The First 40 Years: 1957
This is part of a series of articles looking at the first 40 years of the Stephen Joseph Theatre (1955 to 1995) from the perspective of the theatre's Archive. The articles were first published in the SJT Circular newsletter.1957: Enter Ayckbourn
by Simon Murgatroyd1957 was a notable year for Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, although it’s unlikely anyone would have realised that at the time; not least the person involved.
A young aspiring actor called Alan Ayckbourn joined Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre that summer, having seen the company perform a production of Sartre’s Huis Clois in London in April. Alan was employed as an acting stage manager by Stephen Joseph - although he would not get to actually meet Stephen until well into the season. His role was, as it sounds, a stage manager who had occasional acting responsibilities.
The first of these was playing Eric Birling in J.B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls. The role did not attract much attention, although he was mentioned in passing in several reviews.
More successful was his second role at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre during that same season, playing Jack Bensted in Catherine Prynne’s The Ornamental Hermit. The Times noted: “Mr Alan Ayckbourn at the end gave a lively account of a young country-bred poet of an engaging dishevelment,” The Guardian also said he had made a “good showing.”
Clearly big things were ahead for this young man.
Though not, as he might have anticipated, as an actor....
In context, Alan Ayckbourn never set out to be the writer and director for which he is now renowned. He left school at 16 and walked straight into a role in Donald Wolfit’s company at the Edinburgh Festival. Wolfit was the last of the great theatre managers and Alan remembers being in utter awe of the man, who apparently dispensed advice on theatre and life in equal measure. Sometimes both at the same time such as the gem, “Drink the Guiness before the show and the gin afterwards.” Sage advice there.
Alan played a soldier for the three weeks the company were resident at Lauriston Hall in The Strong Are Lonely and was employed largely because he could stand to attention for the duration of the play, thanks to being in Haileybury Cadet Force!
From that heady experience during the summer of August 1956, Alan was employed by Melville Gillam at the Connaught Theatre in Worthing as a voluntary assistant stage manager. Although unpaid, Alan spent six months acquainting himself with many aspects of working in the theatre and even had a couple of small roles.
After six months and without any money to speak of - having largely been dependent on the generosity of his mother whilst at Worthing - Alan was quickly employed by Hazel Vincent at the Thorndike Theatre in Leatherhead. There he performed in five roles and believed he had found his vocation as an actor.
Whilst at Leatherhead, Alan became friendly with a stage manager called Rodney Wood, who was contracted to work with the Studio Theatre Company at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre in Scarborough during that summer in 1957. Having taken Alan to see his first in-the-round production when the Studio Theatre Company presented Sartre’s Huis Clois in London in April, he asked Alan if he fancied joining him as an acting stage manager in Scarborough.
Having seen theatre-in-the-round and seeing the job of a stage manager looked pretty easy given there were no big props or scenery to have to deal with, he agreed and took the train to Scarborough for the summer season.
And the rest was history.
Or nearly not.
For at the end of the summer season, Alan did not stay in Scarborough as he had been offered work by Milos Volankis for the winter season at the Oxford Playhouse. Alan joined the company, happy to be employed just as an actor and fondly remembers his time at the Playhouse; not least something which obviously had a lasting impact on the 20 year old.
“I remember having to help Mai Zetterling, nightly, into the lowest cut evening dress l’ve ever had the good fortune to jam the zip on.”
At the end of the winter season, Milos was keen for Alan to stay on as he thought he was a promising young actor. Stephen Joseph had also contacted him though and offered him a stage management with increased acting responsibilities in Scarborough.
Despite his fondness for Oxford, Alan returned to Scarborough where he would stay until 1962, when he helped Stephen Joseph found the Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Trent.
Had it not been for that decision to leave Oxford, who knows what direction Alan Ayckbourn’s life would have taken? Certainly without the influence of Stephen Joseph, Alan would probably have remained an actor rather than being encouraged to write and direct and discovering his true theatrical destination.
Article by and copyright of Simon Murgatroyd. Please do not reproduce this article without permission of the copyright holder.