{{Short description|English playwright and novelist (born 1939)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
thumb|Hawdon in 2018
'''Robin Hawdon''' is an English playwright and novelist, with previous additional careers as actor and theatre director. He is best known for his stage comedies and novels.<ref name=yorkshirepost>{{cite web|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/must-read/weeks-must-read-number-ten-robin-hawdon-489007|title=This Week's Must Read: Number Ten by Robin Hawdon|website=www.yorkshirepost.co.uk|date=8 August 2019 }}</ref>
== Education == Robin Hawdon was educated at Whitgift Grammar School and Uppingham public school. He later attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles/robin-hawdon/|title=Robin Hawdon — RADA|website=www.rada.ac.uk}}</ref>
== Career ==
=== Acting === His career as an actor was first established with seasons at Chesterfield,<ref name="chesterfield">{{cite web |title=Robin Hawdon - Chesterfield Theatre Friends |url=http://www.chesterfieldtheatrefriends.co.uk/actors/seasonal/robin-hawdon.aspx |website=Chesterfield Theatre |access-date=16 September 2019}}</ref> York, Guildford<ref name=theatricalia>{{cite web|url=https://theatricalia.com/person/xtc/robin-hawdon|title=Robin Hawdon | Theatricalia|website=theatricalia.com}}</ref> and Bristol Old Vic<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englishtheatre.at/deutsch/ueber-uns/archiv/saison-200607/perfectwedding/darsteller/sarah-desmond.html|title=Sarah Desmond | Viennas English Theatre|website=www.englishtheatre.at}}</ref> repertory theatres, and in London's West End in a variety of roles including ''Roar Like A Dove'' (Phoenix), ''The Last Joke'' (Phoenix), ''The Easter Man'' (title role - Globe), ''Misalliance'' (Royal Court), ''One Over The Eight'' (Duke of Yorks).<ref name=theatricalia/> He also played ''Hamlet'' in Cape Town, Prince Hal and ''Henry V'' at York, and Henry Higgins in ''Pygmalion'' at Salisbury.<ref name=theatricalia/><ref name=yorkshirepost/>
He made many TV appearances, in particular in the series ''Compact'' (BBC),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/3b4a27b8641f4bf9a7c50a76ac427481|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221171848/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/3b4a27b8641f4bf9a7c50a76ac427481|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 February 2025|title=Compact: The Night Visitors|date=5 March 1964|issue=2103|pages=41|via=BBC Genome}}</ref> ''The Flying Swan'' (BBC),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7cf8a4d2b1c0422aaf4b73cfb59f8062|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250127151030/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7cf8a4d2b1c0422aaf4b73cfb59f8062|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 January 2025|title=The Flying Swan: An Ideal Guest|date=22 May 1965|issue=2167|pages=7|via=BBC Genome}}</ref> ''Spasms'' (co-star with Jonathan Pryce - Thames TV) and ''Chalk and Cheese'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/c/chalkandcheese_1299000565.shtml |title=BBC - Comedy Guide - Chalk And Cheese |access-date=2013-09-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050407230857/http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/guide/articles/c/chalkandcheese_1299000565.shtml |archive-date=7 April 2005 }}</ref> (co-star with Michael Crawford - Thames TV 1977). He appeared in a number of films, including ''The Day the Earth Caught Fire'', ''We Joined the Navy'', ''Bedazzled'' (1967), ''Zeta One'' (star) (''The Love Factor'' in the USA) (1969),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://mubi.com/cast/robin-hawdon|title=Robin Hawdon|website=MUBI|language=en|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> ''When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth'' (star) (1970), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) Episode 26 – The Smile Behind the Veil as Grant (1970), ''The Howerd Confessions'', as P.C.Trimble, ''Burke & Hare'' (1971) and ''I Want What I Want'' (1972).<ref name=bfi>{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9efe381e|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180407073339/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9efe381e|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 April 2018|title=Robin Hawdon|website=BFI}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/i-want-what-i-want-v24153/cast-crew|title=I Want What I Want (1972) - John Dexter | Cast and Crew | AllMovie|via=www.allmovie.com}}</ref>
He was scheduled by the James Bond producers to film test for the role, but the test was cancelled when Roger Moore finally accepted the part.<ref name="yorkshirepost" />
=== Writing === His writing career began in with plays produced at the Hampstead Theatre, and The King's Lynn and Salzburg Festivals, and with a nationwide tour of ''The Hero'' starring Roy Dotrice. His first large commercial success was with the comedy ''The Mating Game'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2433/the-mating-game|title=The Mating Game {{!}} Samuel French|website=www.samuelfrench.com|language=en|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> which had a long run at London's Apollo Theatre and played in over 30 countries around the world.<ref name=yorkshirepost/>
Subsequently, a number of comedies played regularly on tour and internationally, many being published by Samuel French<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.samuelfrench.com/search|title=Search {{!}} Samuel French|website=www.samuelfrench.com|language=en|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> and Josef Weinberger.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.josef-weinberger.com/plays-and-pantomime/author/hawdon-robin.html|title=Hawdon, Robin {{!}} Josef Weinberger|website=www.josef-weinberger.com|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> These were followed by his farce ''Don't Dress for Dinner''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/1252/dont-dress-for-dinner|title=Don't Dress for Dinner {{!}} Samuel French|website=www.samuelfrench.com|language=en|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2007/don-t-dress-for-dinner-review-at-mill-at-sonning/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530165912/https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2007/don-t-dress-for-dinner-review-at-mill-at-sonning/|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 May 2019|title=Don't Dress For Dinner review at Mill at Sonning {{!}} Review {{!}} Theatre|last=Tracy|first=Sheila|website=The Stage|language=en-US|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/dont-dress-dinner-theater-review-316689|title=Don't Dress for Dinner: Theater Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=26 April 2012 |language=en|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/reviews/Don-t-Dress-for-Dinner|title=DON'T DRESS FOR DINNER on Broadway Reviews - Critics Ratings|website=www.broadwayworld.com|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/world/DontDressDinner.html|title=Talkin' Broadway Review: Don't Dress for Dinner|website=www.talkinbroadway.com|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lanterntheater.org/plays/dont-dress-for-dinner.html|title=Don't Dress for Dinner by Marc Camoletti {{!}} Lantern Theater Company|website=www.lanterntheater.org|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> (loosely based on a French play by Marc Camoletti) which ran for six years in London and subsequently on Broadway, and plays regularly in theatres around the English speaking world.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/robin-hawdon-491122|title=Robin Hawdon – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB|website=www.ibdb.com}}</ref>
The rights to most of the published plays are owned by Hawdon's company, Hawdon Productions Ltd.
Hawdon's comedy ''Birthday Suite'' has played on and off for over thirty-five years across Europe, as it was first played in 1983 at the Redgrave Theatre, Farnham.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.englishtheatre.de/archives/article/birthday-suite-by-robin-hawdon/|title=BIRTHDAY SUITE by Robin Hawdon|website=www.englishtheatre.de|language=en|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.falconplayers.org/theatrical-reviews/64-birthday-suite-by-robin-hawdon.html|title=Falcon Players - Birthday Suite, by Robin Hawdon|website=www.falconplayers.org|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2008/birthday-suite-review-at-mill-at-sonning/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530171420/https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2008/birthday-suite-review-at-mill-at-sonning/|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 May 2019|title=Birthday Suite review at Mill at Sonning {{!}} Review {{!}} Theatre|last=Tracy|first=Sheila|website=The Stage|language=en-US|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> His comedy ''Shady Business'' played in Paris for five months at the Michodière Theatre. His most globally performed comedy, with several hundred productions across thirty countries, is ''Perfect Wedding''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2449/perfect-wedding|title=Perfect Wedding {{!}} Samuel French|website=samuelfrench.com|language=en|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2015/08/19/theater-49034-a49034|title=Theater|date=19 August 2015|website=The Moscow Times|language=en|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://eugenereview.com/perfect-wedding-of-course-not-when-its-a-fast-paced-british-farce-onstage-at-the-vlt/|title=Perfect wedding? Of course not, when it's a fast-paced British farce onstage at the VLT|last=Randi Bjornstad|date=15 June 2017|website=Eugene Review|language=en-US|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2016/05/08/review-perfect-wedding-wash-cty-playhouse/|title=Review: 'Perfect Wedding' at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children's Theater|last=Leary|first=Johnna|date=8 May 2016|website=DC Metro Theater Arts|language=en-US|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irontontribune.com/2018/08/19/actc-theatre-announces-fall-season-auditions/#//|title=ACTC Theater announces fall season, auditions - The Tribune|date=19 August 2018|work=The Tribune|access-date=30 May 2019|language=en-US}}</ref>
His straight play, ''God And Stephen Hawking'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.josef-weinberger.com/plays-and-pantomime/play/god-and-stephen-hawking.html|title=GOD AND STEPHEN HAWKING {{!}} Plays & Pantomimes {{!}} Josef Weinberger|website=www.josef-weinberger.com|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> based on Hawking’s life and his best-selling book ''A Brief History of Time'', toured the UK in 2000 starring Robert Hardy and Stephen Boxer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/jun/04/vanessathorpe.theobserver1|title=Hawking to join God in the spotlight|date=3 June 2000|website=the Guardian}}</ref>
He has written several novels, notably ''A Rustle In The Grass''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com.au/Rustle-Grass-Robin-Hawdon-ebook/dp/B00QQNK97O|title=A Rustle in the Grass|last=Hawdon|first=Robin|date=7 December 2014|publisher=Thistle Publishing|language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.booktopia.com.au/a-rustle-in-the-grass-robin-hawdon/book/9781910198520.html|title=A Rustle in the Grass|via=www.booktopia.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bookdepository.com/Rustle-Grass-Robin-Hawdon/9781910198520|title=A Rustle in the Grass : Robin Hawdon : 9781910198520|website=www.bookdepository.com|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/876479-a-rustle-in-the-grass|title=A Rustle In The Grass|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> (Hutchinson), and ''Survival Of The Fittest''<ref>{{Cite book|isbn = 978-1625166173|title = Survival of the Fittest|last1 = Hawdon|first1 = Robin|date = June 2013| publisher=Strategic Book }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18234276-survival-of-the-fittest|title=Survival of the Fittest|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.booktopia.com.au/survival-of-the-fittest-robin-hawdon/book/9781625166173.html|title=Survival of the Fittest|via=www.booktopia.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=http://askdavid.com/reviews/book/detective/10741|title=Survival of the Fittest by Robin Hawdon|language=en}}</ref> (Strategic Publishing). 'Number Ten' political thriller short-listed for the International Thriller Prize <ref>{{Cite book|id={{ASIN|1839520000|country=uk}} }}</ref>
His memoir ''Almost Famous'' (2021) was published on Amazon.<ref>{{Cite book| id={{ASIN|1922375063|country=uk}} }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.bookdepository.com/Almost-Famous-Robin-Hawdon/9781922375063 |title=Almost Famous : Robin Hawdon : 9781922375063 }}</ref>
Among his latest stage comedies are ''Stage Fright'' and ''A Night in Provence''. ''Stage Fright'' is also known as ''Coup de Grace'' and in the United States as ''Diamonds and Divas''. The comedy was premiered in Germany, in 2017 and later played in Australia and Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://robinhawdon.com/robin-hawdon-plays/stage-fright/|title=Stage Fright - A Robin Hawdon Play - Robin Hawdon Official Website|date=3 December 2018|website=Robin Hawdon|language=en-GB|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theleader.com.au/story/5405718/photos-arts-theatre-reopens-with-humourous-whodunit/|title=Arts Theatre Cronulla Presents Robin Hawdon Play Coup de Grace For The First Time In Southern Hemisphere |last=Trembath|first=Murray|date=17 May 2018|website=St George & Sutherland Shire Leader|language=en|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/coup-cde-grace-arts-theatre-cronulla/|title=COUP DE GRACE @ ARTS THEATRE CRONULLA|last=Kary|first=David|date=12 April 2018|website=Sydney Arts Guide|language=en-US|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.artstheatrecronulla.com.au/coupdegrace|title=Coup de Grace|website=artstheatrecronulla|language=en|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref>
''A Night in Provence'' premiered in Germany and United Kingdom and later played in Zürich, Switzerland and Massachusetts, United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://patch.com/massachusetts/acton/theatre-iii-presents-a-night-in-provence-by-robin-hawdon|title=Theatre III Presents A NIGHT IN PROVENCE by Robin Hawdon|date=5 March 2014|website=Acton, MA Patch|language=en|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2332/a-night-in-provence|title=A Night in Provence {{!}} Samuel French|website=samuelfrench.com|language=en|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2007/a-night-in-provence-review-at-mill-at-sonning-reading/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530171416/https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/2007/a-night-in-provence-review-at-mill-at-sonning-reading/|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 May 2019|title=A Night in Provence review at Mill at Sonning Reading {{!}} Review {{!}} Theatre|last=Tracy|first=Sheila|website=The Stage|language=en-US|access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref>
=== Directing === Hawdon directed various plays in the provinces and in London, including ''The Magic Of Young Houdini''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phyllis.demon.co.uk/theatricalia/09mus/mus70.htm|title=ROB WILTON THEATRICALIA Musicals 1970s|website=www.phyllis.demon.co.uk|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803031242/http://www.phyllis.demon.co.uk/theatricalia/09mus/mus70.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> (Phoenix), Suez (Savoy). He founded the Bath Fringe Festival<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/bio/Robin-Hawdon/|title=Robin Hawdon Biography on BroadwayWorld.com|website=www.broadwayworld.com|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> in the 1980s and subsequently became Director of Bath Theatre Royal, where he created what later became the Ustinov Theatre, one of UK's most distinguished studio theatres.<ref name=yorkshirepost/>
== Personal life == He was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, the son of Bunty (née Middleton) and James Oldroyd, a businessman.<ref name=encyclopaedia>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/hawdon-robin-1939|title=Hawdon, Robin 1939- {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|website=www.encyclopedia.com|access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> At the age of eight his family moved to Surrey where he lived for most of his school years. After graduating from RADA he lived in London for twenty years, after which he decided to curtail his acting career and concentrate on writing, and he and his family moved to Bath, Somerset.<ref name=yorkshirepost/>
He was married to actress and psychoanalyst Sheila Davies who died in October 2024, and with whom he has two daughters.<ref name=encyclopaedia/>
Hawdon lives between Bath, the South of France, and Australia.
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{official website|https://robinhawdon.com/}} * {{IMDb name|0369937}} * {{IBDB name|491122}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes person|robin_hawdon}} * [https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL734050A/Robin_Hawdon Robin Hawdon] at Open Library * {{TCMDb person|82977}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawdon, Robin}} Category:1939 births Category:20th-century English writers Category:21st-century English writers Category:English male dramatists and playwrights Category:English male film actors Category:English male novelists Category:English theatre directors Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Newcastle upon Tyne Category:Male actors from Surrey Category:Writers from Bath, Somerset Category:Writers from Newcastle upon Tyne Category:Male actors from Bath, Somerset Category:People educated at Uppingham School