The First 40 Years: 1984

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.

1984: A Chorus Of Approval

by Simon Murgatroyd

The National Theatre is not something one imagines has had a huge influence on the Stephen Joseph Theatre over the years.

However, during the ‘70s and ‘80s Alan Ayckbourn found himself a regular figure at the NT directing the London premieres of works which had previously premiered at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round.

The significance here is that in several cases, the plays were essentially commissioned by the NT - under the then helm of Artistic Director Peter Hall - with the agreement they would be premiered in Scarborough first prior to their eventual transfer to London.

This was the case with Bedroom Farce (1975), which was conceived as a play which could tackle the problems of the staging at the Lyttelton - a wide, thin stage - whilst fitting into the round space at the Library Theatre.

Sisterly Feelings was similarly commissioned by the NT for the Olivier auditorium and explains why it features such an expansive cast for an Ayckbourn play and a setting of a park - something which could contract or expand to fit the requirements of Westwood or the vast open space of the Olivier.

So it was with A Chorus Of Disapproval, Alan was asked by Peter Hall if he had a new play for the NT - to which Alan said he was welcome to see his next play in Scarborough, Who Do You Think? which he described as having a’smallish cast’ and being of a ‘fairly light nature.’

Whatever happened to the idea for Who Do You Think? is not known as it was replaced by the formative idea for A Chorus Of Disapproval - which neither had a small cast nor was ‘fairly light.’

It’s hard not to suggest that having been offered the chance of a new slot at the NT, Alan reformulated his plans for his next play, writing what would - at that time - be the largest cast to grace the Scarborough stage in an “expanding play” which could accommodate the larger space of the Olivier.

The idea for A Chorus Of Disapproval apparently came from a friend who had regaled Alan with some apparently eye-popping experiences within an amateur drama company and the politics - rather than plays - which dominated such societies. Alan was very taken by the idea of a play centred on such a group of people.

"I liked the idea of writing about an amateur drama group as it contains a very good cross- section of every level of society.”

Although the playwright would eventually settle upon John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, it was conceived with Rudolf Friml’s The Vagabond King in mind and - incredibly - a much larger scope. Alan hoped to draw Scarborough into the play by populating it with dozens of extras from Scarborough’s own amateur companies.

“There were to be about 85 singers sitting in scattered seats completely incognito, who at various points would start to sing - thus causing the person next to them to look absolutely alarmed.”

Whilst it seemed an extraordinary idea, it actually did move forward with adverts for auditions posted in the Scarborough Evening News in March 1984 with Alan apparently ‘anxious to meet amateur singers’. Although the number of extras wanted had by this point fallen to just 20 - presumably much to the finance department’s relief.

Alan did not find what he needed, but he did come across plenty of inspiration from the people he encountered during the auditions.

“I was sitting there watching this woman director, who I suppose became a prototype for Dafydd ap Llewellyn. She was absolutely brutal. A woman started singing and the director said almost at once, 'Don't go on. You have no voice. You're out of tune and it's a horrible noise'. As the singer ran out on the verge of tears, I said, 'That was a bit blunt,' and she said 'Well, you've got to tell 'em or they just come back again’.”

Fortuitously, Equity entered the picture clearly unimpressed by Alan’s proposal to mix professional and amateur actors and made it clear this would not be allowed to take place.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Rudolf Friml estate also declared itself unimpressed fearing a lack of deference to the play. Permission to use the play was withdrawn with a major tour cited as the reason. Alan’s still waiting for news of that tour 34 years on!

It all worked out for the best though as rather than working with a piece which Alan had intended only to make fun of, he instead turned to a piece he had much respect for with The Beggar’s Opera even as the deadline to rehearsals began to tick down.

“I greatly admired and had always wanted to direct The Beggar's Opera. And this in turn provided the missing piece to the whole venture. Gay's play not only had a plot which echoed almost perfectly the one I intended to write, but it also offered the ideal mirror image on which to build my own dramatic structure.”

Having abandoned his amateurs, Alan whittled the cast down to a more manageable 13 professionals (still the largest Ayckbourn cast at that point) and began writing the play. Which was good as Alan had left it so late to write the script, rehearsals had actually be- gun! Alan sent his actors to rehearse the musical numbers with his Musical Director Paul Todd, whilst he frantically began putting words to paper and pulling the script of A Chorus Of Disapproval together.

Despite all this, the play opened as intended on 2 May 1994 and proved to be a huge hit in Scarborough before transferring to the NT - and later the West End - to even more success.

A Chorus Of Disapproval also paid tribute to someone who played a huge part in the life of the company from the ‘60s through to the ‘80s. The play is dedicated to Tom Laughton, brother of the actor Charles and a well-known and well-respected Scarborough hotelier.

In the programme note for A Chorus Of Disapproval, Alan described Tom thus: “A distinguished Scarborian who was a tireless and continuing friend of this theatre almost from the moment it started until his death, earlier this year. As Chairman of our Theatre Trust, his efforts on our behalf, based on his firm belief in our importance nationally as a company, helped guide us through some of our darkest days. We'll always be grateful to him and we already miss him a lot... this most kindly and civilised of men.”

Tom’s association with the company really began when he joined the board of Scarborough Theatre Trust in 1967 - although Stephen Joseph had apparently been keen to meet Tom prior to opening the Library Theatre in 1955.

Tom played a key role in the ongoing search for a new home for the company which led - in 1976 - to its move to the former Westwood County Modern School. He left the board in early 1984, just two months prior to his death on 14 March of that year.

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