Privates on Parade
West Yorkshire Playhouse production
Written by	Peter Nichols
Date premiered	17 February 1977
Place premiered	Aldwych Theatre London
Original language	English
Subject	British army ENSA group after World War II
Genre	Comedy
Setting	1950, South East Asia
IOBDB profile

Privates on Parade: A Play with Songs in Two Acts is a 1977 farce by English playwright Peter Nichols (book and lyrics), with music by Denis King.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Productions 3 Film adaptation 4 Awards and nominations 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links

[edit] Plot

The play is set around the activities and exploits of the fictional Song and Dance Unit South East Asia (SADUSEA), a mostly gay British military concert party stationed in Singapore and Malaysia in the late 1940s during the Malayan Emergency. The drama draws upon Nichols' own experiences in the real-life Combined Services Entertainment, the postwar successor to ENSA, Entertainments National Service Association.

[edit] Productions

It was premièred at Stratford by the Royal Shakespeare Company, before receiving its London première at the Aldwych Theatre on 17 February 1977, where it ran for 208 performances. This production won the 1977 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy.

It was revived in 1979 at the Derby Playhouse, and again in 1982 with Bruce Payne as Flight Sergeant Kevin Cartwright and Tim Barlow. A 2001 revival directed by Michael Grandage at the Donmar Warehouse had a cast including Roger Allam, James McAvoy, Malcolm Sinclair and Indira Varma, set design by Christopher Oram and choreography by Scarlett Mackmin.^[1] Allam received the 2002 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance.

[edit] Film adaptation

The play was adapted by Nichols and Handmade Films for a 1982 with John Cleese, David Bamber, and Denis Quilley directed by Michael Blakemore.

[edit] Awards and nominations

Awards

• 1977 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy
• 1990 Drama Critics' Circle Award Best Foreign Play

[edit] References

1. ^ Loveridge, Lizzie (1 December 2001). "Privates on Parade". CurtainUp. http://www.curtainup.com/privatesonparade.html. Retrieved 2008-10-21. 

[edit] Further reading

• Nichols, Peter (1977). Privates on Parade: A Play with Songs in Two Acts (First ed.). New York: Samuel French. ISBN 0573113475. 

[edit] External links

• Privates on Parade at the Internet off-Broadway Database

v • d • e Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy Donkeys' Years (1976) · Privates on Parade (1977) · Filumena (1978) · Middle-Age Spread (1979) · Educating Rita (1980) · Steaming (1981) · Noises Off (1982) · Daisy Pulls It Off (1983) · Up 'n' Under (1984) · A Chorus of Disapproval (1985) · When We Are Married (1986) · Three Men on a Horse (1987) · Shirley Valentine (1988) · Single Spies (1990) · Out of Order (1991) · La Bête (1992) · The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (1993) · Hysteria (1994) · My Night with Reg (1995) · Mojo (1996) · 'Art' (1997) · Popcorn (1998) · Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick (1999) · The Memory of Water (2000) · Stones in His Pockets (2001) · The Play What I Wrote (2002) · The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2003) · The 39 Steps (2007) · Rafta, Rafta... (2008) · God of Carnage (2009)