Colin Welland

Colin Welland0:00

This download is the only extract the BBC has of this edition of Desert Island Discs. The presenter was Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:09

Now you're from Liverpool, aren't you, Corner?

Presenter0:11

As a schoolboy, what did you want to be?

Colin Welland0:13

Well, ever since I won my penknife at Morecambe, Haysham had

Presenter0:17

Yeah.

Colin Welland0:18

We're singing Guno's Ave Maria, a beautiful rendering, brought tears to your eyes.

Presenter0:21

Tira.

Colin Welland0:23

Uh I wanted to go on the stage. You see but my dad had his feet firmly on the ground. He said you can paint and draw, be an art teacher first and if you don't like that then go on to the stage. So that's what I did.

Presenter0:34

Yes. Where did you study art?

Colin Welland0:37

At Wakefield in Yorkshire and at Goldsmith's in London.

Presenter0:40

And where did you teach?

Colin Welland0:41

I taught at Leigh in Lancashire.

Presenter0:43

At the same time we were doing amateur work in the theatre.

Colin Welland0:46

No, I never because they never did the sort of thing I want, they always did lilac time new

Colin Welland0:51

But I did a short period as a club comic. Did you?

Presenter0:54

Yeah. Were you successful as a club comic?

Colin Welland0:56

Yeah.

Presenter0:56

I should have been because I was very good, but I wasn't died at death.

Presenter1:02

Leila then. What made you decide eventually that the time was ripe to give up teaching?

Colin Welland1:07

Simply because I was twenty-six, I was going to get married, and I thought, if I get married, I

Presenter1:07

Rubbing.

Colin Welland1:13

Well, lose my opportunity because responsibilities naturally follow marriage.

Presenter1:18

What was your first job?

Colin Welland1:20

My first job in the theatre was the Manchester Library Theatre at David's Case, who I revere to this day.

Colin Welland1:27

gave me my first chance. He himself had been given this chance by Joel Nittlewood because he was a merchant seaman.

Colin Welland1:35

And the auditioned mayor sang good song from a government selector.

Colin Welland1:39

And he says, Right, you're in as an ASM, seven pounds ten a week, and you're playing the lead in the first play. The lead? The lead, Hanel Pinter's birthday party. In your first week? The first week, yeah. He n he knows genius when he sees it. Uh

Presenter1:52

Yeah.

Colin Welland1:52

Ha ha.

Presenter1:52

Yeah.

Presenter1:54

How long did you stay at the Library Theatre, Manchester? One year. And then?

Colin Welland1:58

Yeah.

Colin Welland1:59

Then I had a short spell of three weeks as a BBC News reader.

Presenter2:03

Yeah, three weeks doesn't sound very long.

Colin Welland2:04

It wasn't, because we decided the producer and I thought it was producer's idea.

Colin Welland2:09

to introduce a new element into BBC News really.

Colin Welland2:14

Use a Lancashire accent, use colloquialisms.

Colin Welland2:16

The whole of Cheshire rose in revolt.

Presenter2:19

Uh

Presenter2:20

And you were out? And I was out. So? Then what?

Presenter2:24

Then

Colin Welland2:24

Uh

Presenter2:24

Uh

Colin Welland2:24

Now I walked

Presenter2:24

Straight into Zedcars. Which was handy. Which was handy. P C Graham. P C Dave Graham.

Presenter2:30

And how long did you stay with this?

Colin Welland2:32

See you.

Presenter2:33

Pretty good experience.

Presenter2:34

Marvellous experience. And Zed cars, of course, brought you to live in London.

Colin Welland2:35

Bow

Presenter2:38

So yeah.

Colin Welland2:38

Yeah.

Presenter2:38

Now after that three years, what did you do then?

Colin Welland2:41

Well, I went straight to the Royal Court, did a couple of plays at the Royal Court, then I went into a musical, an ill-fated musical called Man of Magic about Houdini.

Colin Welland2:51

And, luckily for me, Ray Cooney.

Colin Welland2:54

uh was doing a bit of writing doctoring on

Colin Welland2:58

The script.

Colin Welland2:59

And he and I got on well, and he immediately after the show folded said, How would you like to do a bit of farce?

Colin Welland3:06

And I'd never done a far, so I went to Jersey in Boeing Boeing for a summer season.

Colin Welland3:10

And that was successful and then I went all up and down the country for Ray, doing one for the pot and

Presenter3:15

Yes.

Presenter3:16

When did you start writing? Had you started?

Colin Welland3:18

I'd started even at the repertory company. I'd started I'd written two stage plays which are locked away securely.

Presenter3:24

Never been done.

Colin Welland3:24

Never going to be done.

Colin Welland3:26

Five my way.

Presenter3:27

How many individual players have you ridden?

Colin Welland3:29

I've written

Presenter3:31

Yeah.

Colin Welland3:33

Eight of which have

Colin Welland3:35

Been really successful two flops.

Presenter3:37

Yes. And was there always a part for yourself?

Colin Welland3:40

No. Uh most of the early ones were autobiographical, so a character would usually turn up exactly like me, so they thought to themselves, Well, I might as well cast him because we get him as a technical advisor and writer on the spot as well.

Presenter3:52

Now, despite the fact that you've lived in London nearly ten years now,

Presenter3:56

Most of your plays are still about North Country working people.

Colin Welland3:59

Yeah. Yeah. Most of them. Uh Hallelujah Handshake was about my area of London.

Presenter4:04

Peers.

Colin Welland4:04

It's simply because I find Northern people wear their hearts on their sleeves are far more communicative, far more honest.

Colin Welland4:13

Um and they stimulate me far more.

Presenter4:16

Farmer.

Colin Welland4:16

Uh

Presenter4:16

Uh

Presenter4:17

Apart from the setting, is there anything else they have in common?

Colin Welland4:19

The plays. Yes, they usually champion the individual against the system.

Presenter4:24

Yes.

Colin Welland4:24

You usually find that it's one man's effort to break through what is usually expected of an individual.