Actor and director Murray Melvin trained with Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. He was a founder member of the Actors' Centre and its chairman for four years, during which time he started a centre in Manchester in honour of Littlewood and the Theatre Workshop. He also sat on the Board of the Theatre Royal and is widely known as a learned and popular theatre and film historian. Murray’s film career began in the 1960s, with a notable early appearance as a gay man in A Taste of Honey (1961) – a bold role for the era. Soon afterwards he appeared in Joan Littlewood’s only film, Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963), when it transferred from stage to screen.

He became a favorite and lifelong friend of director Ken Russell, who cast him in his films The Devils (1970) and The Boy Friend (1971), to name just a couple. Other notable film appearances include Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975); Peter Medak’s The Krays (1990) and David Copperfield (2000); Christine Edzard’s Little Dorrit (1988) and in 2004 he appeared as Monsieur Reyer, the musical director and conductor of the Opera Populaire, in Joel Schumacher's film adaptation of the musical The Phantom of the Opera.

This event is presented by Thomas Bowington and the London Film Convention. It will be preceded by a screening of Sparrows Can’t Sing (1963), for which a separate ticket is required.

Doors open at 18.30, for a 19.30 start.

Refreshments will be available in our licenced cafe/bar.