WRAP THESIS Johnson1 2001.Pdf

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 I 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 VOLUMEI 1. Chapter One Introduction 1-24 ..................................................... 2. Chapter Two Theatrical Roots 25-59 ................................................ 3. ChapterThree History Talawa, 60-93 of ............................................. 4. ChapterFour CaribbeanPlays 94-192 ............................................... VOLUME 11 5. ChapterFive AmericanPlaYs 193-268 ................................................ 6. ChapterSix English Plays 269-337 ................................................... 7. ChapterSeven Conclusion 338-350 ..................................................... Appendix I David Johnsontalks to.Yv6nne Brewster Louise Bennett 351-367 about .................... ý;..................... Appendix 11 List Talawa Productions 368-375 of ................................... Bibliography 376-420 .......................................................................... Acknowledgments Whilst it is not possible to mention everyone by name who has helped and encouragedme throughout the process of writing this thesis special thanks are due toYvonne Brewster OBE and all staff at Talawa who have given me their unerring support. I would also like to thank all those who were interviewed for their enthusiasm for this project, in particular, Cy Grant, Barry Reckord, Alaknanda Samarth, and Ben Thomas. Additionally I thank my supervisor John Gilmore for showing consistent commitment to my work. Very special thanks are given to my father Lloyd for teaching me that anything is possible, and to my son Gavin for making me laugh and helping me to keep everything in perspective. Declaration Appendix I consists of an edited version of a published interview by David Johnson with Yvonne Brewster that was published in 1998. Details are given below: David Johnson,'David Johnsontalks to Yvonne Brewsterabout Louise Bennett', Kunapipi, Vol. x no.I (1998) 72-82. Abstract The central aim of this thesis is to provide a work that may be used to start a serious archive that documents the contemporary theatrical work of Britain's individuals and companies that have an Afro-Caribbean cultural background. Such an archive will allow later writers on aspectsof modem British theatre the opportunity to move aheadwhere past generations have had to spend time reinventing themselves as documented resources have been lacking. The thesisdocuments and discussesthe history and achievementsof TalawaTheatre Company.Prior to this discussionthe main theories,original researchand methodologies usedto completethis study are presentedin ChapterOne. The historical aspectof the work is divided into two sections.The first sectionis Chapter Two and providesa historical context for Talawa's performancework. This is doneby presentinga chronologyof Talawa's performanceroots that are shownto begin in Africa, developin Jamaica,and end in England.The secondsection is ChapterThree and looks at Talawa's history between1986 and 2001. Analysis includesdiscussion of definitions of black British theatre,Talawa's mission statementand the company'sresidency in the West End. Talawa's achievementsare discussedin the body of the thesis.The notion of achievement is understoodwithin the contemporaryBritish theatricalcontext highlighting the originality of Talawa'swork, and by extensionthe company'scommitment to its mission statement.To this end aspectsof Talawa's performancework are discussedthematically in the following threechapters: ChapterFour: CaribbeanPlays ChapterFive: American Plays ChapterSix: English Plays Although Talawa hasalso performedAfrican plays theseperformances are not part of the presentstudy. The decisionto omit this genrewas due to a lack of archival evidencein this area. The thesisconcludes in ChapterSeven with a summingup of Talawa's history and achievementsby highlighting Talawa's artistic accomplishmentand the impactthat Talawa's work can be seento havehad outsidethe companyitself. This is followed by the presentwriter's recommendationsfor Talawa's future. Introduction Johnson CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION This introductory chapter sets out to clarify the overall perspective of the thesis and is divided into two sections.In the first sectionDefinitions, the presentwriter detailshis stanceas a black British writer, explainsthe sociolinguistictheories and conceptsused to debatecentral parts of the thesis,and defineshis notion of 'accuracyof languageuse' as usedto discussthe oral languageof Talawa's productions.In the secondsection Original Researchand Methodologies,all original researchcarried out for this thesisis outlined alongwith the methodologiesused throughout the researchprocess. Definitions The presentwriter considersthe following thesisto be part of a live work that begansome five hundredyears ago. He also believesthat it will continueto developfor centuries beyondthe presentdiscussion that highlights a small part of a wider whole in the history of Afro-Caribbeanpeople and their relationshipwith Britain. It may be suggestedthat the foundationsof present-daymulticultural Britain beganin the fifteen hundredsas therehave been black people(by whom the presentwriter means ' peopleof Afro-Caribbeandescent), living and being born in Englandsince that time. This thesisexamines their descendants'contribution to a very specific areaof the British stage. This is donethrough the discussionof the history, theatricalperformance work and 1 Peter Fryer, Staying Power.- The History ofBlack People in Britain (London: Pluto Press, 1984), p. xi of preface. Introduction Johnson achievementsof TalawaTheatre Company from 1986to 2001. As the foundermembers of Talawaand manyof thosewho have later worked with the companyhave been of Afro- Caribbean descent it is important to look briefly at how many Afro-Caribbean people cameto Britain at the beginningof the secondhalf of the last century. When the Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury in 1948 with 492 Jamaicansthey were welcomedas 'Five HundredPairs of Willing Hands'.2 Neither the new arrivals nor their hostscould havepredicted that this eventwould later be usedto mark the beginningof the 6enmasse' aff ival of Caribbean peopleinto the United Kingdom. This arrival alongwith the influxes that followed in the ensuingdecade may give the impressionthat most Caribbeanpeople arriving at this time camein this way, as skilled non-professionals seekingwork in the 'Motherland'.3 Many who arrived during this time had beenenticed by the promiseof securewell-paid work and educationalopportunities. 4 These 5 opportunitiessaw West Indianstaking up postson London Transportand in nursing. Thesearrivals were British and 'took their British citizenshipseriously, and many regardedthemselves not as strangers,but as kinds of Englishmen'.6 Their right to the title of Englishmanwas however,disputed by someBritons: The WestIndian doesnot by being born in Englandbecome an 2 Daily Worker, no.5226 (23 June 1948),p. 3 as quotedby PeterFryer, Staying Power, p. 372. 3 Fryer,Staying Power, p. 372. Fryer points to the fact that the largernumbers of aff ivals camefrom 1954 onwardsand not immediatelyafter the arrival of the Windrush.By 1958Britain had received125,000 West Indians. 4 ElyseDodgson, Motherland. WestIndian Womenin Britain in the 1950s(London: Heinemann,1984), r. 7. Dodgson,Motherland, pp. 3 1&33 respectively. 6 Nicholas Deakin andothers, Colour, Citizenshipand British Society(London: PantherBooks, 1970), p.283. Introduction Johnson 3 Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom Citizen by birth; still in fact he is a West Indian or an Asian .7 Powell's notion was voiced at a time when thosewho were later definedby British society as the first generationof black Britons, were babies.Whilst the West Indian parentsof thesechildren may have seentheir offspring as different to them becausethey were born hereand were both by their definition, and legally British, their children were not always treatedas equalto their white counterparts.In keepingwith Powell's abovenotion of suggested'difference' thesechildren were being madeto feel as foreign as their parents 8 had, particularly in the key areasof educationand later in employmentand housing. Suchdiscrimination can be seenas an active factor in encouragingquestions around the complexcultural identity of later generationsof Britons of Afro-Caribbeanheritage. The presentwriter believesthat seldombeing acceptedas British and alwayshaving to explain one's cultural heritagecan encouragea sensethat the 'host' nation lacksthe will to fully acceptthose of a darker hue as entirely equalto them.9 Whilst someBritons of Afro- Caribbeanheritage may respondto this by rejectingthe British aspectof their cultural backgroundothers

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