The Development of the Role of the Actor-Musician in Britain by British Directors Since the 1960’S

1 The Development of the Role of the Actor-Musician in Britain by British Directors Since the 1960’s Francesca Mary Greatorex Theatre and Performance Department Goldsmiths University of London A thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 2 I hereby declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Signed: ……………………………………………. 3 Acknowledgements This thesis could not have been written without the generosity of many individuals who were kind enough to share their knowledge and theatre experience with me. I have spoken with actors, musical directors, set designers, directors, singers, choreographers and actor-musicians and their names and testaments exist within the thesis. I should like to thank Emily Parsons the archivist for the Liverpool Everyman for all her help with my endless requests. I also want to thank Jonathan Petherbridge at the London Bubble for making the archive available to me. A further thank you to Rosamond Castle for all her help. On a sadder note a posthumous thank you to the director Robert Hamlin. He responded to my email request for the information with warmth, humour and above all, great enthusiasm for the project. Also a posthumous thank you to the actor, Robert Demeger who was so very generous with the information regarding the production of Ninagawa’s Hamlet in which he played Polonius. Finally, a big thank you to John Ginman for all his help, patience and advice. 4 The Development of the Role of the Actor-Musician in Britain by British Directors During the Period 1960 to 2000. Abstract This thesis will investigate the creation and development by two British directors, Glen Walford and Bob Carlton, of the use of the actor-musician in small-scale touring, popular theatre community and subsidised repertory with a strong community base performance practices from 1960 to 2000. It will argue that the actor-musician had been established in touring community theatre companies, where distinctive working methodologies had evolved. Using previously unpublished archive material and new interviews; this is the first dedicated academic study to identify the work of these directors as a distinctive and innovative practice, which has one key strand of musical theatre performance in Britain since the 1960s. It locates this new body of practice in a diverse tradition of socially engaged and politically informed theatre that evolved through times of financial stringency, it will argue nonetheless that the work of these two directors has primarily creative or artistic validity which was driven and underpinned by social and political concern. The thesis will demonstrate that the two directors investigated represent the key line of continuity in the field of actor-musician practice. Each of these directors has worked and continued to work in very distinct styles and contexts and utilised the actor-musician in differing ways. The thesis will employ case studies in order to demonstrate ways in which the potential and range of the actor- musician was developed in: classic plays, including Shakespeare reworked and extant musicals; new work that has been specifically conceived and created for actor-musicians. In conclusion it will evaluate the continuing significance of this practice within British musical theatre. 5 Contents Page Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………. 3 1. The Literatures……………………………………………………………. 6 2. Introduction……………………………………………………………….. 20 3. Glen Walford, Creator and Developer of the Actor-Musician………... 68 4. Bob Carlton, the Bubble and the Queen’s Theatre……………………141 5. Past and Future……………………………………………………………197 6. Bibliography………………………………………………………………..210 6 The Literatures Ros Merkin compiled and published a documentary book entitled, Liverpool's Third Cathedral, The Liverpool Everyman Theatre, In the Words of Those Who Were, And Are, There. 1 Even though this publication details each of the forty production seasons from the Everyman’s inception in 1964 until 2004, the Everyman archive has been consulted independently for its unpublished material. However, this book is invaluable as it provides a reframe, which was not Merkin’s, for the work of the two directors, Glen Walford and Bob Carlton, which both of whom worked at the Everyman, although Carlton was only employed as a freelance director. For each season, Merkin’s scrupulous compilation provides detailed listings for each production, photographs, reviews, appreciative and non-appreciative letters, staff anecdotes and financial strictures, all of which are set in the context of ever-changing social forces. Elizabeth Schafer’s biography2 is the most recent on Lilian Baylis and provides a detailed overview of the social conditions under which the Old Vic would eventually flourish. Earlier books have concentrated mainly on the work done by Baylis at the Old Vic and Sadlers Wells. The opening chapters are specifically concerned with the Cons family, Baylis’s maternal line, and their musical connections. This early information sets the context for the sociocultural influences that impacted on The Old Vic combined with the work and influence that Emma Cons, Lilian’s maternal aunt, brought to the borough of Lambeth and to The Old Vic. Most importantly, it clearly outlines the appalling social conditions that dominated many areas or London during the nineteenth century in order to establish the philanthropic and social work that was begun and in which Cons was very pro-active. This book provides the background material that demonstrates how the work that was started at The Old Vic in the mid nineteen hundreds, would resonate through British theatre both socially and aesthetically. Previous books on Baylis and The Old Vic have been more 1 Merkin, Ros. 2004. Liverpool's Third Cathedral, The Liverpool Everyman Theatre, In the Words of Those Who Were, And Are, There. Liverpool: Liverpool and Merseyside Theatres Trust Ltd. 2 Schafer, Elizabeth. 2007. Lilian Baylis: A Biography. 2007 1st ed. United Kingdom: University Of Hertfordshire Press. 7 focused on the actual productions, whereas this one helps to establish the social context and influence that resonated with Joan Littlewood. This thesis is concerned with the development of the actor-musician within the sociocultural theatre context and this book helps to establish the wellspring for this work. Richard Wagner’s book, The Art Work of the Future and Other Works3. The Art Work is dedicated to exploring the fusion between ‘dance, tone and poetry’. Wagner looks back at the varying art forms of the Greeks and his own personal influences. Wagner sought to create works that combined dance, music and drama and his influence on opera and music were extensive and far-reaching. Wagner wanted to use music as an emotive language that would speak when words failed. His influence went beyond the creation of music and poetry; he was also responsible for innovations in theatrical practice, such as the dimming of lights in the auditorium. It was his work and theories that influenced the generation of German Jews who escaped to America. It was they who largely created the American musical, with its fusion of dance, song and music. More importantly though, his influence can be seen in the big book musicals with their large orchestral arrangements and luxuriant sounding string sections. This essay is invaluable for understanding the influences that helped create and still influence the American musical, which in turn has impacted on the British musical form and helped to create the mega-musical. Whilst Wagner was arguably the most dominant influence, there are and have been others. For the purpose of this thesis it is essential to be able to differentiate between the musicals’ influences, their history and styles. Whilst Wagner has had substantial influence on the American musical there has been a parallel musical theatre tradition in Britain and one that has arguably two different routes. Elizabeth Hale Winkler in The Function of Song in Contemporary British Drama4 provides an insight into the nature of song within a dramatic context. Elizabeth Hale Winkler is of the opinion that contemporary theatre is indebted not only to theatrical traditions but also musical traditions. 3 Richard Wagner, The Art-Work of the Future, in Richard Wagner's Prose Works (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd, 1895). 4 Elizabeth Hale Winkler, The Function of Song in Contemporary British Drama (London and Toronto: Delaware, 1990). 8 Her concern is that there has been little research on or acknowledgment of the impact that the British musical heritage has had upon the play. She points out that drama’s appeal exists in the combination of visual, aural and mimetic resources within a performance and that a playwright’s use of music and verse is capable of focusing the audience’s attention to highlight the underlying meaning of a play. Winkler theorises on dramatic song, arguing for it to be recognised as a separate genre. She discusses how the song works for the audience on a literary level as well as its psychological impact. Winkler devotes a chapter to the work of John Arden and Margaretta D’Arcy, who have been prolific in the inclusion and significance of song within their plays. The songs they use are either taken from traditional songs or modelled on the same. In a chapter on Edward Bond, Winkler points out that in contrast to Arden and D’Arcy, Bond draws upon varied sources of traditional and contemporary music, such as patriotic songs and pop lyrics. Winkler provides two main areas of significant interest, ‘Dramatic Song: Theoretical and Historical Considerations’ and ‘The Dominance of the Popular Song: Music Hall to Rock’. This helps demonstrate the continuum of the folk form from early times and the inclusion of song by contemporary playwrights, such as John Osborne and Tom Stoppard. John Blacking is a professor in social anthropology and an ethnomusicologist. In his book How Musical is Man5 Blacking challenges the Western notion that only a small percentage of the population are musical and maintains that it is the complexity of Western classical music that puts it technically beyond the reach of many.

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