"He was always writing this play," Leigh recalled to The Guardian, referencing an original script that was approximately 191 pages long.
Though Halliwell denied it was autobiographical, Leigh noted that there were some similarities between him and the main character, particularly in his iconoclastic personality and style.
Codron brought it first to the Dublin Theatre Festival in the fall of 1965, where it generated significant attention, edited to a two and a half hour length.
Directed by Alan Arkin, its cast consisted of: Tim Preece was the only actor to transfer from the West End production.
He was announced as the star of the film version, to begin shooting the following year, though the part eventually went to John Hurt instead.
[8] The West End production received significant attention though the run was short and poorly attended, lasting only 20 performances.
Marriott gave it a mixed review, disliking the theme and plot but praising the performances and the talent of Halliwell as a writer.
[29] J.C. Trewin praised Hurt's performance, disliking the repetition and harshness of Halliwell's style but recognizing the author's promise.
Of its debut in the West End, he said it was "...the first British play to attempt to show us, from the inside, what is bubbling beneath the Cavalier locks, the frosty scowls, the hairy greatcoats and military jeans of the new young," he wrote.
"It is a play with a vital life of its own, of such originality of feeling and approach, that it will somehow survive for a long time," Marriott said, comparing this potential longevity, in spite of divided critical views, to John Arden's Serjeant Musgrave's Dance.
"[2] The production was critically acclaimed, with praise for Dalton's performance and for the National Youth Theatre's transition from classical repertoire to important contemporary plays.
It coincided with a rise in the popularity of the play, despite its initial lack of commercial success, with productions at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival and in Brussels[40][41][7] In January 1967, drama critic Philip Hope-Wallace presented Halliwell with the Evening Standard award for "most promising playwright".
Through the Suba company, an entity created to realize the profits of the film Yellow Submarine, Harrison fully financed the approximately one million pound production costs.
Directed by Philip Martin, it starred David Streames as Malcolm, Richard Pearce as Wick, Mark Kilmurry as Ingham, Adrian Lochhead as Nipple, and Annette Badland as Ann.