“A lucky sort of life I suppose, being able to earn your living doing something you care about.”

When he was appearing in Edward VII on ITV in the early 70’s, Timothy West helped Roger Clissold with the new Playhouse Appeal by sending a photograph from the series. It was accompanied by the following message - “Her majesty (Helen Ryan) and I remember with deep affection our early days at the Salisbury Playhouse. Recalling that the backstage facilities were less than kingly and that too few of our subjects could ever be given audience at once, we strongly commend to the citizens of Salisbury this appeal for their fine new theatre.”

Timothy West, who sadly died this month, was a great friend and supporter of the Playhouse. On several occasions, when the profile of the theatre needed raising and money needed to be found, along with his much loved wife, Prunella Scales, he would readily give of his time to attend special functions and fund-raising events. He was invited to officially re-open the theatre after its enforced closure in 1995 and, in 2001, performed An Audience with Timothy West with Prunella sitting in the audience occasionally correcting him and giving him one or two pertinent comments! In 2005 Prunella and Tim devised and performed an evening’s entertainment called The Battle of the Sexes in support of the Playhouse’s Capital Campaign. Then, in 2015, they attended the anniversary of the original Playhouse, touring the exhibitions and spending the evening carrying out a question and answer session for the theatregoers.

Timothy West was born in Bradford in October 1934, the son of the actor, Lockwood West. His education included 13 different schools, including Bristol Grammar where he had many absences, preferring to cycle around the countryside instead. It was finally completed at the Regent Street Polytechnic where he studied for his B.A. Spells as a furniture dealer, a recording technician and as the Box Office Manager at the theatre in Frinton, still gave him time to belong to eight different amateur dramatic societies. He won the Sunday Times trophy for a production of Our Town at Bristol and then turned professional. He worked in many places including Wimbledon, Canterbury and Hull, where an interview with Reggie Salberg led him to Salisbury in March 1957. He was to replace Michael Barnwell as Stage Manager.

It is indicative of the hard life of a repertory actor to note that between March 1957 and April 1960 he appeared in 58 plays, 24 in his first year at the Playhouse. Some of them only lasted for a few days, during which they were no doubt frantically rehearsing the next as initially there was only one week’s rehearsal. Prunella once remarked, “You cannot do justice to a play in one week. It was impossible to change things if you felt that something was wrong. You relied very heavily on the French Acting Editions. Two week’s rehearsal made a hell of a difference.”

The first play Timothy appeared in was Mrs. Dane’s Defence by Henry Arthur Jones and directed by Terence Dudley. After this, the playwrights read as a veritable Who’s Who of Repertory - Coward, R.C. Sheriff, Christie, Priestley, Shakespeare, Delderfield, Williams,

Bagnold, Rattigan and Mortimer. For a while he seemed to be stuck with playing members of the police force and, although in Waiting For Gillian the local critic said that he “really looked and acted like a real policeman”, in Alibi it was said “In the hands of Timothy West, the police inspector appeared to be a half wit of the kind that would never become an inspector in any force”! Some of his reviews were just a few comments such as “Timothy West is good too as the Counsel for the plaintiff” or “Timothy West gave a sound performance as the gardener.” But his talent soon shone through -

“Another outstanding piece of work amongst a galaxy of talent is that by Timothy West as Firs.” The Cherry Orchard

“There should be laurels for Timothy West as a moronic lift attendant” I Killed the Count

“Timothy West is tip-top as the hen-pecked, ferret-loving husband.” Sailor Beware

In those early days he had several favourite plays including Separate Tables, Waltz of the Toreadors and Hindle Wakes. He was not very keen though, on his role in Plaintiff in a Pretty Hat as he had to learn to play the Welsh harp within a fortnight. However, the local critic said of his performance “When he appeared with a diminutive instrument and with almost painful concentration plucked two or three strings, one feared that burlesque was to appear amidst sparkling comedy but Mr. West sang his little song all but accompanied and achieved an acceptable and pleasant effect.”! He also remembered with mixed emotions his time as the Genie of the Lamp in Aladdin as the lamp did not always light on cue!

For a while he was still working as stage manager and after a performance of The Ghost Train the local critic wrote: “The backstage effects staff at the Playhouse take the chief honours in this week’s play….the atmosphere is so real that it is easy to forget that we are looking at a set.” He also directed four plays including Subway in the Sky of which the local critic wrote: “Timothy West’s production is outstanding.” Although Timothy was not one to boast about his skills as a director. He once said “Probably all the directors were on holiday when I was asked!”

He would often speak fondly of the many people he worked with at the old Playhouse.

Not just the many friends amongst the actors and directors, such as Ian Mullins, Frederick Peisley, Ronald Magill, Helen Dorward and Margaret Denyer but also the many other people that were part of the Playhouse “family.” There was Stan Astin, who had so many jobs that he often called himself “The Can Carrier in Chief”. There was Charlie Salter, who was known as “Old Faithful” as he also had a variety of jobs which included being the upstairs usher. Timothy was appearing in Morning Departure (which is set entirely in a wartime submarine) and he remembers asking Charlie what he thought of the play. He replied: “Very good. I like a nice sea-faring play - pity there aren’t any seagulls!” And there was Roberto Petraca known as “the singing carpenter”. He was a very strong man and Timothy remembers him pulling out a nail from a piece of wood and then straightening it!

Timothy had a good but shrewd working relationship with the board of directors. He once said of Guy Vizzard “Mr. Vizzard knows enough about the theatre not to come to Shakespeare but not quite enough to come to Chekov!” But his greatest admiration was for Reggie Salberg. “Absolutely wonderful - extraordinary combination of humility and chutzpah - never too sure about his sense of humour though!”

One actor who worked with Timothy, was Geoffrey Lumsden and it was he who provided him with his first West End appearance. His play Gwendoline was first performed in Salisbury but with a change of name to Caught Napping it transferred to the West End in 1959. Timothy’s role as “Talky” was a minor, non-speaking role which enabled him to join the cast as “if you were playing a major part then you couldn’t go to the West End as that role would have been taken by an established actor.” The Stage wrote “If you’re in town and want a good evening’s entertainment, you might try Caught Napping. If you want to see what London’s missing you might try Salisbury Playhouse.” During his time at the Playhouse, Geoffrey Lumsden would donate a bottle of gin each season to the actor by common consent, who had given “The Worst Performance in a really Good Part.” Apparently Timothy West won several bottles!

There were so many happy memories of working in the old theatre. Timothy remembers at one performance deliberately cutting short the important denouement of Agatha Christie’s The Unexpected Guest so he could get to the Kings Arms with his fellow actor, Tim Hudson for their much needed Guinness; and appearing on tour in Christie‘s Murder at the Vicarage when the backcloth was revealed to the audience, not of the expected vicarage garden but of a ship in full sail from the previous week’s production of HMS Pinafore!

He likened the backstage to “an A and E Unit in Kabul!” Part of it was open to the elements and he remembers once waiting in the rain to go onstage with cornflower in his hair to turn it white and feeling it slowly turning into a junket!“In those days” said Timothy “you had to do everything. I am a great believer that actors should try everything. Salisbury was my apprenticeship.” He loved working in regional rep and getting to know his audience. There were many “out of school relationships” where you got to know and work with the community. “I loved the fact that you are playing to the same people in the evening who you saw in Sainsbury’s in the morning.”

Timothy left Salisbury in 1960 but returned in 1979 to the new Playhouse for his virtuoso performance of Sir Thomas Beecham’s life, Make the Little Beggars Hop. The Guardian wrote “Timothy West is confirmed as the supreme actor-impersonator of the Seventies. He not only looks like Beecham, he has expertly acquired the withering look and the flick of cigar ash off the lapel. Every word, including the marvellous stage whisper, carries irascible nuance.” He would ask the ushers to hold back any late-comers so that when they at last made their way to their seats he would stop talking and give them a stern, withering Beecham stare! Timothy commented that with this performance and his recent playing of Churchill, Stalin and Gorbachev, “I’m fast becoming the Mike Yarwood of the recent dead!”

Timothy’s last play in Salisbury was The Birthday Party in 1999 in which he performed for the first and only time at the Playhouse with Prunella. He was very pleased with the production (apart from his strange wig) and it was very popular because of the casting of Timothy and Prunella together. But as he said: “We try to avoid playing too often together as the audience know that we are happily married!”.

In writing about Timothy West, you cannot possibly leave out his much loved wife Prunella Scales with whom he was happily married for 61 years. Much has been written recently about her struggles with dementia and how wonderful Timothy has been in caring for her. One only has to read Timothy’s recently published book Pru and Me to see what a very special and loving relationship their marriage has been. Pru once said that they fell in love “over the Times Crossword and Polo Mints!” Timothy said “Pru and I like the same jokes. We tend to be the types that laugh together rather than cry. If she gets a bit, you know, then one just goes off on our own for a walk.” From time to time though he conceded that there has been envy within the relationship though never jealousy. “Internal funding of the family firm is how we see it. I couldn’t afford to tour in subsided Shakespeare productions if Pru hadn’t done a series of commercials.” Although he did say that during the height of the Fawlty Towers fame “I remember the only way I could get a space in the BBC car park was by calling myself Mr. Scales!”

Timothy West once described acting as “A lucky sort of life I suppose, being able to earn your living doing something you care about; rather than being a stockbroker or an executive whose main job satisfaction comes from knowing that he has power steering in his office car.” Despite being one of Britain’s most celebrated actors, some time ago he admitted to suffering from paranoia. “I once formed a paranoia society with a friend - there were only two of us- we made him President, me Vice president” He also said that you should “Keep on moving; keep communicating and keep doing things that make you happy.”

In a recent note he said: “I hope it won’t be too long before Pru and I manage to get down to Salisbury.” Sadly that will not now happen. However, we are left with so many special memories:- the firm handshake, the irrepressible laugh, the huge smile that almost made his eyes disappear, the cultured, talented voice that could become so many different people. Above all though, we are left with memories of a wonderful actor and a dear friend to Salisbury Playhouse.

Lovers of the theatre in Salisbury will always be grateful that Tim and Pru served their apprenticeship in Salisbury. Amongst the thousands of actors that have performed at the Playhouse only a few have left such indelible footprints as they have. But now the Playhouse must say “Goodbye Tim. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to have known and worked with you. You will never be forgotten.”

Written by Arthur Millie