I came to the attention of George Roman, the first artistic director of Theatr Clwyd, through the actor Leader Hawkins, who had been at the Bristol Old Vic School with George and at the Duke’s Playhouse with me.
George was a warm, cultured, avuncular man, who had fled Hungary with his wife Judith in the wake of the 1956 Soviet invasion. Oh! Mr Primrose, a Hungarian three-act farce, was, I guess, a kind of love-letter to their homeland. George asked me to set its lyrics to operetta-ish music, which for me was a pleasure. I was asked to be musical director too, but I had to say no, as I was performing in Treasure Island in Chester, a dozen or so miles away. In fact, I had just one opportunity to see Oh! Mr Primrose, on its only matinée that didn’t coincide with those at Chester.
