Actor returning to town after 64-year absence

4:31pm Wednesday 16th July 2008

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ACTOR Roger Forbes is to return to the town he last saw 64 years ago to play in a one-man show.

Mr Forbes is unsure whether he was evacuated to Richmond, North Yorkshire, in 1944 at the age of two, or whether he visited the town when his father was stationed at nearby Catterick Camp.

Either way, all he recalls of the trip is climbing the castle steps and his seven-year-old brother being chased by a bull.

Now he is looking forward to revisiting the town on Friday, when he arrives to play Falstaff at the Georgian Theatre Royal.

"I remember that we were in Richmond for about six weeks," said Mr Forbes, who is originally from Twickenham, near London, and now lives in Stratford upon Avon. "I thought that we were evacuated there, but my brother says that our mother had taken us to visit our father, who was at Catterick Camp after being called up late because he was older."

Mr Forbes recalled that his father had been due to go to Arnhem with the Airborne Division in 1944 when his two sons caught chicken pox and the family was quarantined. "The whole of his unit went and were killed, including the padre, so he always said that our illness saved his life," he said.

Mr Forbes hopes to take time out to see Richmond after a technical rehearsal at the theatre.

"I was tiny the only time in my life I was in Richmond, Yorkshire, and I would like to climb those castle steps again," said Mr Forbes, who works mainly in the USA and Canada.

The National Arts Center of Canada production of Falstaff will be performed at the Georgian at 7.30pm on Friday.

It is adapted from the novel Falstaff, by Robert Nye, and is a portrait of Shakespeare's great comic character.

Theatre marketing officer Emma Vallance said: "Richmond's Georgian Theatre Royal has one performance only and patrons are advised to book tickets as soon as possible."

Tickets are £5.50 to £16, concessions £4.50 to £14, tel 01748-825252 or visit georgiantheatreroyal.co.uk and link to digyorkshire.com