I am trying to find out from which play and author the following
excerpt comes from:

"Was it lack of ambition allowed me to endure what I have had to
endure?  It depends, your highness, what is meant by ambition.  To me
it has been a matter of some indifference where I have done my work. 
It has been the work itself which has been my chief joy."

This post seems to indicate that the quote appears in "The Dresser,"
by Ronald Harwood:

http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:u2VPbwci2EAJ:listserv.dom.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe%3FA2%3Dind9512%26L%3DSTUMPERS-L%26D%3D0%26P%3D204355

I have not been able to confirm this.

Those lines are quoted in the "Dresser", but they are from another
play... and it's the name/author of that play which I am trying to
find out.

OK ... So if the lines were quoted in 'The Dresser' then they had
probably been used by Sir Donald Wolfit on whom the play was based.
(Harwood used to be his dresser.)

Wolfit was primarily a stage actor with Shakespeare his specialty.

But if it wasn't Billy Boy's work, how about 'Volpone' by Ben Jonson?

Or maybe the answer can be found in Harwood's bio of Wolfit?

We shall not be defeated!

Hello Stageright,

I contacted John Thackart through Peter Lathan of www.britishtheatreguide.info

His response was such:
John has replied to me.  

>Although I've seen three productions of The Dresser, I have no
>recollection of this quote among so many - mostly from the Bard.
>
>The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations does not help, and using a
>variety of key words on Google only turns up rubbish!
>
>Ronald Harwood may have made up this 'quotation' to fit a particular
>moment in the play. And he is probably the only person who could now
>answer the query.
>
>The last time I wrote to Harwood, asking for an interview (which I
>didn't get), his agent was Judy Daish Associates Ltd at 2 St Clark's
>Place, London W10  tel 020 7324 1080, but that was an awfully long time ago!

So...any researcher that can affored a call to Judy Daish?

Great stuff, CH!

I'll give Judy a call on Monday.

Bryan

I tried the number for Judy Daish but it's 'temporarily out of order'.

Probono....

Just googled "Judy Daish Associates" and I got a link at writersservices.com...has
her number listed as tel 020-8964 8811

Could you try that one?

Well done, CH, the new # works fine!

Ronald Harwood is still a Judy Daish client and they have promised to
forward on an email.

I will do this right away!

All the Best

Bryan

Done!

Here's a copy of my email:

Dear Mr Harwood

A question has been raised on Google Answers:

QUOTE:

I am trying to find out from which play and author the following
excerpt comes from:

"Was it lack of ambition allowed me to endure what I have had to
endure?  It depends, your highness, what is meant by ambition.  To me
it has been a matter of some indifference where I have done my work. 
It has been the work itself which has been my chief joy."

UNQUOTE

Please see:

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=702500

It has been traced back to 'The Dresser' but no further.

Please put us all out of our misery!

Incidentally, I saw 'Taking Sides' recently at the Brighton Little
Theatre. Like all of their productions, it was excellent.

All the Best

Bryan

Just to put in my two cents worth.

As the reference Pinkfreud posted mentions 'Alfonso' I was wondering
if the quote might not come from That Night in Rio,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034273/
It has a character named Alfonso who is a dresser and the year of
release is right for Norman (The Dresser) to have seen the film at the
cinema.
A sly reference by Harwood? 
Unfortunately I have no way of chonfirming this, I have checked my two
favourite classsic video stores and neither has this title.
Anyone?

@ h2fb-wc

(Please always show your Internet Honours)

Interesting observation but I recall that the Alice Faye movie you
mention was based on a play 'The Red Cat' which only had a very brief
Broadway run in 1934 (13 performances), despite having the very lovely
Tamara Geva in the part of Mimi.

Tammy later found great success in 'On Your Toes'.

sorry gov, 
I had no idea it was a White Tie-Decorations question
and here's me in me mess undress
quelle embarrassment

h2fb-wc

We may been led up the garden path, possibly by a baboon wandering
wild in the cache.
I have located the subtitles for the film version of The Dresser
http://napisy.qwe.pl/do/filmu/Garderobiany.html?id=192834_0
and the baboon and Alphonso (not 'f') from the cached question both
appear within qotation marks, but there is nothing like the quote from
the GA question.
It suppose it may still have been in the stage play but can the
questioner confirm the 'ambition' quote is definitely from The
Dresser, or is it merely believed so?

h2fb-wc

No word, yet, from Ronald Harwood.

I've got this mental picture of him banging his head against the wall, saying 

'Can't remember it at all. Still I suppose I must have written it if
GA says so. Oh God, my memory!'