Frank Barrie (born 19 September 1936) is a British actor, director and writer. He made his acting debut in 1959 in a production of ''
Henry IV, Part 2'' at the
York Theatre Royal
York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St Leonard's Place, in York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 750 people. Whilst the theatre is traditionally a proscenium theatre, it was reconfigured for a season in 2011 to offe ...
. He proved to be a successful
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
an actor throughout his career. More recently, he starred in ''
Lunch with Marlene'', a 2008 tribute to
Noël Coward and
Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
and in 2010 was cast as
Edward Bishop, a gentleman friend of
Dot Cotton
Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...
in
Eastenders.
Biography
Frank Barrie was born in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
,
North Riding of Yorkshire on 19 September 1936,
but spent his childhood in York. There he attended
Archbishop Holgate's School, prior to
Hull University
, mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status
, type = Public
, endowment = £18.8 million (2016)
, budget = £190 million ...
, where he was elected President of the Debating Union . At Hull he met his future wife Maryann Lloyd. They married in 1960 and their daughter is the actress Julia Barrie.
Theatre
After graduating Barrie spent four years acting in weekly and fortnightly repertory, before joining the internationally prestigious
Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...
company in 1965, where he quickly became established as the leading man - the youngest in the company's history.
Amongst his many roles he played ''
Oedipus Rex''; Richard Il; Long John Silver; Alfie; Malvolio; and Lucio in
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at h ...
's production of
Measure for Measure. His performance of
Mercutio
Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the ...
in ''
Romeo and Juliet'' was highly praised.
Harold Hobson
Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author.
Early life and education
Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield Gramm ...
wrote in
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
of the "splendidly manly and romantic Mercutio of Frank Barrie. Few Mercutios can have lived with a more rousing swagger or died with more panache or bitterness than Mr Barrie's".
In 1967 Barrie toured the United States and Europe with the Company, repeating his
Mercutio
Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the ...
and Lucio on Broadway, New York, and many other major cities.
In 1969 he was invited by
Sir Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage ...
to join the
National Theatre[''An Interview with Frank Barrie'' by Abe J. Bassett](_blank)
/ref> Over the next four years he played many leading roles with Olivier's company, including Mirabell in ''The Way of the World
''The Way of the World'' is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best Restoration comedies and is stil ...
'' opposite Geraldine McEwan
Geraldine McEwan (born Geraldine McKeown; 9 May 1932 – 30 January 2015) was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with ...
. His performance as Wendoll in John Dexter's production of ''A Woman Killed with Kindness
A'' Woman Killed with Kindness'' is an early seventeenth-century stage play, a tragedy written by Thomas Heywood. Acted in 1603 and first published in 1607, the play has generally been considered Heywood's masterpiece, and has received the most c ...
'' opposite Joan Plowright
Joan Ann Olivier, Baroness Olivier, (née Plowright; born 28 October 1929), professionally known as Dame Joan Plowright, is an English retired actress whose career has spanned over seven decades. She has won two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony ...
drew favourable reviews. The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
noted that "Frank Barrie is an excellent Wendoll", and that he gave a "characterisation of richness and power". He also appeared as Brachiano in '' The White Devil'', Barelli in ''The Rules of the Game'' with Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, Emmy, and Tony for his work. He won the three awards in a seve ...
; Ganya in ''The Idiot
''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69.
The title is an ...
'' with Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. He has appeared in various stage productions of William Shakespeare such as ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', '' Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', '' The Tempest'', ''Kin ...
; Desmoulins in ''Danton's Death
''Danton's Death'' (''Dantons Tod'') was the first play written by Georg Büchner, set during the French Revolution.
History
Georg Büchner wrote his works in the period between Romanticism and Realism in the so-called Vormärz era in German hi ...
'' with Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...
; and Bassanio
Bassanio is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''The Merchant of Venice
''Bassanio,'' the best friend of Antonio. He is a spendthrift who wasted all of his money in order to be seen as a respectable man. To regain his fortune, he is deter ...
to Olivier's Shylock. He was the first member of the Bristol Old Vic to star at the Young Vic, where he won wide critical acclaim as Byron in The Naked Peacock. The production was described by critic Irving Wardle
John Irving Wardle (born 20 July 1929) is an English writer and theatre critic.
Biography
Wardle was born on 20 July 1929 in Manchester, Lancashire, the son of John Wardle and his wife Nellie (Partington). His father was drama critic on the ''B ...
as having "a notably Byronic performance by Frank Barrie; a romantically virile figure whose wolfish mouth offers a constant threat of blisteringly destructive irony".
Later leading London appearances include '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London.
The theatre
Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary ...
, where he played Oberon
Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fairi ...
opposite Linda Thorson
Linda Thorson (born Linda Robinson; June 18, 1947) is a Canadian actress, known for playing Tara King in '' The Avengers'' (1968–69).
Personal life
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, she attended Bishop Strachan School, and then moved to the ...
as Titania. His performance as Crichton in the 1977 staging of ''The Admirable Crichton
''The Admirable Crichton'' is a comic stage play written in 1902 by J. M. Barrie.
Origins
Barrie took the title from the sobriquet of a fellow Scot, the polymath James Crichton, a 16th-century genius and athlete. The epigram-loving Ernest is p ...
'' at the Greenwich Theatre
Greenwich Theatre is a local theatre located in Croom's Hill close to the centre of Greenwich in south-east London.
Theatre first came to Greenwich at the beginning of the 19th century during the famous Eastertide Greenwich Fair at which the Ric ...
drew favourable comment, with the ''Daily Telegraph'' commenting that "Frank Barrie as Crichton gives every impression that beneath the stiff butler's uniform, there beats the heart of a true intelligent being". He also appeared as Arthur Kipps in '' The Woman in Black'' at The Fortune
''The Fortune'' is a 1975 American black comedy film starring Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty, and directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Adrien Joyce focuses on two bumbling con men who plot to steal the fortune of a wealthy young heir ...
; Lord Rosebery in ''Motherdear'' opposite Margaret Lockwood
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, Order of the British Empire, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes (1938 ...
at The Ambassadors
''The Ambassadors'' is a 1903 novel by Henry James, originally published as a serial in the ''North American Review'' (NAR). The novel is a dark comedy which follows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe to bring the son o ...
and Janacek at The Royal Festival Hall, in which he achieved his long held ambition of conducting an orchestra. He also played Braham in ''The Philanthropist'' at Wyndham's and Major Ross in ''The Crucifer of Blood
''The Crucifer of Blood'' is a play by Paul Giovanni that is adapted from the Arthur Conan Doyle novel ''The Sign of the Four.'' It depicts the character Irene St. Claire hiring the detective Sherlock Holmes to investigate the travails that her ...
'' at the Haymarket.
Barrie was the author of his one man show, ''Macready!'', the story of the great Victorian actor William Macready
William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor.
Life
He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the t ...
, which came to the West End in 1981 after a triumphant run in New York and was filmed by the Bright Thoughts Company for Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
. For this performance he was nominated "best actor" in the London Critics Plays and Players Awards. Barrie performed ''Macready!'' worldwide, in a record breaking 65 countries, including Australia when in 1982 he represented Great Britain in the Commonwealth Games Arts Festival in Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
.
In 1991 he appeared at the Theatre Royal, Windsor
The Theatre Royal is an Edwardian theatre on Thames Street in Windsor in Berkshire. The present building is the second theatre to stand on this site and opened on 13 December 1910. Built for Sir Wiliam Shipley and Captain Reginald Shipley, it was ...
in '' The Philanthropist''. In 1995 he played the title role in a later production of '' Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell'', with ''The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' commenting that "the central performance by Frank Barrie is finely placed and impeccably played".
In 2008, Barrie was cast as Noël Coward in the original London production of '' Lunch with Marlene'', a play about the friendship between Coward and fellow acting legend Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
. The production received "rave reviews", with the casting of Barrie as Coward being described as "impeccable" by ''The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
''.
Barrie has also had considerable experience as a director, including productions of ''Shylock''; ''J.M. Barrie'': and ''The Life and Loves of Edith Wharton,'' all of which toured internationally. Writing credits include ''Wellington'', ''The Family at Ham''; ''The Devil you Know'' and ''The Other Woman'' which was broadcast by the BBC, starring Dame Thora Hird
In May 2022 he appeared as '' Flashman at 80'' - celebrating the character's fictional bicentennial.
Television
Barrie has also appeared in over 150 British television productions, including such shows as ''Emergency Ward 10
''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's ...
'', ''No Hiding Place
''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967.
It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' (1957–1958) ...
'', '' Softly, Softly'', '' Special Branch'', ''On Giant's Shoulders
''On Giant's Shoulders'' is a 1979 BBC television film about the early life of thalidomide victim Terry Wiles, with Wiles playing himself. The drama also starred Bryan Pringle and Judi Dench and won an Emmy Award in 1980.Judi Dench's nomina ...
'' and ''Queen of Swords
The Queen of Swords is a card in the Suit of Swords, part of the Minor Arcana set of the Tarot.
Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games.
In English-speaking countries, Tarot cards are utilized primarily for div ...
''.
In 1983 he played Eglamour in the BBC Television Shakespeare
The ''BBC Television Shakespeare'' is a series of British television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, created by Cedric Messina and broadcast by BBC Television. Transmitted in the UK from 3 December 1978 to 27 April 1985, it ...
adaptation of ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona
''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying ...
''.
He has appeared on BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
) gentleman friend.