Robert Longden (born 5 October 1951) is a British composer,

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

, director and film, stage and television actor whose career has spanned four decades. In 1974 he took over the role of Riff Raff from

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

in the original production of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

''; later with Hereward Kaye he wrote the West End musical ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

''.

Early life

Longden attended The King's School in his native

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...

before receiving a scholarship to train at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (1969 to 1974) where he was awarded the Diploma of Speech and Drama and the John Gielgud Award for comedy.

Stage career

Longden's theatre career started with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

before taking over the role of Riff Raff from

in the original production of ''

'' in 1974 aged 24. Theatre roles include ''

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Ham ...

'' for the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

; ''

In the Boom Boom Room ''In the Boom Boom Room'' is a play by David Rabe. The play follows a young go-go dancer who has a difficult relationship with her parents. Plot summary Chrissy arrives in 1960s Philadelphia with the dream of becoming a successful dancer. Despe ...

'' for American Repertory Theater; Cholly in ''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

'' for the

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

; he created the role of 'Mum' in the original production of Berkoff's ''

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

'' (1975) for the London Theatre Group with Berkoff in the cast; Earl Williams in '' Windy City'' (1982); '' Me and My Girl'' with Robert Lindsay (1984); Hilary Maddox-Brown in ''Outside Broadcast'' by Peter Woodward with David Tomlinson for the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

and Cardinal in the musical ''Casanova'' (2008) at the Greenwich Playhouse.

Television and film

Television roles include Ginger Higgins in '' The Fenn Street Gang'' (1973);

Hablot Knight Browne Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was an English artist and illustrator. Well-known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, and Harrison Ainsworth. Early life Of Huguenot ancestry, Hablot ...

in '' Dickens of London'' (1976); Mr Willard in '' Me! I'm Afraid of Virginia Woolf'' (1978); Sapper Copping in '' Danger UXB'' (1979); Jeremy Delf in '' Agony'' (1980); appeared as a regular in the series '' Wood and Walters'' (1982); Stephen Mowat in ''

Cloud Howe ''A Scots Quair'' is a trilogy by the Scottish writer Lewis Grassic Gibbon, describing the life of Chris Guthrie, a woman from the north-east of Scotland during the early 20th century. It consists of three novels: ''Sunset Song'' (1932), ''Cloud ...

'' (1982); Mr Pasco in ''

The Gentle Touch ''The Gentle Touch'' is a British police drama television series made by London Weekend Television for ITV which began on 11 April 1980 and ran until 1984. The series is notable for being the first British series to feature a female police o ...

'' (1983); Mr Pitt in ''

The Beiderbecke Trilogy ''The Beiderbecke Trilogy'' refers to three television serials written by Alan Plater and made by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network in the United Kingdom between 1984 and 1988. Each serial centres on schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin ( James ...

'' (1984 to 1988); Boniface in ''

Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...

'' (1989); Professor Whitman in '' Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming'' (1990); Dr. Louis Werner in '' Selling Hitler'' (1991); Flossie in ''

The Blackheath Poisonings ''The Blackheath Poisonings'' is a 1978 historical mystery novel by the British writer Julian Symons.Bargainnier, Earl F. ''Twelve Englishmen of Mystery''. Popular Press, 1984. p. 217. . It is a murder mystery set in the late Victorian era. Plot ...

'' (1992); Freddie in '' Down to Earth'' (2005); Mr Weston in ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growin ...

'' (2006); Adrian Hammill in '' Blue Murder'' (2006); Martin Greenwood in '' Casualty'' (2007) and Walter Hickling in '' Doctors'' (2008). Film work includes Heavenly Bliss in '' Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall'' (1973); Apprentice in '' Confessions of a Window Cleaner'' (1974); ''

Never Too Young to Rock ''Never Too Young To Rock'' is a 1975 British musical comedy movie directed by Dennis Abey and stars Peter Denyer and Freddie Jones and features various music artists popular at the time of release such as The Glitter Band, The Rubettes, Mud (band ...

(1975); Roadblock Policeman in ''

The Stick Up ''The Stick Up'' is a 1977 British romantic comedy crime film written and directed by Jeffrey Bloom and starring David Soul. It was executive produced by Elliott Kastner. It was one of the first films from financier Arnon Milchan although he fel ...

'' (1977); Pettelson in '' Agatha'' (1979); Badger Beadon in ''

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? ''Why Didn't They Ask Evans?'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club in September 1934 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1935 under the title of ...

'' 1980; Tape Operator in '' Give My Regards to Broad Street'' (1984) and Vicar in ''

Night Train to Murder ''Night Train to Murder'' is a 1985 British comedy television film, directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Morecambe and Wise. It was the last work that Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise worked on together before Morecambe's death in 1984 (the com ...

'' with

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, workin ...

(1985).

As a writer and composer

Longden wrote the music and words for the musical ''

'' (1990) and directed it in the West End for Sir Cameron Mackintosh. The score was co composed with Hereward Kaye. He also wrote ''Pretty for the People'' (1989) and the musical ''The Fly'' based on the 1958 film of the same name. Longden fronted two television documentaries: for

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was co ...

he wrote and presented ''The Grand'' about the Grand Brighton Hotel; and for

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...

he wrote and presented ''The Small Available Joys'' (1980).''The Small Available Joys''
on the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

website In addition he was a guest on the BBC chat show ''

Wogan ''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1992, presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcast ...

'', the entire programme being dedicated to Longden's musical ''

''. Longden lives in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...

in East Sussex.

Filmography

References

External links

Longden
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longden, Robert 1951 births Living people Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama English male stage actors English male television actors English male film actors Royal Shakespeare Company members English male Shakespearean actors English musical theatre librettists English male composers English theatre directors English musical theatre directors