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Joan Littlewood

&

Vicky Featherstone

Vicky Featherstone

Joan Littlewood

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Information: 

 

Often referred to as 'The Mother Of Modern Theatre'

 

Famous for: 'Oh! What a Lovely War'

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Born: Stockwell, London in 1914.

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Died: 2002 (Age 87)

                       

Information: 

 

Named the most influential person in British theatre in 2018

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Famous for: Being the first female artistic director of the Royal Court

 

Born: Redhill, Surrey in 1967                       

The Modern Look of the Theatre:

A STUDY OF TWO OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN IN MODERN BRITISH THEATRE 

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Joan Littlewood

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Littlewoods main strategies of resistance were through her anti-establishment attitude, from the outset she was adamant that she never wanted to be associated with the ‘traditional’ ways of theatre and endeavoured to follow a more ‘workshop’ style approach. This led to the creation of the theatre workshop - a more collaborative style of theatre which is taught widely today. The strength she showed to follow her intentions and make community theatre was what made her stand out, she perhaps could have made it very easily in the world of 'Traditional' theatre if she had conformed and become a director in the classic sense of the word. Instead Littlewood took the core elements of what it meant to be a director and resisted against them, creating a unique craft blending the work of many theatre practitioners.

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Her philosophy was that acting consisted of the whole body rather than just the face and she was often relentless in her search for those who were stage actors; Ben Harker in ‘Missing Dates: Theatre Workshop in History' states that “life in the company was often a forbidding cycle of twelve-hour days divided into movement classes, voice exercises, rehearsal sessions and chores in their communal dwellings”. (Harker, B. 2008) Her famous rejection of figures such as Michael Cain show how much attention to detail she had. Littlewoods contribution to theatre, her navigation of a male dominated world and her resistance to the 'traditional' show us another example of a woman who has done so much through resistance. 

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I have found throughout that she is seen as a progressive caring figure; 

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“Joan’s approach to theatre was to work steadfastly towards its democratisation. In this her actors, whom she regarded as co-workers in the same struggle, were her most important asset.”

- Roger Grainger 2013

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“But her theatre practice did effect a complete change in the British theatre, and she— or Theatre Workshop as a whole— dragged Britain into the age of modernism.”

- Robert Leach 2006 

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"It seems to me quite likely that when the annals of our theatre in the middle years of the twentieth century come to be written, one name will lead all the rest: that of Joan Littlewood. Others write plays, direct them or act in them: Miss Littlewood alone “makes theatre”".

- Kenneth Tynan 1963

 

“Joan Littlewood had settled her troupe Theatre Workshop in 1955. The desire to address the deprivation ravaging East London’s urban life was a key motivation for the Fun Palace program”.

- Ana Bonet Miro 2018

 

“Described as ‘one of the foremost directors of her generation’ and ‘a maverick with anti-establishment views’, Joan Littlewood (1914–2002) was a pioneer of theatre directing in the United Kingdom”

- Millie Taylor 2020

 

"Littlewood was the most important influence of my life. I owe her everything, even though sometimes what was achieved struggled through the mists of confusion – and was frequently acrimonious. Her encouragement stimulated me and transformed my work as an actor. She taught me to be truthful. She made me take risks – the high diving board was always in evidence."

- Sir Nigel Hawthorne 2002

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As we can see here, the consistent praise of her honesty, enthusiasm and drive around topics which she was passionate about are not hard to find. The critics of her work seem to have been drowned out by years of praise, and an admiration of the work she created and those who she inspired - and is still inspiring to this day. 

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Littlewood was often shown to be, as with other females in this male dominated industry, ‘difficult’ - this notion, as covered by my peers was perhaps a way for the men who felt threatened to belittle the work that the females within the industry were doing. One central idea which was heavily ridiculed by many a critic was Littlewoods idea of a Fun Palace a totally communal space for making, well anything really. A parallel can be seen here with the often outspoken Scottish male critics whose biggest problem with Featherstone isn't the work she makes, but the fact that she is English. These critics often have little or no mention of the artistic work she has offered up or the countless lives changed though that work. For Littlewood to demand arts council funding for a Fun Place was seen as preposterous by many, yet even today annual events continue to take place under just that name. And those who denied her that funding - who knows? It is those who dream biggest that often leave the biggest legacy, and for me to focus on those who tried to quash Littlewood or write down her efforts as 'failures' would be a discredit.  

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SO WHY DOES IT MATTER?

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By Following what she believed in, even if that meant living at a theatre venue and sacrificing all she could for her love and belief in Theatre, Littlewood resisted the Establishment and 'Theatrical Elite' as well as the shifting the boundaries for what women could really achieve in this field. 

 

"Joan wished to liberate an aspect of drama which was unfamiliar to most actors.

She worked with them, not standing back to direct but teaching the job of

play-making alongside them as a member of the group, a fellow worker."

- Grainger Roger 2013

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Adopting this idea of working with the group, being playful around them, and often putting emphasis on self expression is one of the main reasons we continue today to learn about Littlewood. This style of 'workshop' was revolutionary - “Joan’s approach to theatre was to work steadfastly towards its democratisation. In this her actors, whom she regarded as co-workers in the same struggle, were her most important asset". (Grainger, R. 2013)

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Resisting the 'Theatrical Elite' may have changed how we view the theatre process now, but at the time she was often held back by a lack of funding - "Joan Littlewood blamed anti-socialist prejudice for Theatre Workshop’s hostile treatment by the Arts Council". (Rufford, J. 2011) This was why for many years "To save money, they lived in the theatre’s dressing rooms, setting up the theatre as a sort of commune where they all shared the daily tasks—even cooking!". (Stratford East, Date unknown.) If she had not resisted this lack of funding, and decided that those who were in charge of the funding were right we might never had heard of Joan Littlewood, the fact she resisted giving in made her who she was, determined, strong willed and loved.     

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"In order to do what you wish, you have to be ruthless, I'd sacrifice my grandmother wouldn't I for the sake of the work I do"

- Littlewood

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Working in a totally new way, at a time when the industry was fully dominated by men, with very little funding in a run down theatre in the east end of London, and still having the level of drive that Littlewood did show just how much of a resistant woman she was. Most other people with an idea which lacks funding have disappeared into the history books, Littlewoods ideas are still at the forefront of British Theatre. Take her idea around Fun Places as an example; 

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“Littlewood’s aim in developing the Fun Palace was to mix ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, education and entertainment, in a manner that blurred what she and Price saw as a set of false distinctions. Such distinctions isolated different groups within society and restricted people’s capacity to discover new experiences. With that in mind, Littlewood wanted to explore ‘much wider ideas than could be contained inside formal theatre’, and the Fun Palace was her bravest attempt to get beyond the ‘old human categories’ of amateur/professional, entertainment/fine arts, which had been employed by the Arts Council since the days of its first Chairman, John Maynard Keynes.” (Rufford, J. 2011)

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This central idea of community is still at the heart of Fun Palace movements worldwide. The idea has never stopped being relevant, just as Littlewood herself has never stopped being relevant. Her drive and work ethic paved a way for so many in the theatre industry today. This ultimately showed the men of the time just how much value could be added to the world of theatre by a single woman. Imagine what could happen if they had equal representation!

VICKY FEATHERSTONE

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“WE AT THE ROYAL COURT ARE ADOPTING THIS TODAY. IT IS AN OFFERING, IT IS A BEGINNING. WE HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE.”

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The one thing about Vicky Featherstone which is continually shown through the articles and interviews which I have been looking at is her strong willed nature and her commitment to what she believes in. The key point of focus for me will be around her response to the #MeToo movement in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein accusations - of which he has now been found guilty. Featherstone wasted no time in organising a ’day of action’ - and within three weeks of the allegations being reported by the New York Times the ‘day of action’ took place. This day was the catalyst for a document to be written up by Featherstone and just six days later the Royal Court published a ‘Code of Behaviour’ which aimed to be a starting point for the industry to build off of - “Thanks to the bravery, openness and desire to see change happen from the people in our industry who have either experienced abuse or are desperate to see it end, we have been able to compose this document. We at the Royal Court are adopting this today. It is an offering, it is a beginning. We have to start somewhere.” (Featherston, V. 2017)

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This document was released as a point of guidance, or a reference point and allowed other theatres to follow, which most did, either adopting the Royal Courts Policy or creating their own vert similar. This swift and powerful action taken by Featherstone did not go unnoticed and, as a result of this it came to be that Featherstone was named the most influential person in British Theatre in 2018. 

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“Featherstone was the first and strongest voice to speak out against historic and ongoing abuses of power in the theatre industry – especially sexual harassment – following the allegations in the US against Harvey Weinstein” (Brown, M. 2018)

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A key moment during this, which Featherstone was heavily criticised for, was around her handling of the play 'Rita, Sue and Bob Too' which was due to appear on stage at the Royal court however Featherstone cancelled it due to the situation around Weinstein and Max Stafford Clark.

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"How could a theatre that organised a day where 150 people shared their stories of sexual harassment and abuse then also present a play in which the teenage Rita and Sue are groomed by the married Bob and have sex with him?"(Crompton, S. 2017)

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The plays running tends to be controversial, yet in the days following the cancellation, the Royal Court - and Featherstone - were accused of censorship, this immediately seemed to be a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' situation for Featherstone. Yet her handling, and language used when deciding to reinstate the play - "we were accused of censoring the writer, which we never wanted to do, the only way you can prove that is action – putting it back on.”(Jones, A. 2018)

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"As a result of this helpful public debate we are now confident that the context with which Andrea Dunbar’s play will be viewed will be an invitation for new conversations.” (Featherstone, V. 2017) She wonderfully took the criticism of her, and those who said she was in the wrong, and actually listened to them, not admitting she was wrong because that is entirely subjective but allowing the play to be seen in a new way - a wonderful show of resistance and sure to be an inspiration to so many. 

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Featherstone's journey has not bee one without criticism, in fact far from it, she has spoken in the past about the abuse she used to receive while she was the artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland;

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"Vicky Featherstone... said she had been left “really, really upset” after coming under fire for not programming enough classic Scottish plays. She admitted to feeling “embattled and defensive” when criticisms became public three years ago, and that she began to question whether she could continue in the role." (Ferguson, B. 2012)

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The impact which critics can have on people, when you really look into it, becomes rather frightening, and here we have an example of an incredibly successful artistic director, someone who has been named 'The most influential person working in theatre' doubting her achievements, doubting her talent. If we take this feeling, of arguably one of the most powerful women in British theatre, and think about those in the past, the Littlewoods, Mrs Patrick Campbells, the Sarah Siddons and we think how they must have felt being in their positions - we can only sympathise with them and wonder how much harder resistance must have been for them.  

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Going Forward... 

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The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that the theatre world has come to a stop, all performances cancelled, all theatres closed, thousands of freelancers without work, without money and with no support forthcoming. One of the key voices for the theatre industry around this has been Featherstone, in May this year, she spoke out about the lack of funding for the arts; "Without income we're nothing. By Christmas, 70 years of government investment will be wiped down the pan. Unless we can find some way to get extra support." (Featherstone, V. 2020) She was putting the small theatres first and standing up for what she believes in, a comparison we can directly make to Littlewood, she compares it to the premier league, an area of life which has been allowed to operate with full backing from the government so why can't they find a way to help theatres in a similar manor? 

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Come September she had even more to say, as a rebuttal to the government saying that people were needing to look for 'viable' jobs Featherstone said; “all of our jobs are fundamentally viable, because as soon as we’re allowed to make work again in theatre, we can employ everyone again.” (Featherstone, V. 2020) Just as most other industries, the theatres have had to innovate, going online, working out other ways to generate income, and she acknowledges this but also worries about more than just the 'theatre elite'. 

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"Theatre is also about people: those who make it and the audiences who come. Venues are just the guardians. So we need to be allowed to support our freelancers.”

- Vicky Featherstone 2020

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No one can know what the future of theatre will be, but we can see that there are still to this day the need for women like Featherstone in this industry, who are willing to stand up against the ideas that for some are still 'traditions'. Her work is showing people everywhere that this is an industry that thrives from diversity, her work all over the UK has inspired millions and will continue to do so, just imagine what we would have missed out on if every woman mentioned on this site had not shown a resistance. Imagine all of the talent we would have missed out on. For us, these acts of resistance have all been, and continue to be, vital in the fight for equal representation. 

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