2023 Events

7 November 2023: Society day out in Brighton to visit the Royal Pavilion and Bedford House, Terence Rattigan’s former regency home

Bedford House, Brighton is a handsome Grade II listed Regency house with stunning  seaside views. Rattigan owned the house between 1961 and 1967 before moving to Bermuda, where he lived until his death in 1977.  While there he entertained a number of famous guests including Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier.  Since Rattigan, the house has had a wide variety of owners, including talent agent Roger Hancock, the brother of famed comedian Tony Hancock. Hancock was known for representing a wide variety of stars including Oscar nominee Peter Sellers and comedy star Spike Milligan.

Its current owners, Luke Jeffers and his husband Rob Jeffers, have meticulously restored and renovated the house, converting its wine cellar into an art deco cinema room. Terence Rattigan’s study is still on display with its original fireplace intact.

Luke Jeffers very kindly invited members of the society to visit the house, which is now on the market, before it is vacated.  After catching a morning train from London Victoria we started our day’s outing by exploring Brighton’s famous Royal Pavilion before having lunch at a seaside restaurant.  We then went to Bedford House for a tour given by Luke Jeffers and coffee or tea and cake, returning to London in the early evening.

ANNUAL BIRTHDAY DINNER – 7 for 7.30pm – Friday 9 June 2023

The Annual Birthday Dinner was held on Friday, 9th June 2023 at 7 for 7.30pm at The Garrick Club, 15 Garrick St, London WC2E 9AY.  The Guest of Honour and Speaker was Philip Franks.  Dress code: black tie

The Society was delighted to announce that Philip Franks has accepted our invitation to be the guest speaker this year. Philip Franks is an accomplished TV and theatre actor, familiar to many from his TV appearances as Charley in The Darling Buds of May and Sgt Raymond Craddock in Heartbeat. He is also a highly successful theatre and radio director, having directed over thirty stage productions across the UK including The Deep Blue Sea, Separate Tables and The Browning Version. We enjoyed hearing his thoughts on directing Rattigan.

SEPARATE TABLES – 7.45pm on Friday 12 MAY 2023

The Society arranged a trip to a performance of Separate Tables by Terence Rattigan at Bromley Little Theatre, North Street, Bromley BR1 1SB

In a 1950s Bournemouth hotel where the furnishings and the residents have both seen better days, secrets and scandal lie beneath the carefully placed tablecloths. Marooned on separate tables, Rattigan presents a rich collection of characters who superbly present the vulnerability, loneliness and misplaced pride of lives essentially unfulfilled. 

The performance was preceded by supper at 6.00pm at Aqua Bar and Grill, 4-6 Market Parade, East St, Bromley BR1 1QN.

PRIVATE LIVES by NOEL COWARD – 25 MAY 2023

The Society arranged a visit to the matinee performance of Private Lives by Noel Coward at the Donmar Warehouse on Thursday 25 May 2023.  We also met for lunch (self-billed) at the Rock & Sole Plaice, 47 Endell Street WC2H 9AJ.  

GUSTAV MAHLER AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL – 27 April 2023

The Society arranged a visit to the Royal Albert Hall to include a tour of the RAH and a two course dinner at Café Verdi, the RAH’s in-house restaurant, followed by Mahler’s Symphony No.3 in D minor.  Vasily Petrenko: conductor; Hanna Hipp: mezzo-soprano; Philharmonia Chorus; Tiffin Boys’ Choir; Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.