The Making of a Writer
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Talking Theatre Extract
Richard Eyre TALKING THEATRE Interviews with Theatre People Contents Introduction xiii Interviews John Gielgud 1 Peter Brook 16 Margaret ‘Percy’ Harris 29 Peter Hall 35 Ian McKellen 52 Judi Dench 57 Trevor Nunn 62 Vanessa Redgrave 67 NICK HERN BOOKS Fiona Shaw 71 London Liam Neeson 80 www.nickhernbooks.co.uk Stephen Rea 87 ix RICHARD EYRE CONTENTS Stephen Sondheim 94 Steven Berkoff 286 Arthur Laurents 102 Willem Dafoe 291 Arthur Miller 114 Deborah Warner 297 August Wilson 128 Simon McBurney 302 Jason Robards 134 Robert Lepage 306 Kim Hunter 139 Appendix Tony Kushner 144 John Johnston 313 Luise Rainer 154 Alan Bennett 161 Index 321 Harold Pinter 168 Tom Stoppard 178 David Hare 183 Jocelyn Herbert 192 William Gaskill 200 Arnold Wesker 211 Peter Gill 218 Christopher Hampton 225 Peter Shaffer 232 Frith Banbury 239 Alan Ayckbourn 248 John Bury 253 Victor Spinetti 259 John McGrath 266 Cameron Mackintosh 276 Patrick Marber 280 x xi JOHN GIELGUD Would you say the real father—or mother—of the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company is Lilian Baylis? Well, I think she didn’t know her arse from her elbow. She was an extraordinary old woman, really. And I never knew anybody who knew her really well. The books are quite good about her, but except for her eccentricities there’s nothing about her professional appreciation of Shakespeare. She had this faith which led her to the people she needed. Did she choose the actors? I don’t think so. She chose the directors. John Gielgud Yes, she had a very difficult time with them. -
Theatre Archive Project Archive
University of Sheffield Library. Special Collections and Archives Ref: MS 349 Title: Theatre Archive Project: Archive Scope: A collection of interviews on CD-ROM with those visiting or working in the theatre between 1945 and 1968, created by the Theatre Archive Project (British Library and De Montfort University); also copies of some correspondence Dates: 1958-2008 Level: Fonds Extent: 3 boxes Name of creator: Theatre Archive Project Administrative / biographical history: Beginning in 2003, the Theatre Archive Project is a major reinvestigation of British theatre history between 1945 and 1968, from the perspectives of both the members of the audience and those working in the theatre at the time. It encompasses both the post-war theatre archives held by the British Library, and also their post-1968 scripts collection. In addition, many oral history interviews have been carried out with visitors and theatre practitioners. The Project began at the University of Sheffield and later transferred to De Montfort University. The archive at Sheffield contains 170 CD-ROMs of interviews with theatre workers and audience members, including Glenda Jackson, Brian Rix, Susan Engel and Michael Frayn. There is also a collection of copies of correspondence between Gyorgy Lengyel and Michel and Suria Saint Denis, and between Gyorgy Lengyel and Sir John Gielgud, dating from 1958 to 1999. Related collections: De Montfort University Library Source: Deposited by Theatre Archive Project staff, 2005-2009 System of arrangement: As received Subjects: Theatre Conditions of access: Available to all researchers, by appointment Restrictions: None Copyright: According to document Finding aids: Listed MS 349 THEATRE ARCHIVE PROJECT: ARCHIVE 349/1 Interviews on CD-ROM (Alphabetical listing) Interviewee Abstract Interviewer Date of Interview Disc no. -
Talking out of Tune
Talking Out of Tune Remembering British Theatre 1944-56 Kate Lucy Harris Ph.D. School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics University of Sheffield December 2008 1 Summary of Thesis This thesis explores how British Theatre represented and reacted to cultural and social changes between 1944 and 1956. It is closely linked to the oral history strand of the AHRC University of Sheffield British Library Theatre Archive Project <http://www.bl.ukltheatrearchive>. The five chapters focus on distinct subject areas in order to explore the vibrant diversity of the period. However, they are united by an overarching narrative which seeks to consider the relationship between memory and history. The first chapter is based on the oral history strand. It explores the different ways in which the Project's methodology has shaped both the interviewee testimony and my own research. Chapter 2 focuses on the changing historical perceptions of the popular West End plays of the day. Case studies of plays are used to compare the responses of audiences and critics in the 1940s and 50s, with the critical commentaries that surround the plays and playwrights today. The third chapter explores the relationship between BBC television drama and theatre. It assesses the impact that cross fertilisation had on both media by examining plays, productions and policies. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on two of the theatre companies of the period - Theatre Workshop and the Old Vic Theatre Company. Chapter 4 explores the impact that Theatre Workshop's early years as a touring group had on the development of the company. It draws on new oral history testimonies from former company members who joined the group in the 1940s and early 50s. -
Reading the Old Left in the Ewan Maccoll and Joan Littlewood's
Reading the Old Left in the Ewan MacColl and Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and Beyond: in Joan Littlewood’s post-theatrical engagements in the 1960s. Fatine Bahar Karlidag A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2017 Reading Committee: Stefka Mihaylova, Chair Odai Johnson Scott Magelssen Barry Witham Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Drama ©Copyright 2017 Fatine Bahar Karlidag 2 University of Washington Abstract Reading the Old Left in the Ewan MacColl and Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop and Beyond: in Joan Littlewood’s post-theatrical engagements in the 1960s. Fatine Bahar Karlidag Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Dr. Stefka Mihaylova School of Drama Based on archival research, recent Joan Littlewood centenary events and contemporary scholarship on the Theatre Workshop of Joan Littlewood and Ewan MacColl, this dissertation proposes to take sides with the radical class politics of the Old Left, or Communism, to read the legacy of MacColl-Littlewood collaboration in theatre, and its continuing impacts on Littlewood’s post-theatrical work in the 1960s’ New Left. This is to demystify the ‘genius’ aura bestowed upon Joan Littlewood; to re-instate Ewan MacColl’s contribution to the legacy of this ground-breaking theatre famously known as that which revolutionized the West End; to retrofit Theatre Workshop as a sample ensemble of the larger frame of the radical left-wing interwar theatres while acknowledging the independent evolution of their work into 1950s, and to further complicate the thematically and textually oriented analytical narratives’ efforts to analyze Theatre Workshop productions. -
LOCANTRO Theatre
Tony Locantro Programmes – Theatre MSS 792 T3743.L Theatre Date Performance Details Albery Theatre 1997 Pygmalion Bernard Shaw Dir: Ray Cooney Roy Marsden, Carli Norris, Michael Elphick 2004 Endgame Samuel Beckett Dir: Matthew Warchus Michael Gambon, Lee Evans, Liz Smith, Geoffrey Hutchins Suddenly Last Summer Tennessee Williams Dir: Michael Grandage Diana Rigg, Victoria Hamilton 2006 Blackbird Dir: Peter Stein Roger Allam, Jodhi May Theatre Date Performance Details Aldwych Theatre 1966 Belcher’s Luck by David Mercer Dir: David Jones Helen Fraser, Sebastian Shaw, John Hurt Royal Shakespeare Company 1964 (The) Birds by Aristophanes Dir: Karolos Koun Greek Art Theatre Company 1983 Charley’s Aunt by Brandon Thomas Dir: Peter James & Peter Wilson Griff Rhys Jones, Maxine Audley, Bernard Bresslaw 1961(?) Comedy of Errors by W. Shakespeare Christmas Season R.S.C. Diana Rigg 1966 Compagna dei Giovani World Theatre Season Rules of the Game & Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello Dir: Giorgio de Lullo (in Italian) 1964-67 Royal Shakespeare Company World Theatre Season Brochures 1964-69 Royal Shakespeare Company Repertoire Brochures 1964 Royal Shakespeare Theatre Club Repertoire Brochure Theatre Date Performance Details Ambassadors 1960 (The) Mousetrap Agatha Christie Dir: Peter Saunders Anthony Oliver, David Aylmer 1983 Theatre of Comedy Company Repertoire Brochure (including the Shaftesbury Theatre) Theatre Date Performance Details Alexandra – Undated (The) Platinum Cat Birmingham Roger Longrigg Dir: Beverley Cross Kenneth -
Theatre Archive Project
THEATRE ARCHIVE PROJECT http://sounds.bl.uk Gale, Peter – interview transcript Interviewer: Halima Memoniat 3 February 2012 Peter Gale, actor, on: Frith Banbury, Ingrid Bergman, Dorothea Brooking, Byre Theatre, Fay Compton, Sir Noël Coward, Cowardy Custard, Fringe theatre, Drury Lane, Gay Hamilton, Lionel and Clarissa, Look Back in Anger; Chris Luscombe, Kenneth Moore, Albery Theatre, John Osborne, Sir Terence Rattigan, Sir Michael Redgrave; repertory theatre, Samson Agonistes, Southwark Playhouse Theatre, television, The Winslow Boy, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre. PG: Here we go…yes, I just had to sign my name, and I always have to think twice because my real name is Richard, but there was already a Richard Gale in the business who I worked with later – Ricky Gale, very nice actor; so I chose Peter, because I’m Richard Lionel Peter Gale, and I thought Peter Gale was alright. It’s a very common name, Peter…but anyway, but that’s immaterial. HM: Ok, I just wanted to know how you first became involved with the theatre, as you were telling me before. PG: Yes. Well its quite interesting because as I said, it’s as if those upstairs are watching over us all (not that I’m particularly religious) but it’s as if they always shoved me in that direction because when I was a kid I used to put on little puppet shows for children, very poor, very poor background. I was born in Slough, in terraced housing with no inside loo, an outside lavatory, no bathroom etc. But I always – it was the early days of television and I watched something called Muffin the Mule and I was enchanted by this as a child to see a lady called Annette Mills playing the piano and these little marionettes coming onto the top of her piano and she’d talk to them. -
Interview with Maurice Stewart
THEATRE ARCHIVE PROJECT http://sounds.bl.uk Maurice Stewart – interview transcript Interviewer: Kate Harris 17 August 2006 Actor and Stage Manager. Audiences; Michael Bentall; Berliner Ensemble; Peter Daubeny; directing Shakespeare; Jack Hylton; Italia Conti Stage School; Look Back in Anger; new plays; Oklahoma!; Old Vic; repertory; revue; stratification of theatre; television; tours; Sam Wanamaker; World Theatre seasons. KH: I would just like to start off with a question about how you first began working in theatre. MS: Ah, an interesting one, because I thought it was all my idea. But I was 17 before I realised that my mother had wanted to go into the theatre and had been refused permission by her father, and I think before I was born she knew that I was going into the theatre, so it was quite a conditioning process. But it was very early. KH: OK, because then you went to the Italia Conti Stage School didn't you when you were quite young? MS: Yes. Well, that was at the age of 12, but before that I had been performing with a children's group which really was quite an extraordinary range of singing and dancing and doing pantomimes in working men’s clubs, and then when I went to secondary modern school I found myself playing the leads in fully mounted Gilbert and Sullivan productions… KH: Gosh! MS: …so by the time I was 11 I was very seasoned. KH: Yes, you were a seasoned performer. MS: And I went down to London on my own from Leicester at the age of 12 and stayed in digs and went to a stage school, so one becomes very self-sufficient very early. -
Black and Asian Theatre in Britain
Black and Asian Theatre in Britain ‘An important and long overdue book on the huge contribution that Black and Asian artists have made and continue to make to Britain’s theatrical landscape.’ – Meera Syal Black and Asian Theatre in Britain is an unprecedented study tracing the history of ‘the Other’ through the ages in British theatre. The diverse and often contradictory aspects of this history are expertly drawn together to provide a detailed background to the work of African, Asian, and Caribbean diasporic companies and practitioners. Colin Chambers examines early forms of blackface and other representations in the sixteenth century, through to the emergence of black and Asian actors, companies, and theatre groups in their own right. Thorough analysis uncovers how they led to a flourishing of black and Asian voices in theatre at the turn of the twentyfirst century. Figures and companies studied include: • Ira Aldridge • Indian Art and Dramatic Society • Henry Francis Downing • Temba • Paul Robeson • Edric and Pearl Connor • Errol John • Tara Arts • Mustapha Matura • Yvonne Brewster • Dark and Light Theatre • Tamasha • The Keskidee Centre • Talawa. Black and Asian Theatre in Britain is an enlightening and immensely readable resource and represents a major new study of theatre history and British history as a whole. Colin Chambers was Kingston University’s first Professor of Drama. Formerly a journalist and theatre critic, he was Literary Manager of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1981 to 1997. His books include The Story of Unity Theatre (1989), the awardwinning biography Peggy: The Life of Margaret Ramsay, Play Agent (1997), The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre (editor, 2002), Inside the Royal Shakespeare Company (2004) and Here We Stand (2006). -
In Profile (Part One).Pdf
In Profile A Winston Graham Reader Compiled, edited and written by Jim Dring In fond remembrance of a fine writer and proper chap1 part one contents preface 5 chronology 7 (1) the novels 15 WG's discarded dozen 54 WG 1945-9 : the making of a writer 84 WG's revising habit 118 the face behind the character … 227 part one notes and sources 239 part one photo credits 248 (2) short fiction 250 in his own words (i) 262 (3) other books 264 WG's dedications 281 (4) other published original writing 282 in his own words (ii) 292 (5) cinema and television 309 (6) the plays of WG 344 (7) Dear Swinny … 371 (8) the Poldark phenomenon 397 (9) profiles 444 WG the gardener 455 (10) a life in pictures 462 afterword 482 part two notes and sources 284 part two photo credits 496 acknowledgements A number of librarians and archivists around the world – Arthur M in Salisbury, Claire M in Redruth, Angela B in Truro, Matthew C in Caversham, Christian B in Århus, Elisabeth T in Frankfurt, Nurit H in Jerusalem, Stefanie H in Bowling Green, Deanne W at UNH, Ms A in Fort Knox, Paul H in Fort Campbell, Linda B in Ithaca, Susan M in Sydney, Rachel G at the British Library and others in Bournemouth, Dublin, Ljubljana and Melbourne have provided invaluable assist- ance: thanks to all. Booksellers Ann W in Fowey, James P in Leicester and Jonathan S in Shimshon, Israel have patiently answered my questions; others in Madrid, North Dakota and Tokyo have also gone out of their way to be helpful. -
Title the Convergence of Influences on and Evolving Praxis of Mid-Twentieth Century British Theatre Design (1935-1965) Through A
Title The convergence of influences on and evolving praxis of mid-twentieth century British theatre design (1935-1965) through a close study of selected works by Motley and Jocelyn Herbert Type Thesis URL http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/9194/ Date 2016 Citation Jump, Sophie V. (2016) The convergence of influences on and evolving praxis of mid-twentieth century British theatre design (1935-1965) through a close study of selected works by Motley and Jocelyn Herbert. PhD thesis, University of the Arts London. Creators Jump, Sophie V. Usage Guidelines Please refer to usage guidelines at http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/policies.html or alternatively contact [email protected]. License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives Unless otherwise stated, copyright owned by the author The convergence of influences on and evolving praxis of mid-twentieth century British theatre design (1935-1965) through a close study of selected works by Motley and Jocelyn Herbert Sophie V Jump Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The degree is awarded by University of the Arts London August 2015 ABSTRACT This thesis examines key developments in theatre design in Britain between 1935-1965 through the lens of the praxis of the design trio known as Motley (active 1932-78) and of theatre designer Jocelyn Herbert (1917-2003). Analysis of their roles in the creation of the four theatre productions that are used as case studies, Romeo and Juliet (1935), Three Sisters (1938), The Kitchen (1959 & 1961) and Happy Days (1962) enables an evaluation of the complex threads of influence on Motley and Herbert both from within the UK and from the USA and Europe. -
Angus Mackay Diaries Volume II (1952-1966)
Angus Mackay Diaries Volume II (1952-1966) ANGUS MACKAY DIARY NO. 19 Angus Mackay. Being the fifteenth. v. From June 15 1952. To November 21 1952. PAGES MISSING ...conversationalist either his appearance or his inclination would really suggest. He is shy/retiring, and means to be a good listener; in fact he rarely succeeds in making you feel anything but his wish to be rid of you, a wish he has himself frequently contradicted. The message about the bit of extra-work solved itself as these things generally do. I slept through until my usual time, got up and pretended to Gerard with more guilt than I could really feel. I had guilt about not feeling guilt. Friday June 20 1952 Depressed today by my failure of yesterday. I wondered again and again whether I should have taken the extra-work, while my common-sense said 'If you can get on without it, nothing could be better than to keep away from a fatal groove'. In the evening I was particularly down because I had had little more than a biscuit or two for lunch. I was particularly pleased when Joseph R. asked me out to dinner at Bianchi's in Frith Street. I am not at all sure that I have described Joseph at all fully, and certainly not as his position in life at Kingly Street deserves. Joseph Rykwert then, is a scruffy long-haired Jewish-Polish intellectual, with the bulging stomach of the rickety, a long haughty Jewish nose, and two slightly self-consciously naughty eyes. His clothes are grease-spotted, his shoes scuffed, his whole aspect unkempt and unattractive. -
Information to Users
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