A LIFE IN SHOWBIZ By Robin Hawdon (B 52)
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obin Hawdon, perhaps known as Robin Oldroyd (B 52) to his school contemporaries, is world-renowned as an actor on screen and stage and as a playwright, director and author. Becoming well-known to British TV viewers over two decades, Robin’s acting career began in the 1960s with appearances in a number of British television series, such as the ITV sitcom Chalk and Cheese where he costarred with Michael Crawford, as well as roles in feature films. In 1969, he starred in Zeta One as a spoof James Bond and played the male lead in When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in 1970. Robin’s career has also taken him to the London stage and provincial theatre companies, playing everything from Hamlet to Henry V and Henry Higgins. In the 1980s he founded the Bath Fringe Festival and became director of the Theatre Royal Bath. Initially, writing supplemented his acting, but in time it has dominated his career, turning out a number of plays including The Mating Game, Don’t Dress for Dinner and God and Stephen Hawking. In 1980, Robin stopped acting in order to focus on his writing and directing career and his plays have been seen in over 40 countries, in 30 different languages. He has also written a number of highly acclaimed novels including Number Ten (Downing Street), A Rustle In The Grass and Survival Of The Fittest. So, you can imagine how delighted we were when Robin got in touch to share his experiences of life in showbiz, especially for those budding actors out there perhaps considering a similar path... It was taking part in an Uppingham production of Shakespeare’s Richard II that prompted me to decide I wanted a career in the theatre. That naïve teenage decision led me to 60 years of work as an actor, director, playwright, producer, theatre manager, and most other things you can think of, in the most precarious of professions. After school, I turned down a place at Cambridge in favour of going to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA). In retrospect, considering the dominant strand of my career has been as writer, this was probably a mistake.You can learn just as much about stage craft at university as at drama school and gain a far wider experience in other fields at the same time. Many illustrious showbiz names graduated from university.
travel, romance and occasional glamour. However, it is an interpretive art, not a creative art. And, once I had a family, it became extremely disruptive at times. Always waiting for the phone to ring, never knowing when the next job would come, and when it did, it meant I was often away from home for long periods, leaving my other half to handle all the domestic chores! Fortunately, I had always combined my acting work with playwriting, and whenever the performing work dried up (along with
the income), I was usually saved by having a play production on somewhere. Many actors do not have a second string like that, and the strain on finances, marriage partnerships, and mental wellbeing can be heavy, which is perhaps why so many show business marriages break up. I learned, gradually through my career, that the creative work of playwriting (and eventually novel writing also) is considerably more fulfilling and rewarding, if equally perilous. Provided you are reasonably successful at it, you can live and work wherever you wish, you can stay occupied even when unemployed (a writer can always write, an actor needs a job!), and a successful play, TV script, or book can bring in income for years to come. Some of my very early comedies still earn me money decades later! The work of a writer can also lead on more easily to other fields such as directing, producing, agenting, and even theatre managing, all of which I have dabbled with. So, if contemplating a career in showbiz, think carefully on these things before taking the leap. The great art of performing will always draw the more extrovert personalities, but one needs to examine the pros and cons coolly and objectively before embarking on it.
Robin has produced a series of ‘How to’ guides with invaluable tips and advice for new and aspiring writers – available to read via his blog at robinhawdon.com.
Robin with Victoria Vetri in When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth, 1970
I was quite successful as an actor over 20 years, working in rep, in the West End, on television, and even having a brief spell as a minor film star. Acting, whilst you are in work, and especially whilst a freelance bachelor, is great fun. A life of camaraderie,
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