Roger Sansom
Roger Sansom, actor, born in Worcester, wanted to write detective stories. He idolised John Dickson Carr. He knew nothing of theatre. When his juvenile flair for whodunnit writing ran out, he discovered an interest in acting. At seventeen, with no active experience or knowledge of dramatic art, he took the leap of ignorance and ended up as an actor.
He began in rep and his parts covered Bill Sikes in “Oliver Twist”, Roland in “Present Laughter”, Sir Francis in “Charley’s Aunt” and Seyton in “Macbeth”. He has worked around the British Isles and beyond, and has broadcast and been on television.
He was the Narrator (often split into First and Second Voices) in Dylan Thomas’s “Under Milk Wood”. He has done this play four times, first in London in Malcolm Taylor’s production with David Jason and Clive Merrison. The fourth time, he got at last to deliver the song “In Pembroke City”, in a role previously taken by Arthur White, Windsor Davies and Richard Griffiths.
Roger also took over from Richard Griffiths as Lord Windermere in “Lady Windermere’s Fan” for the Arts Theatre.
"The Importance of Being Earnest” is another play he has done four times, giving his Canon Chasuble to the Lady Bracknell of Frances Cuka in London.
He has twice played Abanazar in “Aladdin”, his favourite pantomime subject.
On screen he portrayed Prime Minister John Major in the BBC’s political programme “On the Record” in the lead-up to the 1997 General Election.
More recent parts have included Malvolio in “Twelfth Night”, Boss Mangan in “Heartbreak House”, Borkin in “Ivanov” and Badger in “Wind in the Willows”.
Roger has appeared in a good score of Shakespeare’s plays, some more than once.
He has played supporting parts to the Sherlock Holmeses of Robert Hardy and Harry Meacher, among other actors.
Roger created and operated a small company, Barnstorm Productions.
He is now a Trustee of Logos Theatre Company, and has held other key roles including Artistic Director and Committee Chair.
For Logos he scripted “Wilde Blooms”, a presentation adapted from some of Oscar Wilde’s shorter, non-theatre writings.
And he created an acting edition of the Restoration comedy “The London Cuckolds”, which is fully copyrighted but may be accessed through Logos’s website, at:
https://logostheatre.london/productions/the_london_cuckolds.pdf
He is not the Roger Sansom of Roger Sansom Productions. There is another playlist posted on this site by a namesake. There has been at least one in the world of theatre, and this once caused a problem for Roger the Equity member. Roger joined Equity around 1966, and has several times been a Deputy.
https://www.mandy.com/uk/actor/roger-sansom
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9948438/
Roger’s blog: https://medium.com/@rogersansom
Past productions
- Mr Burgess, Candida, Logos Theatre Company
- Cleante, Tartuffe, Traffic of the Stage, in association with Handplay Productions Ltd
- Bunce / Sir Abraham Haphazard, The Warden, Handplay Productions and Traffic of the Stage
- Lord Arthur Holmwood, Mist – After Dracula, Handplay Productions and Pilgrim Theatre Company
- Daniel Deronda, Traffic of the Stage
- The Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D., The Importance of Being Earnest, Antic Disposition
- Bardolph / Mountjoy, the French Herald, Henry V, Farnham Repertory Company
- Earl of Salisbury, Of Cabbages and Kings, Farnham Repertory Company
- Balthasar, Romeo and Juliet, Swansea Repertory Company
- Earl of Douglas / Peto, Henry IV, Part 1
- Russian Soldier / Russian Standard Bearer, War and Peace, Bristol Old Vic Company, Bristol Old Vic Trust Ltd, and The Entertainments Committee
- Message from the Grassroots, Bristol Old Vic Company and Bristol Old Vic Trust Ltd
