Playfair, Sir Nigel (1874–1934), English actor-manager and director, who was intended for the law, but in 1902 made his first appearance on the stage and later toured with
Benson's company. Two years later he played Hodson in the first production of Shaw's
John Bull's Other Island, and in 1911 appeared as Flawner Bannal in the first production of the same author's
Fanny's First Play. In 1914 he was seen as Bottom in
Granville-Barker's production of
A Midsummer Night's Dream. He took over the
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, in 1918, and made it one of the most popular and stimulating centres of theatrical activity in London, producing there
Drinkwater's Abraham Lincoln (1919);
Gay's The Beggar's Opera (1920) which ran for nearly 1,500 performances;
Congreve's The Way of the World (1924), with Edith
Evans;
Bickerstaffe's Lionel and Clarissa (1925), its first revival since the original production in 1768;
Riverside Nights (1926), an intimate revue by A. P. Herbert and others;
Farquhar's The Beaux' Stratagem (1927), again with Edith Evans;
When Crummles Played (also 1927), a burlesque of
Lillo's The London Merchant (1731) set against the theatrical background of
Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby; a stylized black-and-white revival of
Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1930), with John
Gielgud as John Worthing; and numerous other plays, old and new, in many of which he himself appeared. He also produced the
Čapeks' The Insect Play (1923) at the
Regent Theatre, being part-author of the English translation, and many other plays. He remained at the Lyric Theatre until 1932, his final production being A. P. Herbert's musical
Derby Day.
