| Privates on Parade | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 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 playwrightPeter Nichols (book and lyrics), with music byDenis King. The drama draws upon Nichols' own experiences in the real-lifeCombined Services Entertainment, the postwar successor to ENSA,Entertainments National Service Association. The play is noteworthy for,inter alia, a series of musical numbers, performed by the male lead, parodying the style of such performers as Noël Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Carmen Miranda.
The play is set around the activities and exploits of the fictional Song and Dance Unit South East Asia (SADUSEA), a British militaryconcert party stationed inSingapore andMalaya in the late 1940s during theMalayan Emergency.
It was premiered at Stratford by theRoyal Shakespeare Company, before receiving its London première at theAldwych Theatre on 17 February 1977, where it ran for 208 performances. This production won the 1977Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.[1]
It was revived in 1979 at theDerby Playhouse and at York Theatre Royal, and again in 1982 withBruce Payne as Flight Sergeant Kevin Cartwright andTim Barlow; another revival was produced in 1989.[2] A 2001 revival directed byMichael Grandage at theDonmar Warehouse had a cast includingRoger Allam,James McAvoy,Malcolm Sinclair andIndira Varma, set design byChristopher Oram and choreography byScarlett Mackmin.[3] Allam received the 2002Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance.[4]
In 2012 it was staged at theNoël Coward Theatre in London as the opening production of the first season of work from the newly formedMichael Grandage Company, withSimon Russell Beale in the lead.[5]
The play was adapted by Nichols andHandmade Films for a 1982 film withJohn Cleese andDenis Quilley, directed byMichael Blakemore.
