Theatre Design

The same year that they worked together on 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' Searle and Toye collaborated on a musical stage production called 'Wild Thyme' with Searle designing the decor and poster artwork.


"WILD THYME" Music by Donald Swann (who also directed the Orchestra)
Eight page sixpenny programme from the Duke of York's Theatre for this production dated August 24th 1955 (the date has been recorded on the cover). It starred Denis Quilley, Betty Paul, Colin Gordon, Jane Wenham, Julian Orchard, Frank Duncan and Paul Manning. The decor and cover design was by Ronald Searle
"Also worthy of mention is the 1955 musical flop, Wild Thyme, which failed despite stage designs by Ronald Searle, who also created one of the best London posters ever produced."

Searle and Toye signing the stage decor

'A railway porter meets a French singing star and they run off to the Devonshire coast of Wild Thyme. They are tracked down by his girlfriend and her impressario husband who brings them to their senses and offers him a singing contract.'

-www.donaldswann.co.uk

Wild Thyme - Costume design for French Doorman

'WILD THYME' ST PANDORA CROSS – ACT 1

  PEN INK, WATERCOLOUR AND BODYCOLOUR (7 X 24 1/2 inches)

Design for Denzil and May

'A Tanner's Worth of Tune' Adrian Wright 2010

'The Art & Craft of Drawing - A presentation copy, inscribed in ink on the front free endpaper to his friend the dancer and film and stage director Wendy Toye 'A bit of life for Wendy ?Read all about it? with birthday love from Ronnie May 1 1957', alongside a full page original pen and ink drawing of a lady with no clothes on save for pearls and false eyelashes, seated on an elaborate stool, the lady with pen and sketchpad in each hand, drawing an equally naked lady. '

Searle has been involved with the theatre throughout his career in some capacity-directly designing productions or producing poster and brochure art. Then of course there are the scores of theatrical caricatures he produced for PUNCH magazine.

PENNY PLAIN (1951-52)
'Surly Girls' (Flanders & Swann)
Desmond Walter-Ellis, Max Adrian & Jimmy Thompson
Backcloth: Ronald Searle

St Martin's Theatre, London.










This poster was designed for the Theatre Production of TOMFOOLERY Music, book and lyrics by Tom Lehrer. Devised by Cameron Mackintosh Criterion Theatre, London: opened 5 June, 1980, closed 30 May 1981 then Top of the Gate Theatre, Off-Broadway - 3 December, 1981







1953: Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company, Coronation Year Souvenir

full-page colour cartoon by Ronald Searle of Anthony Quayle as Falstaff

THIS IS FOR A 24 PAGE ORIGINAL THEATRE PROGRAMME.  IT IS FOR A CELEBRATION OF THE WORK OF DONALD SWANN & MICHAEL FLANDERS "UNDER THEIR HATS" AT THE KING'S HEAD THEATRE LONDON.



EMLYN WILLIAMS AS CHARLES DICKENS
SIGNED, INSCRIBED WITH TITLE AND DATED 1952
SIGNED AND INSCRIBED WITH PUBLISHING DETAILS ON REVERSE
PEN AND INK 13 3/4 X 8 1/2 INCHES
ILLUSTRATED: NEWS CHRONICLE, LONDON, 30 OCTOBER 195


A poster design for Thelma Holt's production of The Clandestine Marriage.
Signed, inscribed and dated 'Ronald Searle 1994' (lower right) and 'The Clandestine Marriage: Lord Ogleby' (lower left) pencil and black ink, 17 x 12 in. (43 x 30.5 cm.)

Denholm Elliott played Private Peter Able in Christopher Fry's play, "A Sleep of Prisoners" (St. Thomas's Church, London,1951) at the Festival of Britain with Stanley Baker, Hugh Pryse, and Leonard White in the cast. Michael Macowan was director and Peter Vaughan was stage manager. Ronald Searle designed the cover illustration.



A 'winter comedy' by the playwright Christopher Fry, a first edn Geoffrey Cumberlege OUP (Oxford University Press). Character and cast list when it was in the West End included Peter Sallis and Peter Barkworth. A 'companion' play to the 'spring' The Lady's Not For Burning' and the autumn 'Venus Observed'.

MBASSADORS THEATRE  THE PASSING DAY  JOSEPH TOMELTY   SKETCH RONALD SEARLE A VERY INTERESTING CARD MUST BE PRIOFOR TO 1951 AS IN THAT YEAR THE AMBASSADORS STARTED TO HOST THE MOUSETRAP    A GREAT CAST  NORTHERN IRISH ACTORS BY AN ULSTER PLAYRIGHT GEORGE SHIELS INCLUDING JOS OSEPH TOMELTY AND DIRECTED BY TYRONE GUTHRIE  AND A SMALL SKETCH OF TOMALTY BY RONALD SEARLE

Donald Wolfit as Tumburlaine

Merry Christmas 2009!

While we're on the theme of Searle's work in film & animation here's a seasonal treat. In 1955 Searle designed a short film based on the twelve days of Christmas for director & star Wendy Toye.




Here's a photo spread from the December issue of LIFE magazine, 1955.

Searle's design for the cow decoration.

The weather-vane design.

'. . .Toye's film was what one might call wardrobe-intensive; everything in it was meticulously yet exuberantly designed. As a graphic artist, Searle expected his audience to make deductions from what they saw, hence the specification: 'One could have long pants or nightshirt- (overslept)'
Russell Davies

The imdb review:

"This is a treasure of a short, long missing from TV, and rare on video; a bringing-to-life of the old and familiar carol, illustrating in delightful detail just what can happen when one's Truelove gets carried away with Christmas gift-giving. Set in a blissfully picturebook corner of Edwardian London, the smitten Miss Tilly (in a charming performance by the film's creator, Wendy Toye) is be-gifted over the Twelve Days of Christmas by her natty, nifty and adoring Truelove, to the tune of partridges in pear trees, calling birds, french hens, turtledoves, gold rings, geese-a-laying, boys-a-singing, maids-a-milking (complete with multi-colored cows), dancing ladies, lords-a-leaping, pipers piping and drummers drumming! The mounting and resulting havoc becomes increasingly comic as this little film works toward its magnificent and uplifting conclusion.

Those of you who know and love the work of cartoonist and illustrator Ronald Searle will rejoice to learn that he created the visual design of the film, and his touch is apparent in every moment."

The film was entered into that years' Venice Film Festival, nominated for an Oscar and broadcast to a nationwide network audience on New Year's Day as a color Spectacular on NBCTV.

Through the wonders of YouTube we can watch the film!