1. Education

2. Career
     Acting    Writing    Directing  

3. Personal Life

4. Interests

5. Official Website

6. References

7. References

Robin Hawdon (born 1939) is an English playwright and novelist, with previous additional careers as actor and theatre director. Best known for his stage comedies which have played in over forty countries.  Also for a number of serious novels.

Education

Robin Hawdon was educated at Whitgift Grammar School and Uppingham public school. Hawdon turned down St John’s College Cambridge in favour of going to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.

Career

Acting

First established as an actor with seasons at Chesterfield, York, [https://theatricalia.com/person/xtc/robin-hawdon Guildford] and Bristol Old Vic repertory theatres, and in London’s West End in a variety of roles including Roar Like A Dove (Phoenix), The Last Joke (Phoenix), The Easter Man (title role - Globe), Misalliance (Royal Court), One Over The Eight (Duke of Yorks). Also played Hamlet in Cape Town, Prince Hal and Henry V at York, and Henry Higgins in Pygmalion at Salisbury.

Made many TV appearances, in particular in the series Compact (BBC 1964)^[1], The Flying Swan (BBC 1965)^[2], and Chalk and Cheese^[3], (co-star with Michael Crawford - Thames TV 1977). Featured in a number of films, and starred in When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth (1970)^[4] and Zeta One (The Love Factor in the USA) 1970^[5]. Scheduled by the James Bond producers to film test for the role, but this was cancelled when Roger Moore finally accepted the part.

Writing

His writing career began in the early 1960’s with plays produced at the Hampstead Theatre, and The King’s Lynn and Salzburg Festivals, and with a nationwide tour of The Hero starring Roy Dotrice.  His first large commercial success was with the comedy The Mating Game^[6], which had a long run at London’s Apollo Theatre and played in over 30 countries around the world.  Subsequently a number of comedies played regularly on tour and internationally, many being published by Samuel French^[7] and Josef Weinberger^[8]. These were followed by his farce Don’t Dress For Dinner^[9] (loosely based on a French play by Marc Camoletti) which ran for six years in London and subsequently on Broadway, and plays regularly in theatres around the English speaking world.

Even more popular globally is his comedy Perfect Wedding^[10] which has played in almost every country hosting professional theatre. Neil Genzlinger of the New York Times siad "The comic timing in a show like this has to be perfect, and sometimes it is here, but when it isn't, the director, Teresa K. Pond, tries to compensate with volume, which is never as funny as nuance."^[11]

His straight play God And Stephen Hawking^[12], based on Hawking’s life and his best-selling book A Brief History Of Time, toured the UK in 2000 starring Robert Hardy and Stephen Boxer.

He has written several novels, notably A Rustle In The Grass^{[13][14][15][16]} (Hutchinson), and Survival Of The Fittest^[17][18][19] (Strategic Publishing).

Directing

Hawdon Directed various play productions in the provinces and in London, including The Magic Of Young Houdini^[20] (Phoenix), Suez (Savoy).  Founded the Bath Fringe Festival^[21] in the 1980’s and subsequently became Director of Bath Theatre Royal.

Personal Life

Born in Newcastle-on-Tyne^[22]. At the age of eight his family moved to Surrey where he lived for most of his school years. After graduating from RADA he lived in London for twenty years, after which he decided to curtail his acting career and concentrate on writing, and he and his family moved to Bath, Somerset.

Married in 1968 Sheila Davies (actress and subsequently qualified psychoanalyst) with whom he has two daughters, Lindsay Hawdon (a novelist and travel journalist) and [https://gemmahawdon.com.au/ Gemma Rolleman] (copywriter married and living in Melbourne).

Robin Lives between Bath, the South of France, and Australia.

Interests

Travel, cinema and theatre, golf, politics, food and wine, keeping fit, and above all the business of writing.

Official Website

[https://robinhawdon.com/ robinhawdon.com]

References

References

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