Searle on Wall St.

 For HOLIDAY magazine, March 1964

Ronald Searle's America

My forthcoming book on Ronald Searle's American era work is now available to pre-order on Amazon here.

'This is legendary British cartoonist Ronald Searle’s caustic take on 1960s America, in the form of illustrations and drawings (with commentary).

Dispatched to America in the early ’60s, the golden age of illustrative reportage, Ronald Searle spent several years covering everything—in the form of drawings in his trademark satirical and virtuosic style—from sports to politics, for magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post and TV Guide. Topics included Palm Springs, Las Vegas, the Presidential contest between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon—as seen through the eyes of a caustic Englishman. Full-color illustrations throughout.'

Punch theatre pt.2

Searle made so many caricature drawings for Punch magazine's theatre review column I'm starting a second thread here, culled from my extensive but not quite comprehensive collection of Punch mags and clippings. I'll try to keep this in chronological order so we can observe his artistic development. Where possible I've included the relevant sketchbook images that Searle made 'on site' in the theatre.

1949

'The Return of Peter Grimm' August 31, 1949
Aldwych

'Faust' August 31, 1949
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park

'Fading Mansion' September 14, 1949

Duchess

'Master of Arts' September 14, 1949

Strand

'Summer Day's Dream' September 21, 1949

St. Martin's

'Western Wind' September 21, 1949

Piccadilly

'Gooseberry Fool' October 26, 1949
Duchess

'She StoopsTo Conquer' October 26, 1949
New

'A Month In The Country' December 7, 1949
New

'Fallen Angels' December 7, 1949
Ambassadors

'Castle In The Air' December 28, 1949

Adelphi

'Murder At The Vicarage' December 28, 1949

Playhouse

1950

'Puss In Boots' January 4, 1950
Palladium

'Little Miss Muffet' January 4, 1950

'Dick Whittington' January 11, 1950
Princes

'The Silver Curlew' January 11, 1950
Arts

'Mr Gillie' March 29, 1950
Garrick

'Knights Of Madness' March 29, 1950
Victoria Palace

'Detective Story' April 5, 1950
Princes

'The Platinum Set' April 12, 1950
Saville

'KingHenry III' April 12, 1950
Stratford

'Much Ado About Nothing' June 21, 1950
Stratford-Upon-Avon

'Carousel' June 21, 1950
Drury Lane

'Heartbreak House' July 19, 1950
Arts

'Ace of Clubs' July 19, 1950

Cambridge

'Reluctant Heroes' September 22, 1950
Whitehall

'Who Goes There?' September 22, 1950
Theatre Royal, Windsor

Theatre Sketchbook November 1, 1950

Theatre Sketchbook November 22, 1950

Theatre Sketchbook November 29, 1950

1951

'The Martin's Nest' April 25, 1951
Westminster

'Shavings' April 25, 1951
St. Martin's

 'Hand In Glove' June 20, 1951
New Lindsey

'The Hollow Lady' June 20, 1951
The Fortune

'Shaw Festival' July 4,1951
Arts

'Come Live With Me' July 4,1951
Vaudeville

'The Tempest' July 11, 1951
Stratford-On-Avon

'Penny Plain'  July 11, 1951
St. Martin's

'The Clandestine Marriage' December 19, 1951
Old Vic

'The Great Adventure' December 19, 1951
The Arts

'The Day's Mischief' December 26, 1951
Duke of York's

'Colombe' December 26, 1951
New Theatre

'Anthony & Cleopatra' 1951

1952

'Indian Summer' January 2, 1952
Criterion

'Riquet With the Tuft' January 2, 1952
Players'

'Under The Sycamore Tree' May 7, 1952
Aldwych

'After My Fashion' May 21, 1952
Ambassadors

'The Voysey Inheritance' May 21, 1952
Arts

'Meet Mr. Callaghan' June 11, 1952
Garrick

'Timon of Athens' June 11, 1952
Old Vic

'LaCenerentola' July 2, 1952
Glyndebourne

'King Henry VI, Part 3' August 6, 1952
Old Vic

'Quadrille' September 24, 1952
Phoenix

'Macbeth' September 24, 1952
Mermaid

'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime' October 22, 1952
Royal Court

'Letter From Paris' October 22, 1952
Aldwych

1953

'Dick Whittington' January 7, 1953
Palladium

'Maria Marten' January 7, 1953
Arts

'Escapade' February 4, 1953
St. James's

'The Devil Came from Dublin' February 4, 1953
Embassy

'The Merchant Of Venice' April 1, 1953
Stratford

'Ecoutez Bien Messieurs' June 17, 1953

Winter Garden

September 16, 1953
Palladium

1954

'A Midsummer Night's Dream' , 1954

'Can-Can' October 20, 1954

1955

'TheLark' 18May, 1955 Lyric Hammersmith

'Troilus & Cressida'  1955

1956

'Troilus & Cressida' April 4th, 1956
Marlowe Society, Cambridge

 'The Power and the Glory' April 18, 1956

The Phoenix

'Look Back In Anger' May 16, 1956
Royal Court

'Family Reunion' June 13, 1956
The Phoenix Theatre, London

 'Major Barbara' July 25, 1956
The Old Vic

 'Quare Fellows' August 1, 1956
Comedy

'Twelfth Night' August 8, 1956
Open Air

'Giselle' October 10, 1956

Covent Garden, London

'Fanny' November 28, 1956
Drury lane

1957

'Nekrassov'  August 28, 1957

Royal Lyceum Theatre

'The Hidden King' August 28, 1957

Royal Lyceum Theatre

1958

'Bertram Mills Circus' January 1, 1958
Olympia

'Lysistrata' January 1, 1958

'Robinson Crusoe' January 8, 1958
London Palladium

'The Imperial Nightingale' January 22, 1958

'The Iceman Cometh' February 5, 1958

'The Potting Shed' 12 February, 1958
The Globe

'Keep Your Hair On!' 19 February, 1958

'Hunters Moon' March 5, 1958

'The Importance of Being Earnest' March 19, 1958
Cambridge A.D.C.

'Romeo & Juliet' April 16, 1958
Stratford

'Pericles' July 16, 1958

'King James the Fourth' August 13, 1958
Stratford-Upon-Avon

'Live Like Pigs' October 8, 1958
Royal Court, London

'West Side Story' December 24, 1958

'Cinderella' December 31, 1958

Coliseum, London

1959

'Sleeping Beauty' Jan 7, 1959

'Rose Tattoo' Jan 21, 1959

'The Woman On The Stair' Jan 28, 1959

Sketchbook image courtesy of Chris Beetles gallery, London

'Sgnarelle&Tartuffe' February 18, 1959

'Blue Magic' February 25, 1959
Prince of Wales

'Pieces Of Eight' September, 1959
Comedy review written by Harold Pinter & Peter Cook
Apollo Theatre, London

'Treasure Island' December 23, 1959

1960

'The Merry Wives of Windsor' January 6, 1960
Old Vic

'Babes In The Wood' January 13, 1960
Players'

'Hooray For Daisy' January 20, 1960
Theatre Royal, Bristol

'A Moon for the Misbegotten' January 27, 1960
Arts

'The Lily White Boys' February 10, 1960
Royal Court

'The Wrong Side of the Park' February 10, 1960
Cambridge

'Inherit The Wind' March 23, 1960
St. Martin's

'The Merchant of Venice' April 27, 1960
Stratford-Upon-Avon

Sketchbook image courtesy of Chris Beetles gallery, London

'Rhinoceros' May 4, 1960
Royal Court

'Over The Bridge' May 11, 1960
Princes

'Bachelor Flat' June 8, 1960
Piccadilly

'Candida' June 22, 1960
Piccadilly

'The Taming Of The Shrew' June 29, 1960
Stratford

'Troilus & Cressida' August 10, 1960
Stratford-Upon-Avon

'The Seagull' August 31, 1960
Royal Lyceum

'The Wallace' August 31, 1960
Assembly Hall

'Romulus The Great' September 7, 1960
Gateway

'Billy Liar' September 21, 1960
Cambridge

'Once Upon A Mattress' September 28, 1960
The Strand

'Progress To The Park' November 23, 1960
Theatre Royal, Stratford

'Trials By Logue' November 30, 1960
Royal Court

'The Duchess of Malfi' December 15, 1960
Aldwych

1961

'The Miracle Worker' January 1961
Royalty