Editing Richard Briers (section)

==Stage work==
Briers spent much of his career in the theatre, including appearances in plays by [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] and [[George Bernard Shaw]]. In 1967, one of his earliest successes was playing alongside [[Michael Hordern]] and [[Celia Johnson]] in the London production of Alan Ayckbourn's ''[[Relatively Speaking (Ayckbourn play)|Relatively Speaking]]''.<ref name="The Good Life"/>

After a long career in television sitcom, and looking to expand his career, his daughter Lucy took him to [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] to watch [[Kenneth Branagh]] in ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]''.<ref name=GuardCvZ/> After meeting Branagh backstage after the performance, Branagh offered Briers the role of [[Malvolio]] in the [[Renaissance Theatre Company]] production of ''[[Twelfth Night]]''.<ref name=bbcobit/> Briers joined the company, and went on to play title parts in ''[[King Lear]]'' and ''[[Uncle Vanya]]''. Briers also appeared in many of Branagh's films, including  ''[[Henry V (1989 film)|Henry V]]'' (1989, as Bardolph), ''[[Much Ado About Nothing (1993 film)|Much Ado About Nothing]]'' (1993, as Signor Leonato) and ''[[Hamlet (1996 film)|Hamlet]]'' (1996, as [[Polonius]]). The theatre production of ''[[Twelfth Night (1988 TV drama)|Twelfth Night]]'' (1988) was adapted for television, with Briers reprising his role as Malvolio.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/feb/18/richard-briers-stage-good-life | work = [[The Guardian]] | access-date = 18 February 2013 | date = 18 February 2013 | title = Richard Briers was a potent presence on stage, as well as in The Good Life | first = Michael | last = Billington |author-link = Michael Billington (critic)}}</ref>

In 1990, Briers appeared in [[The Wind in the Willows|''The Wind in the Willows'']] at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]], which earnt him a nomination for the [[1991 Laurence Olivier Awards|following year's]] [[Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olivier Winners 1991 |url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/olivier-awards/winners/olivier-winners-1991/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=Olivier Awards |language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2010, Briers played in the [[Royal National Theatre]] revival of [[Dion Boucicault]]'s ''[[London Assurance]]'', alongside [[Simon Russell Beale]] and [[Fiona Shaw]]. A performance of this was broadcast live to cinemas round the world as part of the ''NT Live!'' programme.<ref>{{citation|title=Briers, Shaw and Russell Beale Lead National Spring Season|date=13 November 2009|url=https://officiallondontheatre.com/news/briers-shaw-and-russell-beale-lead-national-spring-season-108240/|publisher=OfficialLondonTheatre.com|access-date=31 October 2017}}</ref> He also played the character of Captain Bluntschli, in [[George Bernard Shaw]]'s play ''[[Arms and the Man]]''.