Events
2023 Events:
Future events:
Booking forms and information about future events will be sent direct to members.
Saturday 25 November 2023 – AGM
The Terence Rattigan Society AGM will be held on Saturday 25 November. We shall meet at Bacco Italian Restaurant, 39-41 Kew Road TW9 2NQ from 11am for coffee and biscuits before starting the AGM at 11.30am. The Agenda and financial statement can be found here: AGM – 25 November 2023 – Agenda TRS Accounts Oct 2022-Sep 2023 summary
The AGM will be followed by lunch from 12.15pm onwards, after which we shall go to the Orange Tree Theatre for the matinée performance of She Stoops to Conquer at 2.30pm.
SATURDAY 18 MAY 2024 — A GRAND DAY OUT TO BATH INCLUDING A MATINEE PERFORMANCE AT THE USTINOV STUDIO, THEATRE ROYAL BATH OF THE DEEP BLUE SEA
Tamsin Greig stars in Terence Rattigan’s 1950s study of obsession and the destructive power of love. The Society is planning a morning departure for Bath by train from Paddington to allow time for an add-on visit, probably to the charming Holburne Museum: www.holburne.org
Further details including advice on the appropriate train to book will be given closer to 18 May in time to take advantage of discounted rail offers. We will reserve tables for a c.5.30pm post-performance supper at the Garrick’s Head (part of the Theatre Royal complex) for a self-billed meal.
Click here: Bath DBS 18 May 2024 (002) for further information and booking form.
Past events 2023:
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.
Past events 2022:
SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER 2022 – CHRISTMAS OUTING
We attended a matinee performance of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond followed by a two-course dinner at Bacco Ristorante Italiano.
SUNDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2022 – AGM, LUNCH AND MATINEE PERFORMANCE OF ‘THE DOCTOR‘
The Society once again combined our AGM with an exciting theatrical event. We started the day with the formal proceedings, which included the election of the Committee and the adoption of accounts. The AGM was be followed by a two-course lunch at Koha Restaurant, 10-11 St Martin’s Court, London WC2N 4AJ.
We then attended the matinee performance of The Doctor by Arthur Schnitzler at The Duke of York’s Theatre.
THEATRE TRIP – FRIDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2022
The Society arranged a trip to the Bridge Theatre (next to London Bridge) to see JOHN GABRIEL BORKMAN by Henrik Ibsen. This was followed by dinner at The Ivy immediately adjacent to the Theatre.
ANNUAL BIRTHDAY DINNER – MONDAY 6 JUNE 2022
The Annual Birthday Dinner was held at The Hurlingham Club, Ranelagh Gardens, London, SW6 3PR – 7 for 7.30pm on 6 June 2022. The Society was delighted to welcome Dan Rebellato as the guest speaker at this year’s Annual Birthday Dinner.
Wednesday 1 June 2022, 2pm
THE CORN IS GREEN by Emlyn Williams
Emlyn Williams’ semi-autobiographical drama The Corn is Green gets its first London revival for thirty-five years with director Dominic Cooke’s new, large-scale production. Nicola Walker, alongside Iwan Davies, leads the company as Miss Moffat, a headstrong English teacher working in an impoverished mining village in late 19th-century Wales. Set and costume design by ULTZ.
National Theatre, Lyttelton. Tickets: £46.00 senior (£66 standard rate)
Saturday 16 July 2022, 2.45pm
FOLK by Nell Leyshon
Members of the Society were able to see Folk at Hampstead Theatre which was postponed from earlier in the year.
1903, Somerset. Rooted in the land where she has lived her entire life, Louie Hooper’s mind overflows with its songs – more than 300 of them passed down from her mother. Cecil Sharp, a composer visiting from London, fears England’s folk songs will be lost forever and sets out on a mission to transcribe each and every one. He believes Louie’s music should speak not just for this place but for the whole of England.
Inspired by a true story, Nell Leyshon’s Folk is a beautiful new play with songs. Directed by Roxana Silbert.
Some events of interest to members
The Committee thought that Society members might be interested in the following:
Here at Last is Love at the Stables Theatre Hastings which is during the week of 23 May.
Harrow/Eton match at Lords on Tuesday 28 June at 11am. This is the last opportunity to experience this match – 2022 being the final year it will be played at Lords. Tickets are £20 and can be booked on the Lords website:
https://tickets.lords.org/en-GB/shows/eton%20v%20harrow/events
Saturday 23 April 2022, 2.30pm
THE FEVER SYNDROME by Alexis Zegerman – Hampstead Theatre
Dr Richard Myers, the great IVF innovator, is virtually a secular saint because of the thousands of babies he has created throughout his career. Now, his family gather to see him receive a lifetime achievement award. This fractious group are more accustomed to debate than empathy, so it’s not long before the family home in the Upper West Side of Manhattan is once again alive with dispute: conflicting Thanksgiving memories and polarised opinions on investment banking and how best to care for their ailing father. And crucially, who will inherit Richard’s wealth and Richard’s prestigious science institution?
Stars Robert Lindsay. Director: Roxana Silbert.
Saturday 5th February – A Day At Hampstead Theatre
The Society has decided to widen the scope of events in future. Given Rattigan’s plays are not performed with the frequency of, say, Shakespeare’s, the two titles offered in February were by playwrights we believe he’d approve of and plays he would keen to see himself. From time to time future visits not connected to Rattigan himself will be similarly curated.
Unfortunately the first of the two plays at Hampstead: Folk was cancelled due to covid. So Society members met for supper at nearby Bradleys and saw a preview on the main stage at Hampstead Theatre of Florian Zeller’s new play The Forest directed by the ever dependable Jonathan Kent.
Past Events 2021
Flare Path – Saturday 4 December 2021 – 2.30pm at the Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
JOIN US for a day out to the seaside (close enough!) to see The Southend Shakespeare Company (est.1951) perform Rattigan’s moving wartime play. The Society has also scheduled a post-show Q+A – with some of the cast and the director — in the theatre. Following this we shall adjourn for supper directly opposite at welcoming Italian restaurant, Il Palazzo. The booking form is here: Flare Path – Booking Form – please book by 19 November 2021.
While the Sun Shines – 2nd December 2021 – The Orange Tree Theatre
The Society has arranged a visit to the matinée performance of While the Sun Shines at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond on Thursday 2nd December 2021 followed by an early supper. Contact: our Events Secretary, Phill Ward at phillward@me.com
AGM – 21 November 2021 at the Sun Inn, Richmond-upon-Thames
The Annual General Meeting of the Terence Rattigan Society which this year will take place at 12 noon on Sunday 21st November at the Sun Inn, Richmond-upon-Thames. It will be followed by a traditional Sunday lunch and the opportunity to attend the 2.30pm matinée performance at Richmond Theatre of Poirot and More, a Retrospective, in which our President, Sir David Suchet, is making his eagerly awaited return to the stage. Poirot and More looks back fondly at Sir David’s illustrious theatrical life, exploring some of the many characters he has portrayed on stage and screen over a career spanning five decades. Our Vice-President Geoffrey Wansell, journalist, broadcaster, biographer and co-author of Poirot and More, will be joining David as interviewer in this unique opportunity to meet the actor behind the detective.
Here is the booking form for the event: AGM 2021 – Booking form
Please return the form to Alison Du Cane by Monday 8th November at the latest. The charge of £50 covers both the cost of a ticket for the performance and a Sunday lunch main course.
The Browning Version – CANCELLATION
Sadly we have received information from the theatre that the production of The Browning Version which was due to take place at the Riverside Studios in August 2021 has had to be cancelled. The impact of cast members getting infected by Covid-19 or being asked to isolate as a result of exposure to the virus has been such that the production is no longer viable or able to be staged successfully.
Birthday Dinner at the Oxford and Cambridge Club – Thursday 23rd September 2021
The Sir Terence Rattigan Birthday Dinner was held at the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Thursday 23rd September.
Live Online Play Reading – Heart to Heart by Terence Rattigan Wednesday 20 January 2021 at 7pm via Zoom
In the absence of any normal events for the Society – for reasons we know only too well! – and by arrangement with Alan Brodie Representation the Society is presenting a live online reading of a lesser-known play by Terence Rattigan and we hope members will wish to ‘attend’ the reading. Please see here Heart to Heart flyer for further details of how to attend via Zoom.
