A portrait of the actor Wilfrid Lawson (1900-1966)
Compiled by Peter Cotes
Narrator Hugh Dickson
Many people remember Wilfrid Lawson for his definitive Doolittle in the 1938 film version of Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. But it was as a stage actor that Lawson truly scaled the pinnacles of his art. In 1953 he ended a long absence from London's West End to appear in a production of Strindberg's The Father. His performance for those who saw it was the experience of a lifetime. The American film and theatre director Joseph Losey, who later worked with Lawson, recalls 'I was bowled over by this fabulous genius'. Other contributors include Bridget Boland, John Boulting, Keith Dewhurst, Grace Wyndham Goldie, Trevor Howard, Beatrix Lehmann, Joan Miller, Donald Pleasence and J.C. Trewin.