The Clive Francis Files

A tribute to Clive Francis

The Theatre File

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The information below was supplied by Mr. Francis.

Clive began his career after leaving RADA as a Penguin Player in repertory in Worthing and Eastbourne...and took off from there!

The credits below are divided between London's West End theatres (in the gray box), which range from his West End debut in 1966 to 2001, and his credits in regional theater and on tour across the country, which began with Getting Married in 1965 and continue to this day with his tour of Three Men In A Boat.

See the Promo for Clive's One Man Show as Ebenezer Scrooge

THE WEST END - London's Theatre Area

There's A Girl in My Soup
by Terence Frisby
Directed by Robert Chetwin
Globe Theatre

Opened: May 1966
Closed: 1976 (Francis leaves in 1967)

Notes:

Role: Jimmy

Cast included Donald Sinden, Barbara Ferris and Jon Pertwee

Clive only stayed for the first year, leaving in 1967.


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The Servant of Two Masters
by Goldoni
Directed by Toby Robertson
The Queens Theatre

Opened: Dec 1968
Closed: Feb 1969

Notes:

Role: Silvio

Cast included Tommy Steele, Michele Dotrice, Julia Lockwood, Ronald Radd and Graham Crowden


Click on thumbnail to see stills and plot
Three
(3 One-act plays)
by Bernard Shaw
Directed by Ray Cooney
The Fortune Theatre

Opened: Jan 1970
Closed: March 1970

Notes:

Role: Various

Cast included Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, June Barry and Robert Fleming


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The Mating Game
by Robin Hawdon
Directed by Ray Cooney
Apollo Theatre

Opened: June 1972 Closed: June 1973

Notes:

Role: Draycott Harris

Cast included Terry Scott, Aimi MacDonald and Julia Lockwood


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Bloomsbury
by Peter Luke
Directed by Richard Cottrell
Phoenix Theatre

Opened July 1974
Closed: Aug 1974

Notes:

Role: Ralph Partridge

Cast included Daniel Massey, Penelope Wilton and Yvonne Mitchell


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The Return of A. J. Raffles
by Graham Greene
Directed by David Jones
Royal Shakespeare Company

Opened: Dec 1975
Closed: Feb 1976

Notes:

Role: Bunny

Cast included Denholm Elliot, Peter Blythe, Paul Rogers and Michael Bryant


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The Circle
By Somerset Maugham
Directed by Peter Dewes
Theatre Royal Haymarket

Opened: Oct 1976 Closed: April 1977

Notes:

Role: Edward Luton.

Cast included Googie Withers, Susan Hampshire, John McCallum, Martin Jarvis and Bill Fraser


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Look After Lulu
by Noel Coward
Adapted from Feydeau’s Occupe-toi d’Amelie’
Directed by Patrick Garland.
Theatre Royal Haymarket

Opened: Oct 1978
Closed: May 1979

Notes:

Role: Marcel

Cast included Geraldine McEwan, Nigel Stock, Peter Bowles and Fenella Fielding


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The Rear Column
by Simon Gray
Directed by Harold Pinter
Globe Theatre

Opened: February 1978
Closed: April 1978

Notes:

Role: Troup

Cast included Jeremy Irons, Simon Ward, Donald Gee and Barry Foster

Read about the plot at CompleteReviews.com


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Dangerous Corner
by J.B.Priestly
Directed by Robert Gillespie
Ambassadors Theatre

Opened: Dec 1980
Closed: May 1981

Notes:

Role: Robert Caplan.

Cast included Jennifer Daniel, Ann Lynn, Anthony Daniels and Stacy Dorning


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The School For Scandal
by Richard Sheridan
Directed by John Barton
Duke of York’s

Opened: Dec 1983
Closed: May 1984

Notes:

Role: Joseph Surface

Cast included Donald Sinden, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray and Bill Fraser

Benefactors
By Michael Frayn
Directed by Michael Blakemore
Vaudeville Theatre

opened: April 1985
Closed: Oct 1985

Notes:

Role: Colin.

Cast included Polly Adams, Jan Waters and Glyn Grain


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The Importance of Being Ernest
by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Donald Sinden
The Royalty Theatre

Opened: Sep 1987
Closed: October 1987
limited 6-week run

Notes:

Role: John Worthing

Cast included Wendy Hiller, Natalie Ogle, Denis Lawson and Gabrielle Drake


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Tis Pity She's A Whore
by John Ford
Directed by Alan Aychbourn
National Theatre

March 1988

Notes:

Role: Vasques

Cast included Rupert Graves, Michael Simkins, Polly Adams and Suzan Sylvester


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A Small Family Business
by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Alan Ayckbourn
National Theatre

March 1988

Notes:

Role: Benedict Hough (for which he won the Clarence Derwent Award)

Cast included Stephen Moore and Polly Adams


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Hedda Gabler
by Ibsen
Directed by John Dove
Hampstead Theatre

November 1988

Notes:

Role: Judge Brack

with Lindsay Duncan as Hedda

Single Spies
by Alan Bennett
Directed by Alan Bennett and Simon Callow
Queens Theatre

Feb 1989

Notes:

First opened at the Royal National Theatre on 1 December 1988 with Simon Callow in the roles later taken over by Clve Francis.

Two one act plays written by Alan Bennett. In An Englishman Abroad Francis stars as Guy Burgess with Prunella Scales as Corale Browne.

In A Question of Attribution, Alan Bennett plays Anthony Blunt and Clive Francis plays Chubb.


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What the Butler Saw
by Joe Orton
Directed by John Tillinger
Wyndham’s Theatre

Dec 1990

Notes:

Role: Dr Prentice

Cast included Shelia Gish and Joseph Maher


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A Christmas Carol
Adapted from Dickens book by John Mortimer
Directed by Ian Judge
RSC Barbican Theatre

1994 - 1995

Notes:

Role: Ebenezer Scrooge.

Cast included Polly James, Philip Quast, Paul Greenwood and John Bennet


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Absolute Turkey
Adapted from Georges Feydeau’s Le Dindon By Nicki Frei and Peter Hall
Directed by Peter Hall
The Gielgud Theatre

Opened: June 1995
Closed: April 1996

Notes:

Role: Redillon

Cast included Felicity Kendal, Peter Davison and Nicholas Le Prevost.


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Gross Indecency
Written and directed by Moises Kaufman.
Based on the trials of Oscar Wilde
Gielgud Theatre

Opened: March 1999
Closed: May 1999

Notes:

Role: Sir Edward Clarke

Cast included Michael Pennington


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Entertaining Mr Sloane
by Joe Orton
Directed by Terry Johnson
Arts Theatre

Opened: Jan 2001
Closed: March 2001

Notes:

Role: Ed

Cast included Alison Steadman, Neil Stuke and Bryan Pringle


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FESTIVALS, REGIONAL THEATRE AND TOURS

Getting Married
by Bernard Shaw
Directed by Eric Jones
Arts Theatre Cambridge and UK tour

1965

Notes:

Role: Cecil Sykes

Cast included Eleanor Bron, Gabrielle Drake, Sylvia Coleridge.


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The Silver Box
By John Galsworthy
Directed by Stuart Latham
Leatherhead Theatre Club

1967

Notes:

Role: Jack Barthwick

Cast included Sonia Graham, Jessica Spenser and Daniel Thorndike


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Loot
by Joe Orton
Directed by John Hales
Phoenix Theatre, Leicester

1968

Notes:

Role: Dennis

Notes:
Cast included Patricia Kneale, Stanley Lebor
Clive will appear in Loot again in 2004, this time playing Inspector Truscott.


Click on thumbnail to see stills and plot
Irma La Douce
Music by Marguerite Monnot
Lyrics David Heneker and Monty Norman
Directed by Michael Ashton
Phoenix Theatre, Leicester

1968

Notes:

Role: Nestor

Cast included Mia Nardi, William Russell


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Lock Up Your Daughters
Music by Laurie Johnson
Lyrics Lionel Bart
Directed by Peter Jackson
Derby Playhouse

1969

Notes:

Role: Ramble

Cast included Gillian Humphreys


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Monsieur Perrichon's Travels
by Eugene Labiche
Directed by Patrick Garland
Chichester Festival Theatre

1976

Notes:

Role: Daniel Savary

Cast included Tony Robinson, Clive Francis and Rex Harrison


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The Deep Blue Sea
by Terence Rattigan
Directed by Jonathan Lynn
Arts Theatre, Cambridge then UK tour

1977

Notes:

Role: Freddie Page

Cast included Shelia Hancock, Lindsay Duncan and Edward Jewesbury

Romeo and Juliet
by Shakespeare
Directed by Peter Coe
Arts Council tour

1977

Notes:

Role: Romeo

Cast included Michele Dotrice, Doris Hare, Mark Wynter and Edgar Wreford


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Look After Lulu
by Noël Coward
Directed by Patrick Garland
Chichester Festival Theatre

1978

Notes:

Role: Marcel

Cast included Geraldine McEwan, Nigel Stock, Paul Hardwick and Fenella Fielding

The School Mistress
By Arthur Pinero
Directed by James Maxwell
Manchester Royal Exchange

1978

Notes:

Role: Hon Vere Queckett

Cast included Patricia Routledge, Michael Robbins, Felicity Dean and Sophie Thompson


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The Norman Conquests
by Alan Ayckbourn
Directed by Philip Grout
Churchill Theatre
Bromley 1979
Notes:

Role: Norman

Cast included Polly James, David Delve, and Elizabeth Power


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Travesties
by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Patrick Lau
Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

1980

Notes:

Role: Henry Carr

Cast included Jonathan Coy, Christopher Hancock


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The Deep Blue Sea
by Terence Rattigan
Directed by Alan Strachan
Greenwich Theatre

1981

Notes:

Role: Freddie Page

Cast included Dorothy Tutin, Peter Cellier


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Quartermaine’s Terms
by Simon Gray
Directed by Kevin Billington
UK tour

1982

Notes:

Role: Derek Meadle

Cast included Polly James, Michael Williams, Ronald Hines and Earnest Clarki


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French Without Tears
by Terence Rattigan
Directed by Alan Strachan
Greenwich Theatre

1983

Notes:

Role: Commander Rogers

Cast included Jeremy Sinden, Jane Booker and Peter Woodward

The Fourposter
by Jan de Hartog
Directed by Philip Grout
The Watermill Theatre, Newbury

1983

Notes:

Role: Michael

Cast included Jennie Linden

The Common Pursuit
by Simon Gray
Directed by Harold Pinter
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith

1984

Notes:

Role: Humphry

Cast included Ian Ogilvy, Simon Williams, Nicholas le Prevost and Nina Thomas


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Saint Joan
by Bernard Shaw
Directed by Clifford Williams
UK tour

1985

Notes:

Role: The Inquisitor

Cast included Jane Lapotaire, Anthony Quayle, Tony Britton and Ralph Michael


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The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Anthony Quayle
UK tour

1985

Notes:

Franics plays Caliban in this production. In 2004 he will play Prospero.

Role: Caliban

Cast included Anthony Quayle, Tony Britten, John Sharp and Ralph Michael


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An Ideal Husband
by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Tony Britten
Chichester Festival Theatre

1987

Notes:

Role: Lord Goring

Cast included Joanna Lumley, David Gwillim, Lucy Fleming, William Fox and June Whitfield


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Getting On
by Alan Bennett
Watford Palace Theatre

1990

Notes:

Role: George

The play also starred Jared Harris as Geoff, Serena Evans as Polly, Gregory Floy as Brian, Eleanor Summerfield as Enid, Ruth Kettlewell as Mrs. Brodribb, Simon Cox as Andy, and Daisy Smith as the voice of James and Elizabeth.

Directed by Roger Smith.

Quartermain’s Terms
by Simon Gray
Directed by Kevin Billington
UK tour

1992

Notes:

Role: Derek Meadle

Cast included Edward Fox, James Grout, Peter Barkworth and Sarah Badel.

Three Hours After Marriage
by John Gay, Alexander Pope and Doctor John Arbuthnot
Directed by Richard Cottrell
Swan Theatre
Stratford upon Avon

1996

Notes:

"Clive Francis, in wild mutton-chop whiskers and Brezhnev eyebrows, splutters energetically as the repeatedly gulled Fossill..."
Read the review at: Shutters

Role: Dr. Fossill

Cast included Jane Gurnett, Richard McCabe, Adam Godley


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Troilus and Cressida
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Ian Judge
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
Stratford upon Avon

1996

Notes:

Role: Pandarus

Cast included Joseph Fiennes, Victoria Hamilton, Philip Voss, Richard McCabe and Philip Quast


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The Shakespeare Revue
Devised by Malcolm McKee and Chris Luscombe
UK tour, Israel and the USA

2000

Notes:

Cast included Gemma Craven, Jan Hartley, Martin Connor and Nicola Keen


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The Lavender Hill Mob
Adapted by Clive Francis, Paul Minett and Brian Leveson
Directed by Clive Francis
UK tour

2002

Notes:

Role: Henry Holland

Cast included Victor Spinetti, Jack Wild, Michael Melia and Claire Harding


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Travels With My Aunt
Adapted from Graham Greene’s book by Giles Havergal
Directed by Richard Baron
UK tour

2002

Notes:

Role: Aunt Augusta

Cast included Gary Wilmot, Jeffrey Holland


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The Hollow Crown
Devised by John Barton
Directed by John Barton
UK tour

2003

Notes:

Role: Various

Cast included Donald Sinden, Richard Johnson and Suzanna York

Loot
by Joe Orton
Directed by David Farr
The Bristol Old Vic

2004

Notes:

Role: Inspector Truscot


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The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Richard Baron
Nottingham Playhouse

2004

Notes:

Clive had played Caliban (Prospero's servant) in the 1985 UK tour that starred Anthony Quayle.

Role: Prospero


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A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Adapted as a one man show by Clive Francis
Seasonal UK tour

2002 - 2005

Notes:

Role: Narrator, Scrooge


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Three Men in a Boat
by Jerome K Jerome adapted for the stage by Clive Francis
Directed by Paul Jepson
UK tour

2006

Notes:

Role: Jerome K Jerome

Cast included Simon Ward and Neil Stacy


Click on thumbnail to see stills

This page last updated November 16, 2006.

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