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BIOGRAPHY
Dave Freeman was born in London in 1922. He
worked as a stage electrician until the outbreak of war when he joined
the Royal Navy for seven years. He then joined the London Metropolitan
police until recalled to the Navy in 1951 for the Korean War.
After leaving the Navy for the second time, he became a journalist and
crime reporter. He then specialised in writing comedy pieces for television
and radio. During the 1950s he wrote much of Benny Hills material
and collaborated with him on the West End revue FINE FETTLE which ran
for nine months at the Palace Theatre.
He also contributed to a number of Palladium pantomimes and revues. He
has written over two hundred television situation comedies and full length
plays.I
His film scripts include ROCKET TO THE MOON, BLESS THIS HOUSE, CARRY ON
ABROAD and CARRY ON COLUMBUS.
His first stage play A BEDFULL OF FOREIGNERS opened in 1973 and ran in
the West End for eighteen months, starring Terry Scott and June Whitfield.
Since then it has played successfully all over the world. Counties where
it has been produced include Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Germany,
Latvia, Holland, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Bratislava, Australia, South
Africa, The United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, China, Israel and
Egypt.
His second play, KEY FOR TWO, written with John Chapman, has also played
all over the world. His third play, KINDLY KEEP IT COVERED ran for a year
in Vienna and has also played throughout Europe.
He is married with three children and ten grandchildren. His hobbies are
carpentry, gardening, reading and languages.
A BEDFULL OF
FOREIGNERS
Comedy 4M 3F
The play is set in a French village near the
German border on the eve of a local festival. When Stanley and Brenda,
on a motoring trip, obtain a room for the night, they consider themselves
lucky but not for long. In less than an hour, Stanley finds himself,
in Brendas absence, lowering an attractive girl, stark naked, from
the window, with the rooms radiator hanging from a rope near the
ceiling. The arrival of Claud, the attractive girls husband, and
or his own girlfriend, Simone, causes further chaos. By the second hour,
almost everyone is in the wrong bed, as figures dressed as nuns and monks
rush in an out and seductions and confrontations run rampant.
KINDLY KEEP IT
COVERED
Comedy 4M 3F
Roland Dickerby, formerly of the Kindly Insurance
Company, runs a health farm with his wide Julia, bought with the proceeds
of a hefty insurance payout on the demise of Julias first husband,
the charming rogue Sidney. Life isnt easy for Roland; a healthy
lifestyle isnt exactly his cup of carrot juice. His formidable mother
in law, Olivia, keeps a very beady eye on him and he is constantly harassed
by portly guests maniacally in search of carbohydrates of the sweet variety.
But today fate has something special in store for Roland; Sidney has decided
to resurrect himself and turns up at the farm, just as Vanessa, the wife
of Rolands ex-boss from the Kindly Mutual checks in for a health
giving visit, guaranteeing a fast, furious and frantic farce.
KEY FOR TWO by John
Chapman and Dave Freeman
Comedy 3M 4F
In this wickedly amusing play, by two master
craftsmen of comedy, Harriet, a divorcee living in an elegant flat in
Brighton, solves her financial problems by entertaining two married gentlemen
callers on different days of the week. The scheme faces collapse when
her friend Anne, whose marriage is tottering, arrives at the flat hotly
pursued by her husband. One of Harriets lovers is confined to her
bed with a sprained ankle and the second lover turns up unexpectedly,
closely followed by two irate wives in search of their itinerant husbands.
The indescribable confusion that ensues builds to a rich complexity of
mistaken identity, splendidly farcical situations and a climax of comic
wizardry.
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