Joan Littlewood
Joan Littlewood | |
---|---|
Born | Joan Maud Littlewood 6 October 1914 |
Died | 20 September 2002[1] London, England | (aged 87)
Occupation | Theatre director |
Years active | 1930–1975 |
Spouse | |
Partner(s) | Gerry Raffles Philippe de Rothschild |
Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English
Littlewood and her company lived and slept in the Theatre Royal while it was restored. Productions of The Alchemist and Richard II, the latter starring Harry H. Corbett in the title role, established the reputation of the company.[3]
She also conceived and developed the concept of the Fun Palace in collaboration with architect Cedric Price,[4] an experimental model of a participatory social environment that, although never realized, has become an important influence in the architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries.[citation needed]
Miss Littlewood, a musical written about Littlewood by Sam Kenyon, was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2018.[5]
Early years
Littlewood was born in Stockwell, London, and was educated at La Retraite Convent School in Clapham Park. She trained as an actress at RADA, but left after an unhappy start and moved to Manchester in 1934, where she met folksinger Jimmie Miller, who later became known as Ewan MacColl. After joining his troupe, Theatre of Action, Littlewood and Miller soon were married. After a brief move to London, they returned to Manchester and set up the Theatre Union in 1936.[6]
Career
In 1941, Littlewood was banned from broadcasting on the
In 1945, after the end of
In 1953, after an attempt to establish a permanent base in Glasgow, Theatre Workshop took up residence at the Theatre Royal in Stratford, east London, where it gained an international reputation,[3] performing plays across Europe and in the Soviet Union. One of Littlewood's most famous productions was the British première of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children (1955), which she directed and also starred in. Her production of Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be, a musical about the London underworld, became a hit and ran from 1959 to 1962, transferring to the West End.
The works for which she is now best remembered are probably Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey (1958),[8] which gained critical acclaim, and the satirical musical Oh, What a Lovely War! (1963), her stage adaptation of a work for radio by Charles Chilton. Both were made into films. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical for Oh, What a Lovely War!, becoming the first woman nominated for the award. Theatre Workshop also championed the work of Irish playwright Brendan Behan.
Later life and death
After Raffles's death in 1975, Littlewood left Theatre Workshop and stopped directing. After a time of drifting she settled in France and became the companion of Baron Philippe de Rothschild, the vintner and poet, and wrote his memoirs Milady Vine. In the mid-1980s, she commenced work on her 1994 autobiography, Joan's Book.[9]
Littlewood died in 2002 of natural causes at the age of 87 in the London flat of Peter Rankin.[10][11]
Portrayals
Littlewood was played by Zoë Wanamaker in the 2017 BBC Television drama Babs, about the life of Barbara Windsor.[12]
Honours
- Commandeur de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1986)
References
- S2CID 194973320.
- ^ "Obituary: Theatre's defiant genius". BBC News. 21 September 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84854-195-5.
- ^ Duffy, Stella. "Fun palaces: Joan Littlewood's dream for culture gets second chance". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- ^ "Miss Littlewood: About the Play". rsc.org.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/77256. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Norton-Taylor, Richard (4 March 2008). "MI5 Surveillance of Joan Littlewood During War Led to Two-Year BBC Ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
- ^ • Harding, John, Sweetly Sings Delaney. (Greenwich Exchange 2014). www.greenex.co.uk
- ^ Strachan, Alan (23 September 2002). "Joan Littlewood: Bold and innovative director celebrated for her work at the Theatre Royal, Stratford". The Independent. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
- ^ Rankin, Peter (23 September 2002). "My friend Joan, the director who hated 'acting'". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ "Obituary: Joan Littlewood". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ Pavey, Harriet. "Meet the cast of the BBC's Barbara Windsor biopic Babs". Radio Times. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
Further reading
- Goorney, Howard, and Ewan MacColl (1990). Agit-Prop to Theatre Workshop: Political Playscripts, 1930–50. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-2211-8
- Littlewood, Joan (1994) Joan's Book: Joan Littlewood's Peculiar History as She Tells it. London: Methuen Publishing Ltd ISBN 0-413-64070-1
- Littlewood, Joan (2003). Joan's Book: The Autobiography of Joan Littlewood. London: Methuen. ISBN 0-413-77318-3
- MacColl, Ewan (1990). Journeyman: An Autobiography. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-06036-0
- Rankin, Peter (2014). Joan Littlewood: Dreams and Realities. London: Oberon Books. ISBN 978-1-78319-084-3
External links
- BBC Obituary: Theatre's defiant genius (21 September 2002)
- Joan Littlewood at the Internet Broadway Database
- Joan Littlewood at IMDb
- History of Theatre Workshop at Stratford East
- Theatre Archive Project Interview with Harry Greene
- A tribute to Joan Littlewood by Jackie Fletcher
- Joan Littlewood (1914–2002) (The British Theatre guide)
- BBC Radio3: a personal, detailed portrayal (26 Oct. 2014)
- 'Behind the Seams' a 1938 BBC radio documentary, in which Joan Littlewood interviews miners at Willington Colliery, Co Durham.