Seagulls Over Sorrento
Seagulls Over Sorrento is a play by Hugh Hastings, an Australian who had served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. It was first staged for a single performance at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End in 1949 before embarking on a lengthy run of 1,551 performances between 14 June 1950 and 13 March 1954 mainly at the Apollo Theatre and then transferring briefly to the Duchess Theatre. The West End cast included John Gregson (replaced by Gordon Jackson), Nigel Stock, Bernard Lee, Ronald Shiner and William Hartnell. Shiner and Hartnell, in particular, were singled out for praised by critics. A Broadway version ran for only 12 performances at the John Golden Theatre.