Great Eccentrics
…
and the eccentricities of the Great
Miscellaneous
Production
Information
Theatre Royal Winchester,
Theatre Royal Winchester,
‘The characters featured in
tonight’s entertainment might have been surprised by the company they are
keeping, but it is doubtful that any of them would have been at all
discomposed. The writers range from Sheridan and Shaw to Wilde and Waugh;
actors from Barrymore and Bernhardt to Hermione Gingold and Ralph Richardson;
musicians from Thomas Beecham to Madonna; not forgetting such pillars of the
establishment as Wellington, Gladstone and Churchill; and many others whose
names may have since escaped into oblivion, but whose deeds qualify them to be
numbered amongst the Great Eccentrics of history.’ (taken from programme)
Performed by
Judi Dench
Michael Pennington
John Miller
Devised and directed by
John Miller
Producer’s
Note
Two years ago Judi Dench
entranced the Festival audience in ‘Fond and Familiar’, which John Moffatt had
originally devised at her request as an occasional recital to be performed with
her husband Michael Williams. Afterwards she said to me, “John, you should
write a new show for me on ‘Great Eccentrics’.”
This felt more like a Royal
command than a request, but it was one I was more than happy to obey. I set
about ransacking the archives and libraries for stories on eccentrics, and one
soon led to another, some of them famous, others which were previously unknown
to me.
I discovered that they came
from all times and all walks of life, as well as all parts of the country. My
old friend John Julius Norwich pointed me in a number of profitable directions,
as did that other knowledgeable friend and cultural historian, Richard Hoggart.
The eccentric rhythms of the American poet Ogden Nash provided a particularly
rich source of material, and as I spread the net wider I captured some prime examples
of very peculiar behaviour amongst the ranks of those whom we would normally
regard as great rather than eccentric (hence the sub-title of this show).
The resultant script
required three voices, so we asked Michael Pennington to join us, with whom
both Judi and I have worked very happily with on several previous occasions.
Many of you will remember his brilliant performances at the Winchester Festival
in ‘The Norfolk Connection’ in 1999, and in his own one-man show ‘Anton Chekhov’ in 2003.
It was always my hope that
‘Great Eccentrics’ should receive its very first performance at Winchester, so
I am delighted that these two distinguished actors who are in such demand
happened to have this gap in their schedules.
The end of the Festival may
be nigh, but we leave you with this gift of laughter as a parting present.
John Miller