Acting

His career as an actor was first established with seasons at Chesterfield,^[4] York, Guildford^[5] and Bristol Old Vic^[6] repertory theatres, and in London's West End in a variety of roles including Roar Like A Dove (Phoenix), The Last Joke (Phoenix), The Easter Man (title role - Globe), Misalliance (Royal Court), One Over The Eight (Duke of Yorks).^[5] He also played Hamlet in Cape Town, Prince Hal and Henry V at York, and Henry Higgins in Pygmalion at Salisbury.^[5][2]

He made many TV appearances, in particular in the series Compact (BBC 1964),^[7] The Flying Swan (BBC 1965),^[8] Spasms (co-star with Jonathan Pryce - Thames TV) and Chalk and Cheese,^[9] (co-star with Michael Crawford - Thames TV 1977). He appeared in a number of films, including The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), We Joined the Navy (1962), Bedazzled (1967), Zeta One'(star)' (The Love Factor in the USA) (1969),^[10] When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (star) (1970), Burke & Hare (1971) and I Want What I Want (1972).^[1][11] He was scheduled by the James Bond producers to film test for the role, but the test was cancelled when Roger Moore finally accepted the part.^[2]

Writing

His writing career began in the early 1960s with plays produced at the Hampstead Theatre, and The King's Lynn and Salzburg Festivals, and with a nationwide tour of The Hero starring Roy Dotrice. His first large commercial success was with the comedy The Mating Game,^[12] which had a long run at London's Apollo Theatre and played in over 30 countries around the world.^[2] 

Subsequently, a number of comedies played regularly on tour and internationally, many being published by Samuel French^[13] and Josef Weinberger.^[14] These were followed by his farce Don't Dress for Dinner^{[15][16][17][18][19][20]} (loosely based on a French play by Marc Camoletti) which ran for six years in London and subsequently on Broadway, and plays regularly in theatres around the English speaking world.^[21]

Hawdon's comedy Birthday Suite has played on and off for over thirty-five years across Europe, as it was first played in 1983 at the Redgrave Theatre, Farnham.^[22][23][24] His comedy Shady Business played in Paris for five months at the Michodière Theatre. His most globally performed comedy is Perfect Wedding^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

His straight play, God And Stephen Hawking,^[30] based on Hawking’s life and his best-selling book A Brief History of Time, toured the UK in 2000 starring Robert Hardy and Stephen Boxer.^[31]

He has written several novels, notably A Rustle In The Grass^{[32][33][34][35]} (Hutchinson), and Survival Of The Fittest^{[36][37][38][39]} (Strategic Publishing). 'Number Ten' political thriller short-listed for the International Thriller Prize ^[40]

His memoir Almost Famous (2021) was published on Amazon.^[41][42]

Among his latest stage comedies are Stage Fright and A Night in Provence. Stage Fright is also known as Coup de Grace and in the United States as Diamonds and Divas. The comedy was premiered in Germany, in 2017 and later played in Australia and Canada.^{[43][44][45][46]}

A Night in Provence premiered in Germany and United Kingdom and later played in Zürich, Switzerland and Massachusetts, United States.^[47][48][49]

Directing

Hawdon directed various plays in the provinces and in London, including The Magic Of Young Houdini^[50] (Phoenix), Suez (Savoy). He founded the Bath Fringe Festival^[51] in the 1980s and subsequently became Director of Bath Theatre Royal.^[2]