The Forum Theatre, Billingham presented Noel Coward’s Present Laughter from 5 – 20 July, 1974. You may be surprised at the quality of the casts and I have included some of the star names from each show:
Starred Peter Wyngarde who as Jason King in the 1970s was a massive TV star for several years. I can recall seeing his Rolls Royce parked up at Billingham Town Centre. Hildegard Neil and the former pop star Mark Wynter were also in this show. Mr Wyngarde also starred at the Forum in Dracula which was a sell out the night I saw it.
Image and details courtesy of Martin Birtle.
I saw some great old names at the Forum. I remember grandma being very impressed when we saw Wilfrid Hyde-White…a very young Hayley Mills etc. It would be a research project in its own right. Does the Forum still have a thriving theatre, as it did in the 70s?
My wife was in the Theatre Club and would be allowed to see the cast after the show in the restaurant. One show in particular was Dads Army where after seeing the show we met up with the cast with the exception of Manwaeing and the old man. We have a programme with the autographs of the rest of the cast. Bill Pertwee had one of my sons on his knee telling him tales of the shows on TV and asking him about his schooling.