The First 40 Years: 1978

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.

1978: Home

by Simon Murgatroyd

In 1976, the company founded at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre moved to a new ‘temporary’ home at the Theatre In The Round At Westwood.

By 1978, it was becoming obvious that ‘temporary’ actually meant ‘long-term’ and the former Westwood County Modern School was going to become a permanent home for the company.

This coincided with one of the company’s busiest years since Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre opened in 1955. Indeed, much of what we recognise as the SJT today was established making 1978 a key year in the history of the theatre.

Most obviously, this was the year that the theatre recognised its founder. When Stephen Joseph died in 1967, Scarborough Theatre Trust resolved that the new home of the theatre would be named in Stephen’s honour; at that point, it was hoped a new home would be forthcoming.

More than a decade later, the resolution finally came to pass when on 1 April 1978, Theatre In The Round At Westwood was changed to the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round marking both the legacy of the company’s founder but also emphasising this venue - for the foreseeable future at least - was going to be a permanent base.

Changes within the theatre began to reflect this decision too. Following the introduction and success of lunch time shows in 1977, a permanent performance space was built in what was then billed the bar area, becoming the Studio theatre space.

Immediately, the space was programmed with a busy schedule of drama and music which will be familiar to anyone with memories of Westwood.

Lunchtime concerts were introduced on Mondays during the summer season and proved to be so popular they were extended into the winter season. This was followed by the first season of jazz concerts which took place on Sunday nights during the winter season, beginning the tradition of Sunday night concerts at Westwood. These were an instant success with the first concert apparently attracting more than 80 patrons.

The Studio space also embraced the potential of presenting new plays by new playwrights with several new pieces including A Little Arrangement by Derek Buttress and Alan Ayckbourn’s first revue Men On Women On Men. The lunchtimes show were notably stage-managed by Amanda Saunders - who would go on to play a significant role at the SJT over the years.

The theatre also laid the foundations for what is now an integral part of the theatre. In 1978, youth theatre at the SJT was essentially begun with the creation of Rounders. Rounders had previously been the title for Saturday morning shows for children, but it notably became the name of the theatre’s youth drama group in 1978. It was probably unimaginable then that - 40 years later - from such small beginnings, it would grow into the OutReach Department we have today.

The Rounders youth theatre was founded by Tessa Harrison and initially aimed at children between the age of 7 - 12 years. The first season of Rounders attracted 54 members and was so successful that it quickly became a permanent Saturday morning event.

These were supplemented by children’s programming with a puppet adaption of Frank L Baum’s classic The Wizard Of Oz, which also took place on Saturday mornings. Initially scheduled to run from 8 July - 19 August, the phenomenal popularity of the show led to its run being extend to 28 October.

Notably, links with Scarborough’s amateur companies were also reforged. The amateur community had always been an integral aspect of the Library Theatre - and it was always part of Stephen Joseph’s mission to have professional and amateurs co-existing successfully with the same venue.

Ten years after it had initially ceased, the In-The-round Amateur Theatre festival, founded by Stephen Joseph in 1960, was relaunched offering a platform for amateur companies to present works in the UK’s most recognised home of theatre-in-the-round. The festival was adjudicated by Alan Ayckbourn, much as Stephen had frequently adjudicated the festival while at the Library Theatre.

Meanwhile within the main house, it was a year of firsts with the work of Ben Travers, Neil Simon, Brian Thompson and Tom Stoppard all being presented for the first time at the SJT. The theatre was also hitting its stride in providing a hectic schedule of events and during 1978, 17 plays / revues were presented by the company; a formidable programme by any standard.

Meanwhile, the Friends of the theatre - still somewhat bizarrely called The Friends Of Scarborough Theatre-In-The-Round - which had been formed in October 1976, made its first major impact with the presentation of the first theatre van, funded entirely by fund- raising efforts by the Friends.

Many of these things would become integral and essential to the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round and later the SJT. So much so that it can be argued that 1978 is the year the company truly found its feet again and established its purpose and direction a decade after Stephen Joseph’s death.

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