| The Mating Season | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Sam Cree |
| Date premiered | 08 December 1969 |
| Place premiered | Arts Theatre |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Setting | Belfast |
The Mating Season, also known as For Love or Money [1], is a comedy play written by Northern Irish playwright Sam Cree. The play premiered on 08 December 1969 at the Arts Theatre.[2]
The play concerns widower Henry Gillespie who intends to marry Stella Morley. Both are successful in business and hope their relationship will bring them financial rewards as well. Before they can marry, however, Henry must find wives for his sons and late wife's Uncle Fred. Meanwhile, Henry's housekeeper, Mrs Jamieson, plots to break Henry and Stella up.
The play would transfer to the Scottish and English stages and find success with the likes of Jimmy Logan and Sid James.
It is also the play in which Sid James was performing when he suffered a heart attack and died on stage in 1976.[3][4][5]
Plot
editAct I
editScene one
editScene two
editAct II
editScene one
editScene two
editAct III
editTwo Act version
editAs well as the Three Act version of the play, The Mating Season is also available in a shorter Two Act version.[6] The plot is unchanged from the three act version of the play, however the first scene of the second act becomes the final scene of the first act and the entire third act becomes the second scene of the second act. Some of the dialogue is cut or changed and the characters of Henry Gillespie and Violet McKinstry are renamed Sid Gillespie and Violet Harris.[7]
Original cast
edit- Mervyn Gillespie - William Walker [2]
- Mrs Jamieson - Sheila McGibbon [2]
- Stella Morley - Doreen Hepburn [2]
- Fred Woods - Maurice O'Callaghan [2]
- Henry Gillespie - Wolsey Gracey [2]
- Robin Gillespie - Charles Armstrong [2]
- Vanessa Morley - Laura Hunter [2]
- Barbara Nixon - Elizabeth Stephens [2]
- Helga Herdman - Heather Gibson [2]
- Violet McKinstry - Leila Webster [2]
Reception
editWhen the play was first performed at the Glasgow Metropole, The Glasgow Herald stated that "For good robust fun 'The Mating Season'... is hard to beat".[8] Later reviews, however, were more mixed. A review in of a 1979 revival of the play staring Jimmy Logan, also in The Glasgow Herald, stated that it was "entirely predictable but amusing" but describing the plot as having "routine situations".[1] The play remained popular with audiences, despite the mixed critical reception, and Sid James was voted Best Actor while on tour with the play in Australia and the play was voted play of the year.[3][9] As another review of the 1979 revival stated "The jokes, the situations, even the comic business are straight from the golden past of those Metropole comedies much loved by Glasgow audiences" and went on to say that the predictability of the jokes was "what makes them so appealing" and finally concluded by saying that the audience reaction was "the best measure of the play as entertainment".[10] Modern revivals by amateur dramatics groups have been met with more favourable reviews. A production by the Rathfriland Young Farmers' Club was stated to be a "great night’s entertainment for all the family".[6]
Death of Sid James
editSid James, the popular star of the Carry On films, died on stage on 26 April 1976 fifteen minutes into the first Act on the opening night of a revival tour of The Mating Season at the Sunderland Empire Theatre.[4][11]
Audrey Jeans, who was sharing the stage with James, fed him his line. Instead of returning his cue, James collapsed onto a chair that was on set. The audience laughed, assuming it was part of the show.[4][5] James' wife, Valerie, knew it was not part of the show and rushed to the stage to see what had happened. The audience realised it was not part of the play when someone asked if there was a doctor in the house.[12]
Paramedics tried to revive James on the way to the hospital but it was too late. James suffered a fatal heart attack while on stage and was pronouced dead in hospital half an hour later.[13]
Television adaptions
editThe Mating Season
editThe play was adapted in 1976 by Thames Television and was produced and directed By Bill Robertson & William G. Stewart and was broadcast on 27th December 1976. [14]
Cast
edit- Bruce Gillespie - Bruce Forsyth [14]
- Mrs Jamieson - Joy Stewart [14]
- Stella Morley - Joyce Blair [14]
- Fred Woods - Bill Waddington [14]
- Violet Harris - Dorothy Dampier [14]
- Helga Herdman - Sarah Maxwell [14]
- Barbara Nixon - Linda Cunningham [14]
- Vanessa Morley - Rosalyn Elvin [14]
- Martyn Gillespie - Keith Morris [14]
- Robin Gillespie - Brian Godfrey [14]
Cor, Blimey!
editCor, Blimey!, first broadcast April 2000, was a television adaption of the play Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick. The play dramatised the romantic affair between Sid James and Barbara Windsor.[15]
Towards the end of the film, James, played by Geoffrey Hutchings, is shown backstage on the opening night of The Mating Season at the Sunderland Empire Theatre. During the sequence, brief snippets of dialogue from the play can be heard performed on stage. Specifically, the characters of Fred, Mrs Jamieson and Stella can be heard.
Eventually, James is shown making his enterance. A condensed version of the first Act is shown up to the moment of James' death.[16]
Cast and crew
edit- Written & Directed by Terry Johnson [17]
- Geoffrey Hutchings as Sid James (As Sid Gillespie in The Mating Season) [17]
- Adam Godley as Kenneth Williams [17]
- Samantha Spiro as Barbara Windsor [17]
- Jacqueline Defferary as Sally [17]
- Steve Speirs as Bernard Bresslaw [17]
- Hugh Walters as Charles Hawtrey [17]
- Chrissie Cotterill as Joan Sims [17]
References
edit- ^ a b Richardson, Sheila (06 June 1979). "Predictable but amusing". The Glasgow Herald.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The Mating Season". Irish Playography. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Sid Had Plans to Retire". The Age. 28 April 1976. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ a b c "Sid James dies at 62". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 April 1976. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Comedian Sid James dies on stage". The Glasgow Herald. 27 April 1976. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ a b "Comedy for Poyntzpass". Banbridge Leader. 22 February 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ Cree, Sam (1970). The Mating Season (Two Act Version). Self Published by the Author.
- ^ "Good Fun at the Metropole". The Glasgow Herald. 7 April 1970. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ "Sid James". CarryOn.org. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ Brennan, Mary (24 July 1979). "The Comic Side of Love". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ "Sid James". This is Announcements. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ Lee-Potter, Lynda (12 October 1998). "The day Barbara Windsor tried to steal my husband". Daily Mail.
- ^ "Sid James". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "The Mating Season". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ "The carry on behind the Carry On films". BBC Online. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ Johnson, Terry (24 April 2000). "Cor, Blimey!". Company Television.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Cor, Blimey!". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 14 January 2012.