England Pride!

by Robert Sidaway

It was Saturday, July 30, 1966. Across England it was the day of the World Cup Final against West Germany at Wembley. The nation was readying radios and black and white televisions. While I was a young actor appearing in a lavish production of the classic “Pride and Prejudice” at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, a beautiful theatre opposite Windsor Castle.

The management dictate was that the matinee would go ahead, although the audience was expected to be less than our cast. If we'd known it would take another 55 years before England would reach another final of an international tournament we might have refused to perform, as our actors union Equity ruled that if the paying audience was less than the number of actors performing then the performance could be cancelled – but we were working actors and the consequence of such a move could impact our future working opportunities with theatre managements!

The play had opened July 11th on the first day of the World Cup tournament - and we got better reviews than the English team’s first game in the competition in a stalemate against Uruguay! By a strange coincidence, our last matinee was also on the very last day of the tournament. It starred James Hayter and Viola Keats as the Bennet parents, with Neville Jason as Darcy, all major stars in TV and film at the time. I was playing the charming George Wickham, finally seducing and eloping with Carole Ann Ford's Lydia!

I don’t remember too much detail of the production, except for working with Carole and this special day. Two years previously, Carole had played a companion to William Hartnell’s Doctor Who, whilst in May of this year I had acted in the series as Avon in “The Savages”, with the Doctor’s female assistant this time played by Jackie Lane as Dodo . So we had something in common when we were cast in the play and met to rehearse – though at the time neither of us were to know how the series was to become part of British popular culture.

On the Saturday morning of the big day at Wembley, and our last matinee, I went out and bought a swish portable radio, determined to listen to the game whenever I could during the performance. Although we had been promised updates from management, via a small box television in the office of John Counsell who ran the theatre, I wanted to hear as much of the game as possible, as did Carole and several others in the cast.

So on that sunny, balmy day I drove on empty roads (the nation was already indoors in front of their televisions and radios) to the theatre in my Mini Austin, with my new radio in it’s box sitting on the passenger seat. On arrival it was straight to my dressing room, setting up the radio, getting into costume, and then listening to the build up to the game from 2:00pm. Curtain up for our play was at 2:30pm for an audience of 12, and kick-off for the game at 3:00pm for a crowd of 100,000!

And so the play and the game were performed, actors and footballers entertaining their respective audiences. Both sets of performers giving their professional best! The big difference is that we actors knew how our performance would end, the footballers didn’t. The theatre play had two intervals, the game had one halftime – and we in the theatre gathered together in our intervals in the Green Room with my radio to nervously listen to the game. At all other times it was news shared between us all as we came off stage or shared the latest in the wings. I even sneaked into John Counsell’s office to catch moments of the game on the TV, and later was seriously reprimanded for it. I’m not sure what our performance on stage was like that afternoon, but we all knew our footballers were giving everything on the Wembley pitch. I remember celebrating England’s second goal in the wings with Carole and Neville Jason!

And what a game we listened to – 1-1 at halftime, then in the second half England 2-1 up until Germany’s equaliser in the last minute. Then in extra time England go ahead 3-2 with a disputed goal, then unbelievably England scored another to make it 4-2 in the last minute. I remember we heard what became the ever remembered commentary – ‘some people are on the pitch, they think it’s all over, it is now, it’s four’!

I do remember the joy between us all at the final result, that the evening performance was probably the best we had given, and that after the final curtain we all celebrated in the theatre bar. Good thing there were no police breathalysers for drivers in operation those days!

Every time I look at the portable radio that I still have, and every time England footballers get close to winning again in a World or European tournament, the memories of this great day in sport, as well the play and cast, flood back. Of course, I never imagined it would be 55 years until England got to a final again, this time against Italy on July 11, 2021. Another special memory, however I will miss being in that theatre with Carole and friends.