Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
One of Britain's most versatile actresses, known for being a member of both the Carry On team and the National Theatre.
On the island
Eight records
Original Broadway Cast of A Chorus Line
I think it's such a proy show. And if I was on this desert island, I'd like to remember when I was an Eileen Rogue and Drury Lane babe.
Well, I worked jolly hard. I really did work hard seven days a week, and I was an assistant stage manager ... and listening to that record reminds me of the things that used to go on.
That always reminds me ... of the local dance hall when I was a kid ... I can see myself still at the Hill Stores or the Conservative Club in Oldham after the rep.
Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries
I think she's about my favorite artist, Judy Garland. I've got all her L P's and ... I think I'd like her to sing this for me on that desert island.
Where or WhenFavourite
Not very classic lammer. It's Errol Garner playing Where oh When.
I went to see Barbara Cook at the Don Mar Warehouse. She's different, isn't she? And she's really something, that lady. She's marvellous.
Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Norman Del Mar
I'd just love to hear that music as the big ship arrives to rescue me with my dog on that desert island and all the pets that I found on the island, all the animals.
In conversation
Presenter asks
1:12Of all the things you've done, would I be right in thinking that musicals are your favorites?
Well, when I was in rep, I was in rep for seven years, and to get a marvellous part in a play is great. It really is super. ... But with musicals, I just love the atmosphere backstage with the musical. ... immediately I finished at the National I went off to the Theatre or Brighton to do pantomime ... and you go backstage in a real theatre ... and you get a real theatrical atmosphere. And again, we had the music, you see ... and it lifts you, you know.
Presenter asks
5:01How did you change your name [from Dora Broadbent to Dora Bryan]?
We sat in the kitchen in the gardens of Oldham, mum and dad and I, and Dad had bought a trunk second hand somewhere, and he'd put DB on it for me, you see ... So, to change my name it had to be something like ... It had to begin with a B, and on the b table in the kitchen, I can see it now. The apple pie was there, and the box of matches was there, and it was said Bryant and May. Well, my middle name being May. Mum said, Oh, what about Dora and May? and I said, No, 'cause of the B, so B on the trunk, so it became Bryant. And when I got to Keithley Rep, the man that printed the programme left the tea off, so it was Dora and Bryant.
Presenter asks
7:33What was rep like?
The keepsakes
The book
Jerome K. Jerome
I would like a good laugh. So I'm going to take my favourite book of all time. I've been reading it since I was twenty, on and off.
The luxury
I'm going to Battersea Dogs Home and I'm going to choose a dog from there, the one that looks the rattiest, and I'm going to give him a really good life on that desert island. I'm going to show him what freedom is.
Oh yes, it was, but it was the best days of my life. And listening to that record reminds me of the things that used to go on. ... Well, I worked jolly hard. I really did work hard seven days a week, and I was an assistant stage manager because they couldn't give me a part every week 'cause I looked very young ... and a different play every week and then eventually I was playing leading parts
Presenter asks
14:16You've managed to survive all that, but there's been pressures on you over the years. Did you have a bad time with that?
Yeah, I did. About seven years ago I had a nervous breakdown. And I had one also after I lost my first baby. It's awful and you, you know, just blaming yourself all the time for things and ... I think that was accumulation of moving home and the children growing up and My age, maybe, I don't know.
Presenter asks
15:12How do you come out of [a nervous breakdown]?
I don't know, Michael. You have to be patient, I think, with a breakdown and uh good doctors and just watch your way of life, really. It's not easy.
Presenter asks
20:02What have been the wonderful moments when you look back in these fifty-one years?
Obviously receiving an award for Taste of Honey was really very special ... A new baby, an award and my brother who I hadn't seen since the war, you know. So that was a great moment. Another marvellous moment was ... Hello Dolly at the Theatre Audrey Lane ... once I was into it I think there was it was the most magical moment to stand at the top of those stairs in that gorgeous red dress. And look at all the boys standing there waiting for you to come down and sing. ... That must be my favorite moment in the theatre.
“I feel as if I'm still ... insecure, and what's going to happen next, sort of that never leaves you.”
“Being on top all the time is um a strain, you know. ... So the thing to do is to Just keep yourself calm so that you can be on top, on stage and nowhere else. But it's no good trying to be on top all day long. You can't”
“I'm going to Battersea Dogs Home and I'm going to choose a dog from there, the one that looks the rattiest, and I'm going to give him a really good life on that desert island. I'm going to show him what freedom is.”