The First 40 Years: 1977

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.

1977: A Jubilee Year

by Simon Murgatroyd

In 1977, the country celebrated the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II taking the throne.

Throughout the country celebrations were held to mark the occasion with massive street parties being a defining part of the event (not that this author recalls this, all I recall of 1977 is the release of Star Wars and the introduction of K-9 on Doctor Who. But then I was only six...).

Not one to be left out - and possibly spotting a way to tap into the national mood whilst monetising it - the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round embraced the celebrations with not one, but two productions.

Only one of which even the most dedicated and long-term SJT supporter is unlikely to remember.

The first - and by far the most successful - was Westwood Coronation Day Street Party which premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round on 29 April 1977 and ran until 30 August 1977.

This show has a special place in the history of the SJT as although lunch-time shows have become an integral part of the company over the decades, this was actually the first of the lunchtime shows.

Like the vast majority of lunchtime and late night shows at Westwood, the production took place in what was then advertised as the ‘bar’; this would later become the Studio space (and for many people, from 1984, the dining area for The Square Cat cafe).

At this point, there was no permanent performance space in the ‘bar’ area - this would follow in 1978 when a permanent stage was erected, so performances in the space were initially fairly ad hoc.

Westwood Coronation Day Street Party was written and directed by Bob Eaton, who also appeared in it alongside company members Diane Bill, Petronella Ford, Malcolm Hebden and Alison Skilbeck.

The piece - described as a ‘hilarious romp’ by the Yorkshire Evening Press - was a revue featuring songs and sketches based on an imagined view of the present from the perspective of the 1950s when the Coronation took place.

It proved to be incredibly popular and on the actual day of the Jubilee, more than 100 people were turned away from the show, such was the demand to see it.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the second show.

The theatre decided to mark the actual Jubilee on 7 June with what was billed Jubilee Day Celebrations in the season brochure - however no mention is made of what these celebrations are within the brochure.

That they were probably pulled together at a very late stage is evident by the complete lack of material in archive relating to the event, with only a solitary newspaper advert containing any information about the day.

This advert notes the day began with music from Scarborough Town band in Westwood playground from noon, followed by the sold-out performance of Westwood Coronation Day Street Party; this was the successful part of the day.

In the evening, a free glass of sherry was available before an advertised as “The Company in A Royal Tribute, a special entertainment for Jubilee Day with guest pianist Michael Garrick." This was followed by a Jubilee Dance to the local band Image.

'The Royal Tribute' was actually another revue called The Jubilee Show, but this time penned by Mervyn Watson with contributions by no less than Alan Ayckbourn.

Mervyn, then a director at the theatre, did the research for the show and Alan shaped it into a revue with songs; it seems likely much of the writing was probably by Mervyn Watson.

The piece is ostensibly a trip through the major events of the past 25 years delivered as a slightly surreal news broadcast. The entire acting company were involved and the pianist Michael Garrick performed the musical arrangements.

The piece had one performance and Alan Ayckbourn recalls it was to a practically empty house in which company members outnumbered the audience....

What had seemed a good idea in the wake of Westwood Coronation Day Street Party's success was tempered in hindsight with the realisation most people were either watching the celebrations on TV that evening or taking part in the myriad events organised to celebrate the day.

The revue was never performed again and forgotten. Nothing about it was stored in archive and no mention of it was made in any official play-lists compiled subsequent to the day.

In fact it only came to light, when - in 2007 - the believed only surviving copy of a manuscript was found wedged in the back of a filing cabinet. The script had probably been stuck there for thirty years and it was only with Alan Ayckbourn’s help that it was idenitifed! As a result, the discovery led to the piece being restored into the SJT’s official history with the original manuscript being preserved in the Ayckbourn Archive now held at the University of York.

So while some of you with long memories may well recall Westwood Day Coronation Street Party and the general Jubilee celebrations, it’s highly unlikely you’ll remember what is arguably one of the most obscure Alan Ayckbourn works ever produced.

Article by and copyright of Simon Murgatroyd. Please do not reproduce this article without permission of the copyright holder.