Venus Observed
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Venus Observed is a play in blank verse by the English dramatist and poet Christopher Fry. The play concerns a Duke who decides to remarry for a third time. He gets his son Edgar to pick the bride. The Duke likes Perpetua but Edgar wants her for himself.
It was first performed on 18 January 1950 at the St James's Theatre, London, and ran for 229 performances with the following cast:[1]
- The Duke of Altair – Laurence Olivier
- Edgar, his son – Denholm Elliott
- Herbert Reedbeck, his agent – George Relph
- Dominic, Reedbeck's son – Robert Beaumont
- Rosabel Fleming – Valerie Taylor
- Jessie Dill – Brenda de Banzie
- Captain Fox Reddleman, the Duke's butler – Fred Johnson
- Bates, the Duke's footman – Thomas Heathcote
- Hilda Taylor-Snell – Rachel Kempson
- Perpetua, Reedbeck's daughter – Heather Stannard
- Director – Laurence Olivier
- Set designer – Roger Furse
- Composer – Herbert Menges
- Costume designer – Margaret Furse
Scenes:
- The Observatory Room at Stellmere Park, the Duke's mansion
- The Temple of the Ancient Virtues, Stellmere Park
Olivier's production opened on 13 February 1952 at the New Century Theatre on Broadway, where it ran for 86 performances. A new cast was headed by Rex Harrison as the Duke and his then wife Lilli Palmer as Perpetua.[2]
