Norman Beaton in London's West End. In 1970 he played the role of Ariel in Shakespeare's "The Tempest", which he described in his autobiography as "the most important role of my acting career", and also played a small role in the Frankie Howerd comedy film "Up the Chastity Belt" the following year. In 1975, he helped to establish the Black Theatre of Brixton. In 1975 Beaton played Nanki-Poo in "The Black Mikado", a modern version of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado". In 1976, Beaton broke into television in the series "The Fosters", which also featured a young Lenny Henry, and the following
The Cuckoo Waltz The Cuckoo Waltz The Cuckoo Waltz was a British television sitcom made by Granada Television for the ITV network between 1975 and 1977 and in 1980, written by Geoffrey Lancashire, produced and directed by Bill Gilmour. The series, which was set in 1970s and early 1980s Manchester, dealt with the comic complications that ensue when impoverished newly-weds Chris and Fliss Hawthorne (David Roper and Diane Keen) take in lodger Gavin Rumsey (Lewis Collins) to ease their financial problems. Collins left after three series and was replaced by Ian Saynor as Adrian Lockett in the fourth series. The series was re-screened