From "The Orton Diaries" by Joe Orton

Page 35

I did nothing today except write. I've begun the second half of "What the Butler Saw".

Page 36

"Produced posthumously by Lewenstein-Delfont Productions Ltd. and H.M. Tennent Ltd. at the Queen's Theatre, 5 March 1969. With Stanley Baxter, Coral Browne and Sir Ralph Richardson.

Page 224

Thursday 29, June
A man came up to me and told me he'd seen "Loot" last week. "marvelous,' he said. Coral Browne told me to go and see it. "Splendid".

Page 233

He said Coral Browne "had met Vivien Merchant and said, "You're playing Lady M, aren't you dear? What are you going to do with the fucking candle? I wouldn't bring it on. I left it in a sconce offstage. I wouldn't bring it on," And Vivien had said, "Peter wants me to play lady M. In a grey wig with a grey face but I don't think it's quite right somehow. "I wouldn't play her in a fucking grey wig," Coral Browne said, "I played her as a mature, but still very lovely." I had such trouble with Macbeth," she said, a little later, "he was so jealous. I got all the notices, you see. And on one night he pulled off my wig. Threw it across the stage. You've really no idea how much trouble I had. It's the baby. That's the crux of the matter. I wanted to play her with a baby at her tit in the first scene. We wouldn't hear of it. Afraid I'd get the pathos, you see". "Coral is really wonderful," Peter Willes said, "she had her face lifted when she was forty. And that's the perfect age to have it done. It dosen''t make you look any younger, but it makes you look better." He brought me a book to read by Mrs. Molesworth called The "Palace in the Garden".

Page 239

Kenneth also says that we should offer Mrs. Prentice to Coral Browne. She would be rather good - though I doubt whether she'd accept (What the Butler Saw).

Page 256

"Sir Ralph Richardson (1902-1983). Pre-eminent English actor. Richardson did play Dr Rance in the disastrous premier production of "What the Butler Saw". Coral Browne, who played Mrs Prentice, recalls: 'Originally Ralph turned it down. He changed his mind. We played in Brighton a week before we came to town. I've never seen anything like it. He was attacked. People were writing him letters. Ralph got terribly depressed, terribly down thinking he'd made a mistake. Taking a part in a "dirty" play. He replied to every one of those letters. Attack. Attack. Attack. The front of the house manager was attacked. Well he just left town. I think by this time Ralph had given up the ghost."