The First 40 Years: 1995

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.

1995: Endgame

by Simon Murgatroyd

And so things come to an end. The Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round and this column.

After twenty years at its temporary home, the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round entered its final full year in 1995 on the cusp of change.

As we reported in the 1992 - 1993 article, work on the SJT had begun in earnest even though less than half the funds needed had been raised. By January 1995, this was still a source of contention.

Whilst it was reported that phase one of the conversion of the Odeon into the company’s new home would be finished by February - allowing for the box office, McCarthy auditorium and restaurant to open first - there were also news reports that the completion of Phase 2 was being delayed due to lac of funding. This was vigorously denied by Charles McCarthy, chairman of Scarborough Theatre Development Trust.

The plan to have the entire theatre open by December 1995 was re-iterated whilst acknowledging the price of the conversion had risen to £4.57m.

As the exterior neon lights were switched on for the first time on 11 April to mark the start of the theatre’s 40th anniversary season, there was still some scepticism whether the theatre could raise the money it needed.

On 19 November 1994, the UK was introduced to a new national interest when TV presenter Noel Edmonds introduced the first draw of the National Lottery. Six months later, the show arrived in Scarborough.

Which perhaps was a dead giveaway that something big was going to happen. On 20 May, the BBC set up shop in Scarborough Spa Suncourt for a live broadcast of the National Lottery during which it was announced the SJT was to receive £1.5m towards the development of the SJT. At the time, this was one of the largest grants yet to be awarded to the arts.

The £1.5m triggered a European Community Grant of £495,000 - a tenth of this building’s costs were met by being part of the European Union.....

On 24 May, it was announced Phase One of the building was complete and work would begin immediately on Phase Two. The overall - and final cost - was now set at £5.1m with just £325,000 left to raise.

The dream had become a reality, 40 years after being established in Scarborough, the company founded by Stephen Joseph in 1955 was to get its first permanent home in the town.

Flash forward to 3 February 1996 and the final night of the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round. 20 years after the company had kved to a ‘temporary’ home at the foam Westwood Modern County School, it was time to move on.

The final performance was Alan Ayckbourn’s Just Between Ourselves, which was also the final performance at the Library Theatre in 1976. Directed by Robin Herford, the play featured Malcolm Hebden reviving his 1976 role of Neil - a role he noted he was too young for in 1975 and too old for in 1996!

The evening ended with a speech by Alan Ayckbourn marking the history of Westwood and the momentous achievement of raising the money for the new home. And then in a final touching moment, Malcolm Hebden donned the costume of Mr Whatnot, the mimed character from the very first production at Westwood, and pulled the imaginary string.

And for Westwood, the lights went out....

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