Patrick Barlow Radio Plays
Patrick Barlow is creator of the National Theatre of Brent and the wonderful Desmond Olivier Dingle, its most pompous half. Mr. Dingle has the ability to get to the crux of important historical moments and to reproduce them, with his assistant, exactly as they would have happened at the time.
The two members of the National Theatre of Brent have appeared in their ill-fitting grey suits at venues all over the country, including the National Theatre, and on television.
Listen to the radio versions and enjoy.....
BBC BROADCASTS
13.05.90- 07.06.90 : All the World's a Globe, 8-part reading, R3.
??.??.92 All the World's a Globe (15m x 4), dramatisation*
06.09.95 Desmond Olivier Dingle's Compleat Life and Works of William
Shakespeare by Desmond Olivier Dingle, or, "Shakespeare, the Truth"*.
(15m x 6)
23.12.00 Interview by Michael Berkeley with the entire cast of the
National Theatre of Brent*.
16.12.96 The National Theatre of Brent, in The Greatest Story
Ever Told*, 75m
01.01.04 National Theatre of Brent's Complete and Utter
History of the Mona Lisa, 45m
22.12.06 National Theatre of Brent's "The Messiah"*, 45m
Asterisked items known to exist in VRPCC collections.
NOTES ON SOME OF THE PLAYS
ALL THE WORLD'S A GLOBE....1992
6(?) x 15m. The story of the birth of civilisation and the great
empires. With Desmond Olivier Dingle as Amenhotep, Hebrew slave,
Pharoah's daughter, 1st Shogun and Ming the Merciless; Wallace as the
Pharoah, Egyptian slave dancer, Pharoah's daughter's chambermaids, second
shogun and Harry Kiri. Additional material by Jim Broadbent and Martin
Duncan. The National Theatre of Brent would like to thank Patrick Barlow,
Jim Broadbent, Peter Barker (the announcer), and the producer, Lissa
Evans.
SHAKESPEARE, THE TRUTH....1995
R4, 6 Sep 95 - 11 Oct 95. Patrick Barlow, assisted by Duncan
Preston, condenses the work of the Bard. The closing credits at the end
of episode 5 run thus: "More inimitable comedy...tomorrow night at the
same time: episode
5: chapters 94 to 173: Mastering the Verse, Shakespearean Comedy and
how to Spot It, How to Approach Julius Caesar, The Dark Lady of the
Sonnets - Who Was She?, Was Shakespeare Shakespeare - an Issue Not
To Be Shirked, and Finally, The Death of William Shakespeare. And also,
How to Act. And An Interview With One Of Our Leading Primadonnas, Dame
Juliet Stevenson." With Patrick Barlow, Duncan Preston, Kevin Allen,
Robert Austin, Mossie Smith, guests Richard E. Grant, Lionel Blair; director
Hilary Norwich, producer Liz Anstee. Additional material by Liz Anstee
and William Shakespeare.
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD....1996
Patrick Barlow, Jim Broadbent and Martin Duncan have done the
difficult job of making a play about the story of the
Passion of Christ. It is a remarkable achievement. There is the
usual humour we expect from the National Theatre of Brent- incompetent
acting, fluffed sound effects, a script based on half-remembered
stuff from the fourth form, and some terrible lines. But this was
not a comic play in the usual sense. The straight-acting ability of
Broadbent and Barlow was shown to great effect.
The play was serious, sad, moving, but filled with wit and
humour;
perhaps some of the early Passion plays were a little like
this. To paraphrase Kate Kellaway, (writing about another NTOB
production) Barlow has combined comedy with compassion, and makes sure
we laugh not at the characters in the story, but the two doomed
thespians and their sorry attempts to tell it.
It was recorded in front of an audience, which added something.
Cast: Partick Barlow as Desmond, Jim Broadbent as
Wallace, Announcer Pater Barker, director Martin Duncan, producer Hilary
Norwich.
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE NATIONAL THEATRE OF BRENT....2000
On 23 December we heard Michael Berkeley interview Desmond Olivier
Dingle and Raymond Box, alias the National Theatre of Brent, in
Private Passions (R3, 23 Dec 00, 1200). The company specialises in
large-scale dramatic productions, including The charge of the Light
Brigade, Zulu, The greatest story ever told: Christ's Passion
(R4,1996), Shakespeare: the truth (R4,1993), and Johann Sebastian
Wagner's Ring Cycle (in 75 minutes, without the boring bits).
The format is simple; the title role is taken by Mr. Dingle, the
others (10,000 Zulu warriors, Shakespeare's friends, Jesus's mother
& disciples, and everyone except Siegfried) are played by Raymond,
who got the job through his acting talents and also by having a van.
Mr. Dingle is the alter ego of Patrick Barlow, who sometimes appears
in plays not connected with the National Theatre of Brent. ......(ND,
VRPCC newsletter)
NATIONAL THEATRE OF BRENT'S COMPLETE AND
UTTER HISTORY OF THE MONA LISA....2004
Celebrating the 500th anniversary of the painting by Leonardo da
Vinci. With Desmond Olivier Dingle as Leonardo da Vinci and his entire
company, Raymond Box, as the Mono Lisa. This is the first time a historic
work of art has actually been re-created on radio exactly as it would
have been done at the time (......Jane Anderson, RT). With Patrick
Barlow as Desmond, John Ramm as Raymond, director Martin Duncan, producer
Bruce Hyman.
Nigel Deacon / Diversity Website
REVIEWS
BATH FESTIVAL 2001-
"Shakespeare- The Truth"...Desmond Olivier Dingle,
a.k.a. Patrick Barlow, proudly presents himself doing readings from two
of his most important and erudite oevres, The Complete History of
the Whole World and Shakespeare, the Truth! He will be wrestling
with such questions as "Why Does Shakespeare Often Make No Sense?" and "What
Shakespeare and Ann Hathaway Did On Their Honeymoon". He will be happy to
answer appropriate and intelligent questions from the audience. No
timewasters, please."
THE MESSIAH (Bush Theatre, London, Dec 2000)
"The National Theatre of Brent's two-man Nativity returns, as
deliberately rubbishy as ever and quite hilarious, not to mention
poignant".......Ian Shuttleworth
Radio production: radio 4, 22 Dec 06.
