Rodney Ackland - Revision history

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	==References==		==References==
	<references>		<references/>

	[[Category:Dramatists]]		[[Category:Dramatists]]
	[[Category:1908 births]]		[[Category:1908 births]]
	[[Category:1991 deaths]]		[[Category:1991 deaths]]

Ross Burgess at 08:45, 10 September 2016

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	Ironically, it was only after he had opted to all intents and purposes for an exclusively heterosexual lifestyle that he was able to present the panoply of LGBT life in the 1940s in all its seedy vivacity and truth. ''Absolute Hell'' was a revelation, became a TV play in the 1991 ''Performance'' series starring Judi Dench as the club owner and Bill Nighy as Hugh, and was presented at the National Theatre, again with Dench, in 1995.		Ironically, it was only after he had opted to all intents and purposes for an exclusively heterosexual lifestyle that he was able to present the panoply of LGBT life in the 1940s in all its seedy vivacity and truth. ''Absolute Hell'' was a revelation, became a TV play in the 1991 ''Performance'' series starring Judi Dench as the club owner and Bill Nighy as Hugh, and was presented at the National Theatre, again with Dench, in 1995.

	Ackland was also a prolific writer of screenplays for TV and film, including ''Number Seventeen'' (1931) for Alfred Hitchcock, and ''49th Parallel'' (1942) for Powell and Pressburger, for which he shared an Academy Award nomination. His stage adaptations of Russian literary classics ''The White Guard'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' had far better reviews and longer runs than his own plays. As it is, ''Strange Orchestra'' (1931), ''Birthday'' (1934), ''After October''(1936) and ''The Dark River'' (1937) await rediscovery.		Ackland was also a prolific writer of screenplays for TV and film, including ''Number Seventeen'' (1931) for Alfred Hitchcock, and ''49th Parallel'' (1942) for Powell and Pressburger, for which he shared an Academy Award nomination. His stage adaptations of Russian literary classics ''The White Guard'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' had far better reviews and longer runs than his own plays. As it is, ''Strange Orchestra'' (1931), ''Birthday'' (1934), ''After October'' (1936) and ''The Dark River'' (1937) await rediscovery.

	Ackland died in 1991 in [[Richmond]]. His burial place is unknown.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39909724 "Rodney Ackland"] at ''Find a Grave''.</ref>		Ackland died in 1991 in [[Richmond]]. His burial place is unknown.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39909724 "Rodney Ackland"] at ''Find a Grave''.</ref>

Ross Burgess at 08:44, 10 September 2016

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	Ackland was also a prolific writer of screenplays for TV and film, including ''Number Seventeen'' (1931) for Alfred Hitchcock, and ''49th Parallel'' (1942) for Powell and Pressburger, for which he shared an Academy Award nomination. His stage adaptations of Russian literary classics ''The White Guard'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' had far better reviews and longer runs than his own plays. As it is, ''Strange Orchestra'' (1931), ''Birthday'' (1934), ''After October''(1936) and ''The Dark River'' (1937) await rediscovery.		Ackland was also a prolific writer of screenplays for TV and film, including ''Number Seventeen'' (1931) for Alfred Hitchcock, and ''49th Parallel'' (1942) for Powell and Pressburger, for which he shared an Academy Award nomination. His stage adaptations of Russian literary classics ''The White Guard'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' had far better reviews and longer runs than his own plays. As it is, ''Strange Orchestra'' (1931), ''Birthday'' (1934), ''After October''(1936) and ''The Dark River'' (1937) await rediscovery.

	Ackland died in 1991 in [[Richmond]]. His burial place is unknown.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39909724 "Rodney Ackland"] at ''Find a Grave''</ref>		Ackland died in 1991 in [[Richmond]]. His burial place is unknown.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39909724 "Rodney Ackland"] at ''Find a Grave''.</ref>
	==Further reading==		==Further reading==
	*Charles Duff, ''The Lost Summer: The Heyday of the West End Theatre'' (London: Nick Hearn Books, 1995).		*Charles Duff, ''The Lost Summer: The Heyday of the West End Theatre'' (London: Nick Hearn Books, 1995).

Ross Burgess at 08:43, 10 September 2016

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	Ackland was also a prolific writer of screenplays for TV and film, including ''Number Seventeen'' (1931) for Alfred Hitchcock, and ''49th Parallel'' (1942) for Powell and Pressburger, for which he shared an Academy Award nomination. His stage adaptations of Russian literary classics ''The White Guard'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' had far better reviews and longer runs than his own plays. As it is, ''Strange Orchestra'' (1931), ''Birthday'' (1934), ''After October''(1936) and ''The Dark River'' (1937) await rediscovery.		Ackland was also a prolific writer of screenplays for TV and film, including ''Number Seventeen'' (1931) for Alfred Hitchcock, and ''49th Parallel'' (1942) for Powell and Pressburger, for which he shared an Academy Award nomination. His stage adaptations of Russian literary classics ''The White Guard'' and ''Crime and Punishment'' had far better reviews and longer runs than his own plays. As it is, ''Strange Orchestra'' (1931), ''Birthday'' (1934), ''After October''(1936) and ''The Dark River'' (1937) await rediscovery.

	Ackland died in 1991 in [[Richmond]]. His burial place is unknown.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39909724 Rodney Ackland] at ''Find a Grave''</ref>		Ackland died in 1991 in [[Richmond]]. His burial place is unknown.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39909724 "Rodney Ackland"] at ''Find a Grave''</ref>
	==Further reading==		==Further reading==
	*Charles Duff, ''The Lost Summer: The Heyday of the West End Theatre'' (London: Nick Hearn Books, 1995).		*Charles Duff, ''The Lost Summer: The Heyday of the West End Theatre'' (London: Nick Hearn Books, 1995).

Ross Burgess at 08:42, 10 September 2016

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	[[File:Rodney Ackland.jpg\|thumb\|Rodney Ackland]]'''Rodney Ackland''' (1908–1991) was a playwright and film scriptwriter who started out as a jobbing actor before turning to writing.		[[File:Rodney Ackland.jpg\|thumb\|Rodney Ackland]]'''Rodney Ackland''' (1908–1991) was a playwright and film scriptwriter who started out as a jobbing actor before turning to writing.

	~~Ackland~~ was born in [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex, the son of a Jewish businessman and Ada Rodney, a famous Principal Boy in late Victorian panto, and attended [[Balham]] Grammar School. After his father's bankruptcy, Ada was forced back onto the Halls, but without success, and was reduced at one point to selling stockings door to door. Rodney trailed round after her, and the contrast between grinding poverty, theatrical illusion and superficial glamour fed into his plays.		He was born '''Norman Ackland Bernstein'''<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hJc8afOZV0QC&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=james+ackland+bernstein&source=bl&ots=hNOtMNUAxH&sig=qGe7cbppBBMqqkfhdVpouohAOVo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjikuiVsoTPAhXLAsAKHYDPDJQQ6AEIJzAD#v=onepage&q=james%20ackland%20bernstein&f=false "Ackland, Rodney"], ''The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2011, page 13.</ref> in [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex, the son of a Jewish businessman and Ada Rodney, a famous Principal Boy in late Victorian panto, and attended [[Balham]] Grammar School. After his father's bankruptcy, Ada was forced back onto the Halls, but without success, and was reduced at one point to selling stockings door to door. Rodney trailed round after her, and the contrast between grinding poverty, theatrical illusion and superficial glamour fed into his plays.

	Ackland toured the provinces and played in rep. after training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], most famously the lead in ''Young Woodley'', by the homosexual playwright [[John van Druten]], which was initially banned in the UK for its unfavourable depiction of the British [[public school]]. However, when he saw [[John Gielgud]] in the 1926 production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’, Ackland became instantly convinced he was going to be a writer for the stage, and a confirmed Chekhovian in his carefully orchestrated character studies.		Ackland toured the provinces and played in rep. after training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], most famously the lead in ''Young Woodley'', by the homosexual playwright [[John van Druten]], which was initially banned in the UK for its unfavourable depiction of the British [[public school]]. However, when he saw [[John Gielgud]] in the 1926 production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’, Ackland became instantly convinced he was going to be a writer for the stage, and a confirmed Chekhovian in his carefully orchestrated character studies.

Ross Burgess at 08:33, 10 September 2016

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	Ackland toured the provinces and played in rep. after training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], most famously the lead in ''Young Woodley'', by the homosexual playwright [[John van Druten]], which was initially banned in the UK for its unfavourable depiction of the British [[public school]]. However, when he saw [[John Gielgud]] in the 1926 production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’, Ackland became instantly convinced he was going to be a writer for the stage, and a confirmed Chekhovian in his carefully orchestrated character studies.		Ackland toured the provinces and played in rep. after training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], most famously the lead in ''Young Woodley'', by the homosexual playwright [[John van Druten]], which was initially banned in the UK for its unfavourable depiction of the British [[public school]]. However, when he saw [[John Gielgud]] in the 1926 production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’, Ackland became instantly convinced he was going to be a writer for the stage, and a confirmed Chekhovian in his carefully orchestrated character studies.

	His first West End hit, ''Strange Orchestra'', takes place in [[Bloomsbury]], in a house owned by a bohemian woman with an illegitimate child, and a number of alienated dispossessed lodgers. Gielgud directed, and Mrs Patrick Campbell was to play the lead until she left after two weeks rehearsal, professing not to understand the play at all: “Who are all these extraordinary people? Does Gladys Cooper know them?"<ref>~~Charles Duff~~, ''~~The Lost Summer: The Heyday of the West End Theatre~~'' (London: ~~Nick Hearn Books~~, ~~1995~~), page ~~141~~.</ref>		His first West End hit, ''Strange Orchestra'', takes place in [[Bloomsbury]], in a house owned by a bohemian woman with an illegitimate child, and a number of alienated dispossessed lodgers. Gielgud directed, and Mrs Patrick Campbell was to play the lead until she left after two weeks rehearsal, professing not to understand the play at all: “Who are all these extraordinary people? Does Gladys Cooper know them?"<ref>John Gielgud, ''Early Stages'' (London: Macmillan & Co., 1939), page 217.</ref>

	Gielgud describes the characters of the play, "They are uncertain of their jobs, they quarrel, they make love, indulge in scenes of hysteria, behave abominably to one another, perform deeds of unselfish heroism, and dance to the gramophone."<ref>~~Duff~~, page ~~142~~.</ref> The tragi-comic dancing on a dime under pressure was to characterise most of his plays.		Gielgud describes the characters of the play, "They are uncertain of their jobs, they quarrel, they make love, indulge in scenes of hysteria, behave abominably to one another, perform deeds of unselfish heroism, and dance to the gramophone."<ref>Gielgud, page 215.</ref> The tragi-comic dancing on a dime under pressure was to characterise most of his plays.

	In the 1930s he was assumed by those who knew him and by the theatre world generally to be exclusively homosexual, although he had had an affair with the wife of [[Emlyn Williams]] (also bisexual). The first major boyfriend was an actor, [[Eric Holmes]], for whom Ackland secured small parts in productions of his work. His next, [[Arthur Boys]], was a successful interior designer from Australia, and their stormy relationship lasted for the next ten years. Boys is the basis of Nigel Childs in ''Absolute Hell'' (1988). Boys and Ackland used to walk around [[Soho]] hand in hand, as much to shock the middle classes as to make a political statement. The habit ceased when a little old lady asked Ackland, ~~‘And~~ how is your poor dear blind friend?’		In the 1930s he was assumed by those who knew him and by the theatre world generally to be exclusively homosexual, although he had had an affair with the wife of [[Emlyn Williams]] (also bisexual). The first major boyfriend was an actor, [[Eric Holmes]], for whom Ackland secured small parts in productions of his work. His next, [[Arthur Boys]], was a successful interior designer from Australia, and their stormy relationship lasted for the next ten years. Boys is the basis of Nigel Childs in ''Absolute Hell'' (1988). Boys and Ackland used to walk around [[Soho]] hand in hand, as much to shock the middle classes as to make a political statement. The habit ceased when a little old lady asked Ackland, "And how is your poor dear blind friend?"<ref>Duff, page 147.</ref>

	Ackland became a Buddhist at around the same time, which shows in a certain serenity and detachment with which he orchestrates the hysteria of his plays.		Ackland became a Buddhist at around the same time, which shows in a certain serenity and detachment with which he orchestrates the hysteria of his plays.
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	In the end, gay playwright [[Terence Rattigan]] financed ''The Pink Room'', on the advice of his accountant that he needed to lose some of his revenues from ''The Deep Blue Sea'' for tax purposes. Christine was played by Hermione Baddeley, going through the bankruptcy courts at the time. Her young lover, [[Laurence Harvey]], a bisexual actor with a knack of latching on to older women, had cleaned her out. Baddeley under pressure had to be chaperoned and steered off the gin bottle during rehearsals. The reviews were dreadful, but the worst by far was by Agate’s successor, Harold Hobson (later Sir Harold) at the ''Sunday Times'':		In the end, gay playwright [[Terence Rattigan]] financed ''The Pink Room'', on the advice of his accountant that he needed to lose some of his revenues from ''The Deep Blue Sea'' for tax purposes. Christine was played by Hermione Baddeley, going through the bankruptcy courts at the time. Her young lover, [[Laurence Harvey]], a bisexual actor with a knack of latching on to older women, had cleaned her out. Baddeley under pressure had to be chaperoned and steered off the gin bottle during rehearsals. The reviews were dreadful, but the worst by far was by Agate’s successor, Harold Hobson (later Sir Harold) at the ''Sunday Times'':

	*"One of its scenes, in which an elderly female critic has her wig pulled off must be one of the least creditable to author, players, producer and management in stage memory… At the end of an evening of jaw-aching, soul-obliterating boredom he appears to have no idea how to finish off a play that a wiser man would never have begun."		*"One of its scenes, in which an elderly female critic has her wig pulled off must be one of the least creditable to author, players, producer and management in stage memory… At the end of an evening of jaw-aching, soul-obliterating boredom he appears to have no idea how to finish off a play that a wiser man would never have begun."<ref>[[James Agate]], "Bad and Good", ''Sunday Times'', 22 June 1952, page 9.</ref>

	Clearly Hobson didn’t see the symbolism of exposure of superficial appearances and shallow judgement; his Christian-Science-derived, essentially Polyanna-ish view of humanity had been shredded. The viciousness of this attack was such that Ackland, his confidence destroyed, never wrote another original play.		Clearly Hobson didn’t see the symbolism of exposure of superficial appearances and shallow judgement; his Christian-Science-derived, essentially Polyanna-ish view of humanity had been shredded. The viciousness of this attack was such that Ackland, his confidence destroyed, never wrote another original play.

Ross Burgess at 08:25, 10 September 2016

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	Ackland died in 1991 in [[Richmond]]. His burial place is unknown.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39909724 Rodney Ackland] at ''Find a Grave''</ref>		Ackland died in 1991 in [[Richmond]]. His burial place is unknown.<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39909724 Rodney Ackland] at ''Find a Grave''</ref>
			==Further reading==
			*Charles Duff, ''The Lost Summer: The Heyday of the West End Theatre'' (London: Nick Hearn Books, 1995).
			*Dan Rabellato, ''1956 and All That: The Making of Modern British Drama'' (London: Routledge, 1999).

	==References==		==References==

Ross Burgess at 09:54, 5 September 2016

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	[[File:Rodney Ackland.jpg\|thumb\|Rodney Ackland]]'''Rodney Ackland''' (1908–1991) was a playwright and film scriptwriter who started out as a jobbing actor before turning to writing.		[[File:Rodney Ackland.jpg\|thumb\|Rodney Ackland]]'''Rodney Ackland''' (1908–1991) was a playwright and film scriptwriter who started out as a jobbing actor before turning to writing.

	Ackland was born in [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex, the son of a Jewish businessman and Ada Rodney, a famous Principal Boy in late Victorian panto. After his father's bankruptcy, Ada was forced back onto the Halls, but without success, and was reduced at one point to selling stockings door to door. Rodney trailed round after her, and the contrast between grinding poverty, theatrical illusion and superficial glamour fed into his plays.		Ackland was born in [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex, the son of a Jewish businessman and Ada Rodney, a famous Principal Boy in late Victorian panto, and attended [[Balham]] Grammar School. After his father's bankruptcy, Ada was forced back onto the Halls, but without success, and was reduced at one point to selling stockings door to door. Rodney trailed round after her, and the contrast between grinding poverty, theatrical illusion and superficial glamour fed into his plays.

	Ackland toured the provinces and played in rep. after training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], most famously the lead in ''Young Woodley'', by the homosexual playwright [[John van Druten]], which was initially banned in the UK for its unfavourable depiction of the British [[public school]]. However, when he saw [[John Gielgud]] in the 1926 production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’, Ackland became instantly convinced he was going to be a writer for the stage, and a confirmed Chekhovian in his carefully orchestrated character studies.		Ackland toured the provinces and played in rep. after training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], most famously the lead in ''Young Woodley'', by the homosexual playwright [[John van Druten]], which was initially banned in the UK for its unfavourable depiction of the British [[public school]]. However, when he saw [[John Gielgud]] in the 1926 production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’, Ackland became instantly convinced he was going to be a writer for the stage, and a confirmed Chekhovian in his carefully orchestrated character studies.

Ross Burgess at 09:49, 5 September 2016

2016-09-05T09:49:19Z

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	[[File:Rodney Ackland.jpg\|thumb\|Rodney Ackland]]'''Rodney Ackland''' (1908–1991) was a playwright and film scriptwriter who started out as a jobbing actor before turning to writing.		[[File:Rodney Ackland.jpg\|thumb\|Rodney Ackland]]'''Rodney Ackland''' (1908–1991) was a playwright and film scriptwriter who started out as a jobbing actor before turning to writing.

	Ackland was born in [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex, the son of a Jewish businessman and Ada Rodney, a famous Principal Boy in late Victorian panto. After ~~her husband~~'s bankruptcy, Ada was forced back onto the Halls, but without success, and was reduced at one point to selling stockings door to door. Rodney trailed round after her, and the contrast between grinding poverty, theatrical illusion and superficial glamour fed into his plays.		Ackland was born in [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex, the son of a Jewish businessman and Ada Rodney, a famous Principal Boy in late Victorian panto. After his father's bankruptcy, Ada was forced back onto the Halls, but without success, and was reduced at one point to selling stockings door to door. Rodney trailed round after her, and the contrast between grinding poverty, theatrical illusion and superficial glamour fed into his plays.

	Ackland toured the provinces and played in rep. after training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], most famously the lead in ''Young Woodley'', by the homosexual playwright [[John van Druten]], which was initially banned in the UK for its unfavourable depiction of the British [[public school]]. However, when he saw [[John Gielgud]] in the 1926 production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’, Ackland became instantly convinced he was going to be a writer for the stage, and a confirmed Chekhovian in his carefully orchestrated character studies.		Ackland toured the provinces and played in rep. after training at the [[Central School of Speech and Drama]], most famously the lead in ''Young Woodley'', by the homosexual playwright [[John van Druten]], which was initially banned in the UK for its unfavourable depiction of the British [[public school]]. However, when he saw [[John Gielgud]] in the 1926 production of Chekhov’s ‘Three Sisters’, Ackland became instantly convinced he was going to be a writer for the stage, and a confirmed Chekhovian in his carefully orchestrated character studies.

Ross Burgess at 08:48, 5 September 2016

2016-09-05T08:48:21Z

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	'''Rodney Ackland''' (1908–1991) was a playwright and film scriptwriter who started out as a jobbing actor before turning to writing.		[[File:Rodney Ackland.jpg\|thumb\|Rodney Ackland]]'''Rodney Ackland''' (1908–1991) was a playwright and film scriptwriter who started out as a jobbing actor before turning to writing.

	Ackland was born in [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex, the son of a Jewish businessman and Ada Rodney, a famous Principal Boy in late Victorian panto. After her husband's bankruptcy, Ada was forced back onto the Halls, but without success, and was reduced at one point to selling stockings door to door. Rodney trailed round after her, and the contrast between grinding poverty, theatrical illusion and superficial glamour fed into his plays.		Ackland was born in [[Westcliff-on-Sea]], Essex, the son of a Jewish businessman and Ada Rodney, a famous Principal Boy in late Victorian panto. After her husband's bankruptcy, Ada was forced back onto the Halls, but without success, and was reduced at one point to selling stockings door to door. Rodney trailed round after her, and the contrast between grinding poverty, theatrical illusion and superficial glamour fed into his plays.