Always a star on the stage

His words are backed up by a highly impressive list of stars who have appeared at the theatre during its 200 year history, many of them listed in the stage history section (pages 21-33).

Over the years, many actors have established an unusually strong bond with the theatre, a fact referred to in 1939 when John Baxter Somerville wrote that Theatre Royal Brighton "holds a place of great affection in the hearts of many great players".

It retains a special place in the hearts of many actors today, with Simon Callow, for instance, stating: "I've always loved performing at the Theatre Royal. It's such a fantastic place and such an enjoyable audience to play to."

Indeed, such is its reputation among performers that Theatre Royal Brighton is actually referred to by many in thespian circles as The Actor's Theatre.

While most stars have, of course, appeared in starring roles, a significant number of luminaries have also appeared in an off-duty role, as members of the audience.

Charles Dickens, for instance, is among those to have sat in that famous auditorium, and while his description of Theatre Royal Brighton as "not a bad place" does seem to damn with faint praise, he quite clearly enjoyed his visit.

As he wrote to Henry Nye Chart in a letter dated March 18, 1863: "My dear Chart, Just a line to let you know that we got back safe from our Brighton trip and I must say that we greatly enjoyed ourselves.

"I think that you did your part first class and that you are Lissardo at heart.

I think that the Theatre Royal is not a bad place and well patronized, I shall certainly visit again when I am down there. I am hoping to see you when in town next week so fix up when and where.

"Faithfully yours, Charles Dickens."

More recently, several other world-famous figures have attended shows as observers rather than performers.

Robbie Williams, for instance, watched his pal Jonathan Wilkes from the privacy of the Director's Box, the one place in the auditorium completely out of view of anyone else in the audience and even boasting its own private staircase.

Ironically, when Queen Elizabeth II first attended in 1959, she sat in the stalls.

Paul McCartney, Dame Judi Dench, Barbara Windsor, Dame Vera Lynn, Patsy Kensit and Denise Van Outen are just some of the other stars to have come to Theatre Royal Brighton in recent years to enjoy a rare evening looking up at the stage rather than out from it.

Laurence Olivier, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Katherine Hepburn, Richard Burton, Bette Davis, Marlene Dietrich, Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif - Theatre Royal Brighton's stage has been graced by any number of legendary stars, leaving countless larger-than-life tales in their wake.

Laurence Olivier, for instance, is said to have had a drink waiting on the other side of the socalled "gulp bar" for refreshment during brief offstage periods, although even that was apparently not enough to satisfy his prodigious talent - legend has it he had a game of bridge going simultaneously!

Marlene Dietrich seems to have enjoyed a similarly glamorous existence, with a daily order of lobster and Champagne from English's restaurant.

Rather less glamorously, however, she is also said to have been rather obsessed by cleanliness. Despite the fact her dressing room was cleaned by the staff every day, she would apparently insist on giving the whole room an additional scrubbing herself.

While we may want our stars to exhibit these sorts of showbiz eccentricities, however, what's striking with many of the stories is the marked difference between a performer's public facade and their real-life personality, as former manager Anne Travers, who worked at the theatre for nearly three decades, recalls with reference to Lauren Bacall.

"We'd been given a great long list of instructions before she arrived," she recollects. "She needed a certain kind of vodka that no one had ever heard of, six cups and saucers, must not have anything orange in the dressing room. It went on and on.

"Anyway, after doing all that, a bouquet arrived which had orange flowers in it. So I went to give it to her and said, Miss Bacall, I'm terribly sorry...' She just looked at me and said, What's the matter with you?'.

"It turned out the instructions were from her PR people trying to build up her image - she couldn't care less what colour things were or what vodka she had.

"She was such a nice person, no trouble at all. And we'd spent ages repainting the dressing room and everything!"

Ingrid Bergman, too, is recalled extremely fondly and as remarkably down-to-earth for a woman widely regarded as one of the greatest actresses of all time.

"She was a lovely actress and a lovely woman," says Anne.

"Everybody backstage loved her and the last night she was here, she went and thanked all the stagehands one by one. She knew them all by name.

"I remember the first night of Waters Of The Moon. There was a doorbell that was supposed to ring and that went wrong. Then one of the actors started playing the piano but something went wrong with the sound.

"All the other actors were thrown but Ingrid just came to the front of the stage and said, Let us start again'.

"She had such a way with her that she could do that, instead of getting deeper and deeper into a muddle. It takes someone who is very secure in what they're doing to do something like that."

Anne even speaks extremely warmly of Charlton Heston, a man best known for his larger-than-life heroic roles in countless epics, not to mention his close ties with the National Rifle Association - and she should know since, on one occasion, the pair even went for lunch together.

"We were really excited when we heard he was coming," she smiles, "and I couldn't believe it when we went for a meal at English's.

"Everyone in the street was pointing but he was such a nice person, he didn't want any fuss. I think you often find that, though - it's usually the ones who are trying to claw their way up who are sometimes difficult."

Technical manager Mark Gillard agrees: "I think the prima donnas are probably the ones who aren't quite as big as they think they are.

"I remember Joan Collins was really nice but most of the big stars are really good - just normal, downto- earth people.

"Often, if they're touring, they can be a bit lonely, so they come and have a chat or, like when the World Cup was on, they'd come and watch the telly with us backstage."