I always suspected there were any number of publications of PETER PAN but never realised just how many. What an industry Mister Barrie’s play has turned out to be. My musical version having just been made available on Amazon, Douglas looked up PETER PAN and gave up after twenty five pages! I’m there, I’m definitely there, but having only just been published, I’m an awful long way down the list.
But bit by bit things seem to be happening, (thanks to the internet?) or is that wishful thinking after all these years? Three different queries on THE 88 from Ireland and from Ulster a lady writes to say she has seen the DVD of DOUBLE DECKERS and if she sends me a letter would I autograph it for her? This is very interesting because, although, when questioned, she says she bought the DVD from the official DOUBLE DECKERS website, we know nothing about it and this is the second time someone is making money out of my work, and the others involved, and we get nothing for it. The previous pirated copy was being sold on E-Bay and we managed to get it withdrawn. Also a company called Cherry Records have produced a CD of the music from the show and four of the songs (lyric wise) are mine but yet again I am seeing nothing for my work. The company insists they bought the rights outright from whoever had it previously who bought it from someone else who bought it from someone else and so forth down the line. When 20th Century Music, the original copyright (note spelling John) holders were approached we were informed that they don’t keep records going that far back to which my answer is crap! Would the small amount of money that could legitimately come my way really be such a big deal as far these companies are concerned?
The latest enquiry comes from Adelaide in Australia and concerns DOCTOR WHO. I must admit I do get chuffed when this sort of thing happens, especially if I can be helpful.
Many years ago when I was in MEASURE FOR MEASURE at the Open Space, Charles Marowitz asked me if I would like to play the ghost in his following production of Hamlet and the ghost being a rather small part I turned it down. It was definitely the wrong decision. Instead of being so hasty I should have asked to see his version of the play. Evidently the ghost was a major figure and the part was definitely worth playing. What an idiot I was. What brought this to mind was reading about Gordon Craig in the Ellen Terry/Henry Irving book and coming across the fact that a Polish director, Stanislaw Wyspianski round about 1910 had made the ghost the chief character in his production of the play, so Mister Marowitz wasn’t being exactly original. Am I right in believing that Tom Stoppard’s play ROSENCRANZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD was actually the second working of that theme? That there was an earlier version? I was told this by someone but have never bothered to check it out so it may not be true. Then, on the other hand, it might be. There really is nothing new under sun.