W.A. Drew’s new play about the writer and actor Emlyn Williams will receive its premiere public charity performance in the delightful painted orangery of The Fan Museum, Greenwich, at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, November 14th.
Filled with humour, anecdotes, gossip, scandal and tears too, Emlyn – A Divided Life, promises to be an evening to remember.
Emlyn Williams performed in countless stage and screen productions with some of the greatest actors of his age, including the role of Caligula in the legendary, ill-fated, film of
I Claudius – “the epic that never was”.
He also wrote two internationally famous plays, The Corn is Green (recently revived to great success at The National Theatre) and the (twice filmed), London & Broadway thriller-sensation, Night Must Fall.
This new chamber play features actor Mansel David in an emotional tour de force about the life and achievements of a complex and talented man whose close friends included Richard Burton, Bette Davis, Nöel Coward, Charles Laughton, John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier – to name but a few.


Mansel David as Emlyn Williams
Mansel David has built a diverse career spanning television, stage, film, and solo performances. He is particularly known for his theatrical adaptations and classical readings, portraying Charles Dickens, A.E. Houseman, and, most recently, the actor and writer Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army), in an acclaimed play written by Arnold’s son, Nicolas.
W.A. Drew, a Life Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, has received an award for his contribution to the media industries. He has written over 40 plays, all staged in London, some in the regions, and one Off Broadway, as well as 10 novels.
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