Joan Littlewood

169 Pages·2006·2.694 MB·English

by  Nadine Holdsworth

JOAN LITTLEWOOD
Routledge Performance Practitioners is a series of introductory
guides to the key theatre-makers of the last century. Each volume
explains the background to and the work of one of the major influences
on twentieth- and twenty-first-century performance.
A theatrical and cultural innovator, Joan Littlewood’s various contri-
butions to theatre made a huge impact on the way in which theatre was
generated, rehearsed and presented during the twentieth century. This
is the first book to combine:
• an overview of Littlewood’s career in relation to the wider social,
political and cultural context
• an exploration of Littlewood’s theatrical influences, approach to
actor’s training, belief in the creative ensemble, attitude to text,
rehearsal methods and use of improvisation

• a detailed case study of the origins, research, creative process and
thinking behind Littlewood’s most famous production, Oh What a
Lovely War, and an assessment of its impact
• a series of practical exercises designed to capture and illustrate the
key approaches Littlewood used in the rehearsal room.
As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial ex-
p loration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge
Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today’s student.
Nadine Holdsworth is Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Performance
Studies at the University of Warwick.
ROUTLEDGE PERFORMANCE
PRACTITIONERS
Series editor: Franc Chamberlain, University College Cork
Routledge Performance Practitioners is an innovative series of introductory
handbooks on key figures in twentieth-century performance practice. Each
volume focuses on a theatre-maker whose practical and theoretical work
has in some way transformed the way we understand theatre and perfor-
mance. The books are carefully structured to enable the reader to gain a
good grasp of the fundamental elements underpinning each practitioner’s
work. They will provide an inspiring springboard for future study, unpack-
ing and explaining what can initially seem daunting.
The main sections of each book cover:
• personal biography
• explanation of key writings
• description of significant productions
• reproduction of practical exercises.
Volumes currently available in the series are:
Eugenio Barba by Jane Turner
Augusto Boal by Frances Babbage
Michael Chekhov by Franc Chamberlain
Jacques Copeau by Mark Evans
Anna Halprin by Libby Worth and Helen Poyner
Jacques Lecoq by Simon Murray
Joan Littlewood by Nadine Holdsworth

Vsevolod Meyerhold by Jonathan Pitches
Konstantin Stanislavsky by Bella Merlin
Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo by Sondra Horton Fraleigh and
Tamah Nakamura
Future volumes will include:
Antonin Artaud Rudolf Laban
Pina Bausch Robert Lepage
Bertolt Brecht Ariane Mnouchkine
Peter Brook Lee Strasberg
Etienne Decroux Mary Wigman
Jerzy Grotowski Robert Wilson
J O A N
L I T T L E W O O D
Nadine Holdsworth
First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,
an informa business
© 2006 Nadine Holdsworth
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Pu blication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Holdsworth, Nadine.
Joan Littlewood/Nadine Holdsworth.
p. cm.–(Routledge performance practitioners)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Littlewood, Joan–Criticism and interpretation. I. Title. II. Series.
PN2598.L577H65 2006
792.02(cid:1)33092–dc22 2005032208
ISBN10: 0–415–33886–7 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–33887–5 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–44848–0 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–33886–8 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–33887–5 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–44848–9 (ebk)
FOR GEOFF AND CORIN

CONTENTS
List of figures ix
Acknowledgements xi
1 BIOGRAPHY IN POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND ARTISTIC
CONTEXT 1
Introduction 1
Early life 4
Early career: ‘Theatre as a Weapon’: Theatre of Action
and Theatre Union (1935–1945) 5
On the road : the creative ensemble (1945–1952) 12
Popular theatre/critical success (1953–1963) 22
Community initiatives (1963–1975) 32
2 JOAN LITTLEWOOD’S WORKING METHOD 43
Introduction 43
What was Littlewood against? 45
Attitude to acting 47
Promoting the creative ensemble 48
Approaches to actor training 50
Creating a movement-based theatre: the influence
of Laban 51
viii CONTENTS
Using and adapting Stanislavsky 56
Realising the world of the play 59
Improvisation: creating the conditions for theatrical
invention 62
Keeping a show alive 72
Conclusion 75
3 DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF OH WHAT A
LOVELY WAR 77
Introduction 77
1963: political and cultural context 78
The war game 79
Theatricality 81
Developing the show 82
The pierrot show 86
Documentary material/the ‘technological actor’ 87
The songs 89
Act One 91
Act Two 98
Selling out 108
Impact and influence 110
4 PRACTICAL EXERCISES 115
Introduction 115
Aims 116
Approach 116

Warm-up exercises 117
The performing body in space and time 120
Releasing the imagination 127
Working with text 130
Ensemble playing 132
Working with documentary sources 133
Name glossary 137
References 143
Index 149
FIGURES
Frontispiece Joan Littlewood xiv
1.1 Operation Olive Branch (1947) 19
1.2 The Other Animals (1948) 20
1.3 Edward II (1956) 26
1.4 You Won’t Always Be On Top (1957) 28
1.5 You Won’t Always Be On Top (1957) 29
1.6 Joan Littlewood outside the Theatre Royal, Stratford East (1974) 37
2.1 The Flying Doctor (1945) 55

2.2 The Quare Fellow (1956) 65
2.3 Joan Littlewood directing 68
3.1 Extract from Oh What a Lovely War programme (1963) 86
3.2 Avis Bunnage, Oh What a Lovely War (1963) 90
3.3 Murray Melvin, Oh What a Lovely War (1963) 92
3.4 Brian Murphy and Victor Spinetti, Oh What a Lovely War (1963) 99
3.5 Trench scene, Oh What a Lovely War (1963) 104
3.6 George Sewell as Haig, Oh What a Lovely War (1963) 105
3.7 Joan Littlewood outside stage door, New York (1964) 112
3.8 Joan Littlewood (1974) 114