Ray Saxby's life on the stage
Treading the boards with Noel Coward..
By Imogen Lycett Green
Rax Saxby in 2010
Photograph from WVRS Heritage Plus Archive
Ray Saxby-Savigear was born in London in 1924 and has lived between London and Brighton for all of his life. He was born into a theatrical family – his parents ran a pub and worked in pantomime in Acton and Brixton and his aunt and uncle were managers of the Imperial Theatre, Brighton and later of the Hippodrome Theatre, Brighton. Ray had a varied career in pantomimes and musicals all over the UK and worked with Noel Coward in After the Ball, Coward’s musical version of Oscar Wilde’s Lady Windermere’s Fan. He never left his mother to marry and lived with her until she died in 1978 in Brighton. He has worked with Arthur Askey and Bruce Forsyth, on stage and on TV. He had a clear and winning singing voice (commented on by Noel Coward) and was often employed to sing the introductions in the theatre. In this interview, Ray reflects on his life in theatre, recalling career highs and lows, his peripatetic lifestyle, his love for his mother and the nature of his work.