At the height of the Cold War, while touring with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Moscow, the flamboyant stage and screen star Coral Browne is thrown into an unexpected encounter with the notorious Cambridge spy, Guy Burgess.
Years later, while supervising the restoration of a Titian painting, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt discusses art and forgery with the monarch, around the time of his exposure as a member of the same spy ring.
In a new production of Alan Bennett's Single Spies by the Birmingham REP in collaboration with Chichester Festival Theatre, these two snapshots of Soviet espionage are brought to life on stage by Nicholas Farrell (The Iron Lady, The Lady In The Van, Legend), David Robb (Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, The Young Victoria) and Belinda Lang (2point4 Children, Second Thoughts, Dear John), directed by Olivier Award nominee Rachel Kavanaugh.
What's On recently caught up with Belinda about her two very different roles in the play.
“Coral Browne is very theatrical,” says Lang, “she's an 'actressy actress', whereas the Queen is almost the opposite. She's not interested in gossip, and she even mentions how actors just talk about themselves all the time.”
A singular, colourful presence, famed for her wicked sense of humour, Coral Browne left an indelible mark on the acting world. Lang recalls growing up with an even keener awareness of her “legendary personality” than of her performances.
“My mother was slightly younger than Coral, but they were acting at a similar time, and she's very much someone I remember being spoken of. She was just outrageous and terribly funny, speaking with this foul language and always telling it like it is. I think being Australian gave her a different take on the manners of the day. Of course, she was also married to Vincent Price, who was one of my great TV heroes, so that made her all the more interesting to me.”
Anyone taking on this role has the unique advantage - or challenge, depending on how you look at it - of being able to refer to the real Coral Browne's own take on the story: in the film version of the play's first act, An Englishman Abroad, Browne actually plays herself. “I think she was a bit too old to play her younger self by the time she came to do it. I’ve watched the film just to see, but I've decided to play her more the way that Alan's written her than the way she is in the film.”
Meanwhile, the Queen's character is a trickier thing to get a handle on: as well as being rather less flamboyant than Browne, she has something of an obligation to keep strong opinions under wraps, and to maintain a quietly dignified demeanour, at least in public.
“The Queen is hard. You think you know how to play her, but when you come to actually do it, you realise how difficult it is. It's very easy to go into a caricature and do a ludicrously posh voice, but actually, she's not like that at all. I've been watching lots of footage of her from over the years, but in the end, I'm not an impressionist, I'm an actor, so I'm not going to try to do an impersonation of her.”
Fortunately, Lang will have the interval to make the transition: enough time to slip into a new character, as well as a new costume. Browne herself famously took issue with the costumes in the original National Theatre production, describing Prunella Scales' outfit as a “defamation”, comprised of “fake fur and hats that wouldn't have come out of a grab bag at the Sally Army on Boxing Day”.
“When they first did the play at the National Theatre, it was at a time when people were very anxious about using real fur, so they got a fake one,” Lang explains. “Browne was absolutely appalled by this because she loved furs, and had famously managed to get a fur coat in every show she was in, or at least that's what's said of her. She was apparently so horrified that she donated a real fur to the theatre, which they got rid of shortly afterwards. I'm afraid as a homage to Coral I'm going to be wearing real fur - I don't want her ghost coming and haunting us!”
It's not only the characters' looks and personalities that are distinct: the nature of their relationships with the two spies could also hardly be further apart.
“Coral Browne only met Guy Burgess once, although they had a little correspondence after that, so this is just the true story of the one meeting they had. On the other hand, for the Queen, Anthony Blunt was on her staff for years, so he was very much a part of her world.”
As the story has it, Burgess barged into Browne's dressing room during the interval of a production of Hamlet in which she was playing the Danish Queen, Gertrude. Later, she was invited to his Moscow flat, where she measured him for a suit he wanted ordered from his London tailor. The specifics of the conversation between Blunt and the Queen are drawn more from Alan Bennett's imagination, whereby a discussion of faked paintings once believed to be real serves as a clever metaphor for Blunt's betrayal. Their interaction nevertheless offers some profound insights into the impact of espionage on the lives of those involved.
“People like Burgess were huge figures at the time, and the papers were just full of stories about this spy ring, and endless speculation about who the fourth man was, and then the fifth man. Even today, people still talk about it and say there must have been others involved, but of course none of that will ever be known now: it's all kept under firm wraps for reasons of security, as well as out of embarrassment. Still, the play isn't so much about spying as it is about the aftermath of it, and having to live a lonely life because of it.”
True to form, Bennett blends comedy with tragedy to bring a touching humanity to figures once held up as dangerous traitors.
“He's a very affectionate writer, and it's something that you notice particularly when you're doing this play, because he's very sympathetic towards these people who were vilified in their day. Anthony Blunt was supposed to have been rather unpleasant, but Alan's made him as hilarious and tolerable as he possibly could. Not because he approved of spying, but because that's what he does with his characters: he presents them with all their foibles, but he doesn't ask you to judge them, and he makes them kind of loveable and funny.”
Lang has previously described Bennett as “one of those rocks that makes our country sit together artistically”, possessing talents nthat extend beyond his compelling character
development.
“His use of language is beautiful, and he just captures things in a way that seems so effortless, though I'm sure it must take him hours and hours to create such sensitive work.
When you're learning one of his scripts, you feel like he's put every word in the right place. He also has this very English humour. It's hard to put your finger on something like that, but you can almost imagine him laughing as he writes.”
The quiet introspection and gentle pacing that tend to characterise Bennett's work are a far cry from Lang's previous performances at Birmingham theatres, which included Aunt Eller in the classic Rogers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! at the Hippodrome, and Ella Khan in a 2009 REP production of East Is East which met with an exuberant reception.
“I had a brilliant time,” she says of working on East Is East. “It was extraordinary - more like an event than a typical theatre piece because it was jam-packed with all these people who just shouted wonderful things out. I loved every second of it! It will be interesting to come back and do a slightly less riotous play - let's hope this gets a warm reception too!”
Single Spies is showing at The REP, Birmingham from 17 - 27 February. Tickets and info HERE
At the height of the Cold War, while touring with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Moscow, the flamboyant stage and screen star Coral Browne is thrown into an unexpected encounter with the notorious Cambridge spy, Guy Burgess.
Years later, while supervising the restoration of a Titian painting, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt discusses art and forgery with the monarch, around the time of his exposure as a member of the same spy ring.
In a new production of Alan Bennett's Single Spies by the Birmingham REP in collaboration with Chichester Festival Theatre, these two snapshots of Soviet espionage are brought to life on stage by Nicholas Farrell (The Iron Lady, The Lady In The Van, Legend), David Robb (Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, The Young Victoria) and Belinda Lang (2point4 Children, Second Thoughts, Dear John), directed by Olivier Award nominee Rachel Kavanaugh.
What's On recently caught up with Belinda about her two very different roles in the play.
“Coral Browne is very theatrical,” says Lang, “she's an 'actressy actress', whereas the Queen is almost the opposite. She's not interested in gossip, and she even mentions how actors just talk about themselves all the time.”
A singular, colourful presence, famed for her wicked sense of humour, Coral Browne left an indelible mark on the acting world. Lang recalls growing up with an even keener awareness of her “legendary personality” than of her performances.
“My mother was slightly younger than Coral, but they were acting at a similar time, and she's very much someone I remember being spoken of. She was just outrageous and terribly funny, speaking with this foul language and always telling it like it is. I think being Australian gave her a different take on the manners of the day. Of course, she was also married to Vincent Price, who was one of my great TV heroes, so that made her all the more interesting to me.”
Anyone taking on this role has the unique advantage - or challenge, depending on how you look at it - of being able to refer to the real Coral Browne's own take on the story: in the film version of the play's first act, An Englishman Abroad, Browne actually plays herself. “I think she was a bit too old to play her younger self by the time she came to do it. I’ve watched the film just to see, but I've decided to play her more the way that Alan's written her than the way she is in the film.”
Meanwhile, the Queen's character is a trickier thing to get a handle on: as well as being rather less flamboyant than Browne, she has something of an obligation to keep strong opinions under wraps, and to maintain a quietly dignified demeanour, at least in public.
“The Queen is hard. You think you know how to play her, but when you come to actually do it, you realise how difficult it is. It's very easy to go into a caricature and do a ludicrously posh voice, but actually, she's not like that at all. I've been watching lots of footage of her from over the years, but in the end, I'm not an impressionist, I'm an actor, so I'm not going to try to do an impersonation of her.”
Fortunately, Lang will have the interval to make the transition: enough time to slip into a new character, as well as a new costume. Browne herself famously took issue with the costumes in the original National Theatre production, describing Prunella Scales' outfit as a “defamation”, comprised of “fake fur and hats that wouldn't have come out of a grab bag at the Sally Army on Boxing Day”.
“When they first did the play at the National Theatre, it was at a time when people were very anxious about using real fur, so they got a fake one,” Lang explains. “Browne was absolutely appalled by this because she loved furs, and had famously managed to get a fur coat in every show she was in, or at least that's what's said of her. She was apparently so horrified that she donated a real fur to the theatre, which they got rid of shortly afterwards. I'm afraid as a homage to Coral I'm going to be wearing real fur - I don't want her ghost coming and haunting us!”
It's not only the characters' looks and personalities that are distinct: the nature of their relationships with the two spies could also hardly be further apart.
“Coral Browne only met Guy Burgess once, although they had a little correspondence after that, so this is just the true story of the one meeting they had. On the other hand, for the Queen, Anthony Blunt was on her staff for years, so he was very much a part of her world.”
As the story has it, Burgess barged into Browne's dressing room during the interval of a production of Hamlet in which she was playing the Danish Queen, Gertrude. Later, she was invited to his Moscow flat, where she measured him for a suit he wanted ordered from his London tailor. The specifics of the conversation between Blunt and the Queen are drawn more from Alan Bennett's imagination, whereby a discussion of faked paintings once believed to be real serves as a clever metaphor for Blunt's betrayal. Their interaction nevertheless offers some profound insights into the impact of espionage on the lives of those involved.
“People like Burgess were huge figures at the time, and the papers were just full of stories about this spy ring, and endless speculation about who the fourth man was, and then the fifth man. Even today, people still talk about it and say there must have been others involved, but of course none of that will ever be known now: it's all kept under firm wraps for reasons of security, as well as out of embarrassment. Still, the play isn't so much about spying as it is about the aftermath of it, and having to live a lonely life because of it.”
True to form, Bennett blends comedy with tragedy to bring a touching humanity to figures once held up as dangerous traitors.
“He's a very affectionate writer, and it's something that you notice particularly when you're doing this play, because he's very sympathetic towards these people who were vilified in their day. Anthony Blunt was supposed to have been rather unpleasant, but Alan's made him as hilarious and tolerable as he possibly could. Not because he approved of spying, but because that's what he does with his characters: he presents them with all their foibles, but he doesn't ask you to judge them, and he makes them kind of loveable and funny.”
Lang has previously described Bennett as “one of those rocks that makes our country sit together artistically”, possessing talents nthat extend beyond his compelling character
development.
“His use of language is beautiful, and he just captures things in a way that seems so effortless, though I'm sure it must take him hours and hours to create such sensitive work.
When you're learning one of his scripts, you feel like he's put every word in the right place. He also has this very English humour. It's hard to put your finger on something like that, but you can almost imagine him laughing as he writes.”
The quiet introspection and gentle pacing that tend to characterise Bennett's work are a far cry from Lang's previous performances at Birmingham theatres, which included Aunt Eller in the classic Rogers & Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! at the Hippodrome, and Ella Khan in a 2009 REP production of East Is East which met with an exuberant reception.
“I had a brilliant time,” she says of working on East Is East. “It was extraordinary - more like an event than a typical theatre piece because it was jam-packed with all these people who just shouted wonderful things out. I loved every second of it! It will be interesting to come back and do a slightly less riotous play - let's hope this gets a warm reception too!”
Single Spies is showing at The REP, Birmingham from 17 - 27 February. Tickets and info HERE