Privates on Parade

For the film, see Privates on Parade (film).

Privates on Parade
West Yorkshire Playhouse production
Written by	Peter Nichols
Date premiered	17 February 1977
Place premiered	Aldwych Theatre London
Original language	English
Subject	British army ENSA group after World War II
Genre	Comedy
Setting	1948, South East Asia

Privates on Parade: A Play with Songs in Two Acts is a 1977 farce by English playwright Peter Nichols (book and lyrics), with music by Denis King.

Plot

The play is set around the activities and exploits of the fictional Song and Dance Unit South East Asia (SADUSEA), a mostly gay British military concert party stationed in Singapore and Malaysia in the late 1940s during the Malayan Emergency. The drama draws upon Nichols' own experiences in the real-life Combined Services Entertainment, the postwar successor to ENSA, Entertainments National Service Association. The play is noteworthy, inter alia, for a series of musical numbers, performed by the male lead, parodying the style of such performers as Noel Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Carmen Miranda.

Productions

It was premiered at Stratford by the Royal Shakespeare Company, before receiving its London première at the Aldwych Theatre on 17 February 1977, where it ran for 208 performances. This production won the 1977 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

It was revived in 1979 at the Derby Playhouse, and again in 1982 with Bruce Payne as Flight Sergeant Kevin Cartwright and Tim Barlow. A 2001 revival directed by Michael Grandage at the Donmar Warehouse had a cast including Roger Allam, James McAvoy, Malcolm Sinclair and Indira Varma, set design by Christopher Oram and choreography by Scarlett Mackmin.^[1] Allam received the 2002 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance.

In 2012 it was staged at the Noël Coward Theatre in London as the opening production of the first season of work from the newly formed Michael Grandage Company, with Simon Russell Beale in the lead.

Film adaptation

Main article: Privates on Parade (1982 film)

The play was adapted by Nichols and Handmade Films for a 1982 film with John Cleese, David Bamber, and Denis Quilley directed by Michael Blakemore.

Awards and nominations

Awards

1977 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy
1990 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award Best Foreign Play

References

↑ Loveridge, Lizzie (1 December 2001). "Privates on Parade". CurtainUp. Retrieved 2008-10-21.

External links

Privates on Parade at the Internet off-Broadway Database

Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy

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Privates on Parade (1977)
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The Memory of Water (2000)
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The Play What I Wrote (2002)
The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2003)
Heroes (2006)
The 39 Steps (2007)
Rafta, Rafta... (2008)
God of Carnage (2009)
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