''A Chorus of Disapproval'' is a 1989 British film adapted from the 1984

Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...

play of the same title, directed by

Michael Winner Robert Michael Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous Action film, action, Thriller films, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and ...

. Among the films's cast are

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

, and

Alexandra Pigg Alexandra Pigg (born Sandra McKibbin; 1962) is a British actress who first came to prominence as Petra Taylor in the TV soap opera ''Brookside''. Her best-known film appearances are as Elaine in ''Letter to Brezhnev'' (1985), for which she was no ...

Plot

The story follows a young

widower A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

, Guy Jones, as he joins an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic society that is putting on ''

The Beggar's Opera ''The Beggar's Opera'' is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satiri ...

''. He rapidly progresses through the ranks to become the male lead, while simultaneously conducting liaisons with several of the female cast.

Cast and characters

– Guy Jones *

– Dafydd Ap Llewellyn *

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...

– Hannah Ap Llewellyn *

Jenny Seagrove Jennifer Ann Seagrove (born 4 July 1957) is an English actress. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and first came to attention playing the lead in a television dramatisation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's '' A Woman of Substance'' ...

– Fay Hubbard *

Sylvia Syms Sylvia May Laura Syms (born 6 January 1934) is an English actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''No Trees in the Street'' (1959), ''Victim'' (1961), and ''The Tamari ...

– Rebecca Huntley-Pike *

Gareth Hunt Alan Leonard Hunt (7 February 1942 – 14 March 2007), known as Gareth Hunt, was a British actor best remembered for playing footman Frederick Norton in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and Mike Gambit in '' The New Avengers''. Early life Alan Leona ...

– Ian Hubbard *

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and was the lead singer of the pop band Eighth Wonder in the 1980s. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Bird ...

– Linda Washbrook *

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...

– Jarvis Huntley-Pike *

– Bridget Baines *

– Ted Washbrook *

Barbara Ferris Barbara Gillian Ferris (born 27 July 1942, London) is an English actress and former fashion model. She appeared in a number of films and productions for television and is possibly best remembered as Dinah, the young woman who eloped with Dave ...

– Enid Washbrook *

Pete Lee-Wilson Pete Lee-Wilson is a British television and film actor. Biography His first role was in the television show, ''Metal Mickey''. He has also appeared in ''The Bill'', '' Spooks'' and was in the 2009 '' Doctor Who'' story " The End of Time". Per ...

– Crispin Usher * David King – Mr. Ames * Amanda Mainard – Woman in Theatre *

Dinah May Dinah May (9 September 1954), is an English former model, former Miss Great Britain, and former actress, latterly the personal assistant to film director Michael Winner. Career May was born in Irby, Cheshire, and trained as a hairdresser. Howev ...

– Girl at Work * Anne Priestley – Hilda Shaw * Audrey Trotter – Mrs. Bawden

Filming Locations

The main filming locations in Scarborough were: * Scarborough Railway Station - Guy arrives in Scarborough at the beginning and leaves for Blackpool at the end * Duke of York Guest House, 1-2 Merchants Row, off Eastborough, Scarborough - Guy's lodgings * Castle Community Centre, East Sandgate - the cast rehearse The Beggar's Opera * Royal Opera House ow demolished St Thomas Street - the cast rehearse and then perform The Beggar's Opera in the theatre

Reception

'' Time Out'' gave ''A Chorus of Disapproval'' a negative review, stating that most of the film's cast "can't cope with either the heavily truncated script or Winner's cloddish, half-baked direction.""A Chorus of Disapproval"
''Time Out'' Magazine, London. Retrieved 10 October 2019.

References

External links

* * * 1989 films British musical comedy-drama films 1980s English-language films Films based on works by Alan Ayckbourn Scarborough, North Yorkshire Films shot in North Yorkshire Films set in Yorkshire Films directed by Michael Winner Films scored by John Du Prez 1980s musical comedy-drama films Films with screenplays by Michael Winner Films about opera Films produced by Michael Winner 1980s British films {{UK-musical-film-stub