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Dotrice, 84, revives record-breaking one-man show
By Louise Jury, Evening Standard 27.02.08
Racy anecdotes: Roy Dotrice
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Roy Dotrice is reviving a one-man play that won him a place in the Guinness Book of Records 40 years ago.
The 84-year-old actor first performed Brief Lives, based on the gossipy writings of 17th century antiquary John Aubrey, at the Hampstead Theatre in 1967.
It subsequently transferred to Broadway and toured internationally for a total of 1,782 performances - the longest-running one-man play. Dotrice has decided to return to the role as a tribute to his wife Kay, who died three months ago.
He said: "It's unfathomable to grasp it has been 40 years since I first played lovable eccentric and author John Aubrey in Brief Lives.
"I'm 40 years older and complete with my own wrinkles but it strikes me I have become Aubrey-esque in more ways than one - though his anecdotes are far racier than mine."
Aubrey, who was born in 1626, lived through the execution of Charles I, the Civil War, the reign of Charles II and the Glorious Revolution that saw the arrival of William and Mary.
The play, adapted by director Patrick Garland, who is in charge of the revival, shows the elderly Aubrey regaling his audience with stories and scandal.
Dotrice, father of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em star Michele and a former Royal Shakespeare Company stalwart who spent many years performing in the US, joked that it used to take him two and a half hours to prepare for the role in make-up but now he was more of the right age, it should take considerably less time.
• Brief Lives is at the Theatre Royal Windsor from 17-22 March and the Richmond Theatre from 25-29 March. It is hoped the play will then find a home in the West End.
