In October 1982 Trevor Peacock took over from Bob Hoskins as Nathan Detroit in Richard Eyre’s production of Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre. The first great stage hit of the decade, it cast a spell like no other.
Peacock found the true crumpled, grizzled charm of Runyon’s indefatigable lowlife loser. Whether duelling with Jim Carter’s Big Julie in the sewer crap game or rasping out Sue Me opposite Julia McKenzie and then Imelda Staunton’s Miss Adelaide, he made the part his own.
In each performance it fell to Peacock to determine how many encores there would be of the ultimate showstopper, Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat, as he had the next line – “Anything we can do for you, brother Branigan?” He always judged it perfectly – and got the night’s biggest laugh. Once I witnessed him allow eight encores.
