Interview: Larry Belling

Larry Belling’s debut play, Stroke Of Luck, premieres at London’s Park Theatre tonight (29th Jan) ahead of an official opening night this Friday (31st Jan). The play, based on true events that happened to Larry, is described as ‘a dark comedy that explores the themes of greed and guilt, how to reunite families that have been driven apart, and how debilitating physical ailments do not necessarily mean diminished mental faculties.’

Larry began his career as a publicist for Broadway plays and musicals, later moving into film. He went on to write and produce Clio-Award winning radio for American Express, Molson Beers and Greenpeace, as well as Hollywood film studios and television networks, and had a side career in the music business as manager of the record producers of groups including The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. 

I recently met with Larry to discuss the story that inspired Stroke Of Luck, the play’s journey to the London stage and what it has been like to see the piece come alive in the rehearsal room.

After finding a table in the Park Theatre, I had to ask Larry,why he decided to write Stroke Of Luck. “I had never written a play before, apart from a couple of screenplays” Larry told me, “Then in 1996 my mother died and we had a memorial service during which my father, who had been in bed with a stroke for seven years, announced ‘I’m getting married again!’ We thought this was absolutely hilariously funny; it was just a delusion on his part that he had fallen in love with this nurse who worked at the retirement home facility where he was living. The nurse was an oriental girl, about six feet tall, utterly gorgeous [laughs].

“We said ‘Hey, pops has got really great taste in women!’ But he was very old and forgot about it after a few days. It stuck in my mind that this would be a really interesting situation for a play. Over the years I told various friends about it and they said ‘You know, my mother had a similar situation where someone at the retirement stole all of her money’ and it just rang a bell and people said I should write about it, it’s such an obvious situation for an interesting play, although it’s only interesting if the old man is actually having a serious relationship with the nurse. My father died about six months later and then around ten years later I got together with my brother and sister and said ‘If you don’t mind I’d really like to write this play so long as you don’t think it would harm the memory of our father.’ They gave their permission and so I sat down and wrote it.”

Coincidentally, Larry recently realised when looking through his diary that he finished writing the play on what would have been his father’s 100th birthday, but since that day it has been a long journey to get the play on stage. “I finished the first draft in 2006” Larry said, “I was very, very lucky because unlike most fledgling playwrights I had very good connections in the theatre. I started my career as a press agent in New York for Broadway shows so I knew a lot of people. My wife is a film producer here in England, so unlike most novice playwrights I was lucky enough to know that I could get it read. That in itself takes a while!”

Larry turned to his college friend Stacy Keach who is now a well-known actor in America. “Stacy fell in love with the play” Larry explained, “he said, ‘If you ever want me to do a reading of it I’d be happy to do it.’ So in the fall of 2006 we got a theatre and did a reading with Stacy and I realised it needed an awful lot of work.” 

Kate Golledge (Director), Andrew Langtree (Monroe Riley) & Tim Pigott-Smith (Lester Riley) during rehearsals

The playwright spoke to various screenwriters and writers who all loved the idea of the play and helped Larry take it to the next level. He did a second reading in New York with Stacy, Eli Wallach and director Lonny Price. 

During his time as a New York press agent, Larry inherited a show that opened in New York called Cambridge Circus. “It was a sketch show that featured a number of actors who went on to become legends in British comedy” Larry revealed. “The cast included John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Tim Brooke Taylor, Bill Oddie, Jonathan Lynn - who wrote Yes Prime Minister and went on to be a famous film director - and a couple of others, one of whom was David Hatch who became Head of Comedy at the BBC.

“This cast was amazing and I became very friendly with these guys and they said if I ever came to England I should look them up. I went on to become really quite friendly with John Cleese and Graham Chapman and a few of the others because I moved to London in 1968 and lived in London for ten years working as a publicist for film shooting on location and also in the music business. So when I was writing this I sent it to my friend Jonathan Lynn who read it. He was directing Yes Prime Minister at the time and he spent a whole day with me and gave me other new directions such as suggesting I cut out one of the characters.”

Larry then sent the script to Tim Pigott-Smith (who stars in the production at the Park Theatre) who at first said he would be interested in directing the play. It was Tim who took Stroke Of Luck to Jez Bond (the Park Theatre’s Artistic Director) and the rest is history! Well… until the team struggled to find an actor to play the elderly role. “Tim urged me to lower the age of the character to make it more appealing and more realistic and also be able to attract a younger actor. 

“Jonathan Price told me that many actors have a problem, even though they have played King Lear, if they are perceived to be playing an elderly role then it gives people in the industry the wrong impression.” So Larry re-wrote the part and, after reading the new script, Tim agreed to play it! “So that’s how it has all come about” Larry said, “It’s taken quite a while and I think I’m in the very best of hands here [at the Park] because besides Tim all the actors we hired were our first choices.”

Tim Pigott-Smith (Lester Riley) and Kirsty Malpass (Cory Riley) during rehearsals

After taking his play on this huge journey Larry has found it “unbelievable” to watch Stroke Of Luck come alive during rehearsals. “We had a reading in mid-December with all the cast and even at the first reading it was quite superb. Tim laid down the gauntlet; he said ‘on the first day of rehearsal I’m going to come having memorised the part and I hope you all will too.’ So at the first rehearsal, every actor had already memorised their roles. I’ve worked in the theatre for a long time and I’ve never seen such professionalism, such dedication, and now after just a week and a half they are all the best of friends. It’s been just fabulous.”

During rehearsals some writers are very hands on whilst others take more of a step back. “I’ve taken a step back and let them get on with it… they don’t need me now!” Larry admits, “When they need me Kate Golledge, the director, has called me and invited me in to discuss something.”

Larry asked his family for permission, but I wondered whether they would be travelling to London to see the play. “Of course! I have friends from college who will be coming to see it. I’m very lucky! It’s been a surprisingly pleasant and easy experience even though it’s taken seven years to get to a production.”

Larry hopes there will be future life for Stroke Of Luck, “Of course my ambition now is that this play will have a future after its run at the Park Theatre. We’ve invited a number of West End managements and touring managements to come and see it and hopefully they might be interested in taking it on from here. I have also been working on several other projects that I’m currently writing. I’ve written a couple of one act monologues that premiered at the Chelsea Arts Club earlier this year and I’m expanding them into a parody of the folly of modern art in Britain.”

Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)

andrew@westendframe.com

Stroke Of Luck runs at the Park Theatre in Finsbury Park until 2nd March 2014. 

Please visit www.parktheatre.co.uk for further information and tickets.

Photo Credit: Howard Grey

Follow @West_End_Frame