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, Scarborough | 1977 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| Sisterly Feelings | Len Coker | The Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, Scarborough | 1979 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| Taking Steps[21] | Roland Crabbe | The Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, Scarborough | 1979 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| Making Tracks | Wolfe Devine | The Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, Scarborough/Greenwich Theatre | 1981 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| A Trip to Scarborough | Lord Foppington etc. | The Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, Scarborough | 1979 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| Suburban Strains | Howard, Naylor and Mr Grubland | The Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, Scarborough | 1980 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| It could be any One of Us | Norris | The Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round, Scarborough | 1983 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| Absurd Person Singular | Ronald | The Palace Theatre, Watford | 1980 | Michael Attenborough |
| Absurd Person Singular | Ronald | The Belgrave Theatre, Coventry | 1983 | Robert Hamlin |
| A Small Family Business | Desmond | The National Theatre | 1987 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| Ten Times Table | Laurence | The Theatre Royal, Windsor | 1989 | Robin Herford |
| The Norman Conquests (Living Together, Table Manners, Round and Round the Garden) | Tom | The Theatre Royal, Windsor | 1992 | Mark Piper |
| Seasons Greetings | Harvey | The Theatre Royal, Windsor | 1993 | Mark Piper |
| Communicating Doors | Harold | The Geilgud Theatre, London/The Savoy Theatre, London | 1995 | Alan Ayckbourn |
| Taking Steps | Roland Crabbe | The Mill Theatre, Sonning/The Theatre Royal Windsor | 2002 | Robin Herford |
| Time of my Life | Gerry | The Royal Theatre, Northampton | 2007 | Laurie Sansom |
| Time and Time Again | Graham | The Mill Theatre, Sonning | 2009 | Robin Herford |
| How the Other Half Loves | Frank | The Mill Theatre, Sonning | 2013 | Ian Masters |
| Absurd Person Singular | Ronald | The Mill Theatre, Sonning | 2014 | Tom Littler |
References[edit]
- ↑ "It Could be Any One of Us". Alan Ayckbourn official site. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ↑ "Plays Directed". Alan Ayckbourn official website. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ↑ "Taking Steps". Alan Ayckbourn Official site. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ↑ "Piaf". This Theatre. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ↑ Taylor, Paul. "INDY/LIFE". The Independent. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ↑ "Second Mrs Tanquary". Theatricalia. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ↑ "Where I Live". BBC home. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ↑ "Andy Capp". The British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ↑ "Pilgrim's Rest:No News is Bad News". BBC Radio Times. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ↑ "Barbara". Comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ↑ Elley, Derek. "The Abduction Club". Variety. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ↑ "The Worst Journey in the World". BBC Four. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ↑ "The Crooked House, The Waiscoting". BBC Four. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ↑ "Emmerdale". famdom. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ↑ Benedict, David. "Dandy Dick". Variety. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ↑ Billington, Michael. "Enjoy". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ↑ Connor, Sheila. "Single Spies". The British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- ↑ "Haymarket Theatre". Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ↑ Roe, Nick. "Stand up Comedy School in Oxfordshire". The Times. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
- ↑ Smurthwaite, Nick. "Joking Apart". The Stage. The Stage Media Company Limited. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- ↑ Somerville, Matt. "Taking Steps". Theatricalia. Matthew Somerville productions. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
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