|
Aubrey Woods
 A
leading man who was principally a character actor, Aubrey Woods
didn't really establish himself as a name in British musicals.
Perhaps he lacked individuality, or a sense of distinct personality.
There was something of the old school about him, and a slight
coldness. But the list of musicals with which he dallied is surprising.
He was born on 9 April 1928 in London, and after study at
the Hornsey School of Art - he thought of becoming an architect
- he won a scholarship to RADA. During his time there, he was
cast by the director Cavalcanti as Smike in the 1946 film of
Nicholas Nickleby. It remains Woods's best-remembered film role.
His first musical was Sandy Wilson's Valmouth in 1958, in
which director Vida Hope cast him as the bi-curious Lt. Jack
Whorwood. There was a pretty duet with Alan Edwards called 'Niri
Esther'. In 1961 he was a supporting player in one of the last
substantial revues to be seen in the West End, The Lord Chamberlain
Regrets, at the Saville Theatre. Despite not offering anything
very exciting (indeed, the show confirmed that the days of such
shows were over), the revue hung on for a few months.
There was three years work at the New Theatre when Woods took
over the role of Fagin in Oliver! from Ron Moody, but after this
good leading parts were less easy to come by. In 1967 at Bristol
Old Vic he was Lord Merlin in Julian Slade's musical of Nancy
Mitford's The Pursuit of Love, but the show had a disappointing
reception and didn't move on. The same year he was Cardinal Richelieu
in a ghastly adaptation of The Four Musketeers at the Theatre
Royal, Drury Lane. Audiences flocked to see its star Harry Secombe,
but it was rubbish, and Woods's material was lamentable. He could
at least console himself with knowing that everyone else's material
was just as terrible.
A highlight of Woods's career was his contribution (he wrote
the book) for Trelawny, written for the opening of a refurbished
Bristol Theatre Royal in January 1972. The piece subsequently
played a month at Sadler's Wells Theatre (its natural home) and
was then trundled off to the Prince of Wale's Theatre, a house
that didn't take kindly to it. Woods's adaptation was capable,
and Julian Slade's songs had many admirers, but Trelawny couldn't
be counted a hit. During its run, Woods was cast as Lord Palmerston
in a messy musical about Queen Victoria, I and Albert, at the
Piccadilly Theatre. Jay Allen's book made heavy weather of Victoria's
long life, and the score by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams was
on the feeble side. The fourth-billed Woods headed a number bemoaning
the antics of Price Albert - 'His Royal Highness'. I and Albert
was an expensive flop.
Four years later Woods had little more luck when he was third-billed
below Nicky Henson and Dana Gillespie in Mardi Gras, an effortful
musical that tried to pass itself off as American. Alan Blaikley
and Ken Howard's score didn't manage to fool for a moment. The
best it could offer Woods was a threatening little trifle, 'I
Call The Tune'. Woods was a natural choice for Herod in a repertory
outing of the seasonal Follow The Star at the Westminster Theatre
in 1977. In June 1979 there was another notable flop, Flowers
For Algernon, with music from the composer of I and Albert, Charles
Strouse. After a handful of performances, and despite the mega-starry
Michael Crawford, Flowers For Algernon was done with.
Discography:
Original cast recordings of:
Valmouth
The Lord Chamberlain Regrets
The Four Musketeers
Trelawny [author only]
I and Albert
Mardi Gras
Flowers for Algernon
RETURN TO STOUT-HEARTED MEN
|
