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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.

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