Ian and Judy
The West Yorkshire Playhouse is doing a stage version of Harper Lee's excellent novel To Kill a Mockingbird and their Marketing Manager thoughtfully sent me a flyer to tell me all about it.
The production stars Duncan Preston, perhaps best known as a television comedy actor. Apparently, however, according to this flyer he
"learnt his craft with the Royal Shakespeare Company, working alongside Ian McKellan and Judy Dench amongst others."
Unfortunately, there are no actors called Ian McKellan and Judy Dench. Ian McKellan is a Glasgow painter and decorator. Judy Dench is a lawyer from Thanet. Or they might be, anyway, but they're certainly not actors. There are, however, a couple of really rather well known actors called Ian McKellen and Judi Dench, with an e and with an i.
Ian McKellen, the actor, used to write to me when I was a stage-struck teenager telling me where his then company, The Actors' Company, would be performing next. He was great: and I bet he still is. He once sent me a very risque card from Japan, which I much enjoyed.
I have never had any acquaintance with Judi Dench, the actress, but when The Communist was a pharmacist in York her father was one of the doctors he worked with. I first saw her as a very young and excellent Viola at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the very early nineteen seventies. Duncan Preston was probably carrying a spear in the same production.
It might seem trivial that their names are spelled wrongly on this flyer, but actors' names are really important: Equity won't let there be two of the same name because of the likelihood of confusion. Also, it seems extremely discourteous not to check the spelling. Further, I think it's a bit naff that that a theatre of the status of the West Yorkshire Playhouse is employing a Marketing Manager who can't spell either of them.
So I am considering several options:
1) Mark the mistakes and send the flyer back to the Marketing Manager with a little note (the kind option)
2) Mark the mistakes and send the flyer back to the Artistic Director, Ian Brown, with a little note (the cruel option)
3) Do nothing (the unlikely option)
4) Fold the flyer into a paper dart and throw it out of the window (the carefree option)
If you have opinions, or further suggestions, please let me have them, but if you wish to tell me that such things don't matter and I am an old pedant, please desist, because I know I am an old pedant and such things matter TO ME.
The production stars Duncan Preston, perhaps best known as a television comedy actor. Apparently, however, according to this flyer he
"learnt his craft with the Royal Shakespeare Company, working alongside Ian McKellan and Judy Dench amongst others."
Unfortunately, there are no actors called Ian McKellan and Judy Dench. Ian McKellan is a Glasgow painter and decorator. Judy Dench is a lawyer from Thanet. Or they might be, anyway, but they're certainly not actors. There are, however, a couple of really rather well known actors called Ian McKellen and Judi Dench, with an e and with an i.
Ian McKellen, the actor, used to write to me when I was a stage-struck teenager telling me where his then company, The Actors' Company, would be performing next. He was great: and I bet he still is. He once sent me a very risque card from Japan, which I much enjoyed.
I have never had any acquaintance with Judi Dench, the actress, but when The Communist was a pharmacist in York her father was one of the doctors he worked with. I first saw her as a very young and excellent Viola at the Royal Shakespeare Company in the very early nineteen seventies. Duncan Preston was probably carrying a spear in the same production.
It might seem trivial that their names are spelled wrongly on this flyer, but actors' names are really important: Equity won't let there be two of the same name because of the likelihood of confusion. Also, it seems extremely discourteous not to check the spelling. Further, I think it's a bit naff that that a theatre of the status of the West Yorkshire Playhouse is employing a Marketing Manager who can't spell either of them.
So I am considering several options:
1) Mark the mistakes and send the flyer back to the Marketing Manager with a little note (the kind option)
2) Mark the mistakes and send the flyer back to the Artistic Director, Ian Brown, with a little note (the cruel option)
3) Do nothing (the unlikely option)
4) Fold the flyer into a paper dart and throw it out of the window (the carefree option)
If you have opinions, or further suggestions, please let me have them, but if you wish to tell me that such things don't matter and I am an old pedant, please desist, because I know I am an old pedant and such things matter TO ME.
posted by Daphne at 6:29 pm
5 Comments:
SEND IT TO THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR!!!! AS MY COMMENT IS IN ALL CAPS THEREFORE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYONE ELSE'S LAWL11111 Only joking, but do punish the sender as much as is humanly possible. I am a young pedant.
I have to say I am leaning more towards the send it back to the Marketing Manager option, although it would be tempting to send a red pen corrected copy anonymously to the artistic director as well... hmmm, or is that too devious?
Please make the corrections, using a red pen, and send it to the Marketing Director AND the Artistic Director. As long as you're at it, send it to the actor too.
Anna
ha ha - send it to Ian and Judi, with the address of the Marketing Manager
you could, of course, also ask them for their reminiscences of Duncan
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