University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/3070 This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. David Johnson Total Number of Pages = 420 The History, Theatrical Performance Work and Achievements of Talawa Theatre Company 1986-2001 Volume II of 11 By David Vivian Johnson A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in British and Comparative Cultural Studies University of Warwick, Centre for British and Comparative Cultural Studies May 2001 Table of Contents VOLUME 11 5. Chapter Five American Plays 193-268 ................................................ 6. Chapter Six English Plays 269-337 ................................................... 7. ChapterSeven Conclusion 338-350 ..................................................... Appendix I David Johnsontalks to Yvonne Brewster LouiseBennett 351-367 about ......................................... Appendix 11 List Talawa.Productions 368-375 of ................................... Bibliography 376-420 .......................................................................... AmericanPlays Johnson 193 CHAPTER FIVE AMERICAN PLAYS This chapteraims to demonstratesome of what TalawaTheatre Company can be seento have achieved through its performances of contemporary American plays on the British stage. As with Chapter Four the analysis of the productions also illustrates the company's commitmentto its missionstatement as is seenthrough Talawa presenting its audience with theatricalwork that raisesissues that are directly relevantto contemporaryblack British society. The chapteris divided into two partsand firstly explainsthe genrewithin the contextof the modemBritish stagein a bid to highlight the uniquenessand subsequentachievements of Talawa'swork. Secondlyaspects of all three of the company'sperformances in this genreare examined.The playsare discussedin chronologicalorder of performance. The first play to be examinedis Talawa'sperformance of Ntozke Shange'sThe Love SpaceDemands. Comments focus on: 9 The structureand performancelanguage of the piece. The secondplay to be lookedat is Talawa's performanceof Dr EndeshaIda Mae's From TheMississippi Delta. After a generalintroduction to the productionanalysis focuses on: * The languageof the performanceand the critical receptionthe show received. AmericanPlays Johnson 194 The third play for discussionis Talawa'sperformance of PearlCleage's Flyin' West. Analysis focuses on: 9 The presentwriter's stanceas Pre-ProductionResearcher of the play. * The pre-productionresearch process and what the researchpackage contains. 9 The Artistic Director's intentions in choosing the play. -* The Artistic Director and the performers'response to and working with the research package. * The performance. Of the four genresthat Talawa's productionshave been divided into for this studyit is the ' American playsthat makeup the smallestproportion of the company'swork. With three suchworks to the company'scredit the presentwriter definesTalawa's plays in this genre by the following criteria: o They are all by black femaleAmerican writers. 1 The Americanplays that Talawahas performed are: NtozakeShange, The Love Space Demands, 1-3 1 October 1992. Dr EndeshaIda Mae Holland, From the MississippiDelta, I April -1 May 1992. PearlCleage, Flyin' West,5-28 June 1997. AmericanPlays Johnson 195 9 They presentissues facing black peoplegenerally and black womenspecifically. life. * They revealaspects of black American life that may be connectedto black British e They take place in North America and require an American accent in performance. There is no evidence to suggestthat Talawa's performance of American plays has aimed by specifically at doing work that meets the above criteria. The criteria have been designed the present writer for the purpose of this thesis and the categories have been drawn up to best demonstratethe work that Talawa has already done in this area. It is possible that later Americanplays performed by the companymay requiresubsequent writers to add additionalcriteria if they too choseto define the company'swork by what hasalready beenproduced, as Talawa is likely to expandon the type of work it hasdone: Whoevertakes over from me shouldexpand and not marginalise the company.As a black companyif we producetoo much of the havehad it it becomes difficult to be samething we .... too seen for anythingelse. Additionally, Talawa's Board are committedto the companyproducing work that is of 3 quality regardlessof the racial origins or genderof the writer. 2 Interviewwith Yvonne Brewsterby David Johnson,Talawa offices London, 14 March 2000. 3 At Talawa'sBoard meeting 7 December1999 the company'sartistic policy was discussed. Board memberMary Lauderrecommended that Talawa shouldbe aiming to produce'quality full length plays'. This suggestionwas supportedby the Board. AmericanPlays Johnson 196 For the presentwriter Talawa'sachievements in this genreare perhaps best understood within the recenthistorical contextof the British stageand what can be seenas its acceptanceof Americantheatre. There are two kinds of Americantheatre that havebeen regularlyavailable to British audiencesthroughout the last century.The first group is made up of contemporary American classics produced by internationally renowned Americanwriters in the last fifty years,such as TennesseeWilliams (1911-1983),Arthur Miller (b. 1915),Edward Albee (b. 1928)and morerecently David Mamet (b. 1947). Williams's work can be seento havebeen a regularfeature of the London stage,both in the WestEnd and on the fringe circuit for over five decades.His play TheGlass 4 Menagerie(1945) was first performedat London's HaymarketTheatre on 28 July 1948. His later playsA StreetCar NamedDesire (1947)and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in the sameyear) havealso beencontinually performedin Londonsince their creation.Williams's work can be seento havebeen representative of southernlife without remainingregional. His depictionsare from a white perspectivethat say little of the horror blackslived through at his time of writing.5 4 TennesseeWilliams, TheGlass Menagerie (London: Heinemarmeducational books, 1968),p. xviii. 5 Details of performancedates for productionsfootnoted throughout this chapterare up tp dateat the time of writing (May 2001). Extractsfrom A StreetCar NamedDesire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (directedby the presentwriter), were performedin April 1997by studentsat Ealing Tertiary CollegeLondon, as part of their PerformingArts course.Additionally, Williams's work was to be seenon the London stagewith Baby Doll at the Albery Theatreuntil 26 August 2 000, Baby Doll at The RoyalNational Theatre,from 6 June2000 for ten weeks,and OrpheusDescending at the DonmarWarehouse until 12 August 2000.See internet site: httl2://www. albemarle-london.com/plays. htmi -Albemarle of London's West End TheatreGuide- Plays andComedies - 24/07/00 None of Williams's plays featuredas part of London's West End theatrethroughout 2001. Seeinternet site: http://www. albemarle-london.com/plays. htmi - Albemarleof London's West End TheatreGuide - Plays andComedies - 02/04/01 Detailsof the life and work of TennesseeWilliams can be found at the following internetsite: httl2://www, olemis.edu/depts/enp-lish/ms-writers/dir/williams-tennessee. -Tennessee Williams - 01/08/00 AmericanPlays Johnson 197 Having an equally successful career at the sametime was fellow American Arthur Miller. Miller's most famousplays that can be seento havehad an extensivelife on the British stageinclude; All My Sons(1947), Death ofa Salesman(1949, also 1949Pu tzer Prize winner), TheCrucible (1953) andA ViewFrom TheBridge (1955).As with Williams Miller's plays seemto have become a part of British theatre as they are performed 6 regularly in London, on the fringe circuit and by non-professional groups. Miller's works presentmoral issuesfor his charactersto work throughthat often highlight a pastwrong- doing which the charactersare forced to deal with in the course of the play. The third of the Americanwriters whosework still featureson the British stageis Edward Albee (1928)7perhaps best known for his plays Who'sAfraid Of Virginia Woy? (1962) and A Delicate Balance (1964 and Pulitzer Prize winner in 1967).8 Albee's work explores and attacksthe 'contentment'of middle classsuburban America. Along with Williams and 6 Both All My Sonsand A ViewFrom TheBridge were performedover a two year period between1983/4 as part of the Liverpool University DramaSociety repertoire. In 1992A ViewFrom TheBridge was usedas a GSCEDrama (General Certificate of SecondaryEducation) examination text at Warwick Park Secondary School,London. Additionally, Miller's All My Sonswas at The RoyalNational Theatre'sCottesloe Theatre until 18 October2000. See internet site: http://www. albemarle-london. com/plays. html - Albemarleof London's West End TheatreGuide - Playsand Comedies - 24/07/00 As with TennesseeWilliams noneof Miller's playsfeatured as part of London's West End theatre throughout2001. Seeinternet site: http://www. albemarle-london/com/plays. html - Albemarleof London's West End TheatreGuide Playsand Comedies 02/04/01 7 - - Seeintemet site providing