Joan Littlewood | |
|---|---|
 Cover ofJoan's Book: the autobiography of Joan Littlewood | |
| Born | Joan Maud Littlewood (1914-10-06)6 October 1914 |
| Died | 20 September 2002(2002-09-20) (aged 87)[1] London, England |
| Occupation | Theatre director |
| Years active | 1930–1975 |
| Spouse | |
| Partner(s) | Gerry Raffles Philippe de Rothschild |
Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an Englishtheatre director who trained at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art and is best known for her work in developing theTheatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of Modern Theatre".[2] Her production ofOh, What a Lovely War! in 1963 was one of her more influential pieces.
Littlewood and her company lived and slept in theTheatre Royal while it was restored. Productions ofThe Alchemist andRichard II, the latter starringHarry H. Corbett in the title role, established the reputation of the company.[3]
She also conceived and developed the concept of theFun Palace, in collaboration with architectCedric Price.[4]
Miss Littlewood, a musical written about Littlewood by Sam Kenyon, was performed by theRoyal Shakespeare Company in 2018.[5]
Littlewood was born inStockwell, London, and was educated atLa Retraite Convent School in Clapham Park. She trained as an actress atRADA, but left after an unhappy start and moved toManchester in 1934, where she met folksinger Jimmie Miller, who later became known asEwan MacColl. After joining his troupe, Theatre of Action, Littlewood and Miller soon were married. After a brief move to London, they returned to Manchester and set up the Theatre Union in 1936.[6]
In 1941, Littlewood was banned from broadcasting on theBBC andher personnel file was marked by an MI5 officer as she was deemed a security risk. The ban was lifted two years later, whenMI5 said she had broken off her association with theCommunist Party. She was under surveillance by MI5 from 1939 until the 1950s.[7]
In 1945, after the end ofWorld War II, Littlewood, her husband thecommunistfolk singerEwan MacColl, and other Theatre Union members formedTheatre Workshop and registered it while staying at Ormesby Hall. The following eight years were spent touring. Shortly afterwards, when Gerry Raffles joined the troupe, MacColl and Littlewood divorced, though they still worked together for many years and Littlewood was godmother to MacColl's two children. Littlewood and Raffles were life partners until his death in 1975.
In 1953, after an attempt to establish a permanent base inGlasgow, Theatre Workshop took up residence at theTheatre Royal in Stratford, east London, where it gained an international reputation,[3] performing plays across Europe and in the Soviet Union. One of Littlewood's most famous productions was the British première ofBertolt Brecht'sMother Courage and Her Children (1955), which she directed and also starred in. Her production ofFings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be, a musical about the London underworld, became a hit and ran from 1959 to 1962, transferring to the West End.
The works for which she is now best remembered are probablyShelagh Delaney'sA Taste of Honey (1958),[8] which gained critical acclaim, and the satirical musicalOh, What a Lovely War! (1963), her stage adaptation of a work for radio byCharles Chilton. Both were made into films. She received a Tony Award nomination forBest Direction of a Musical forOh, What a Lovely War!, becoming the first woman nominated for the award. Theatre Workshop also championed the work of Irish playwrightBrendan Behan.
After Raffles's death in 1975, Littlewood left Theatre Workshop and stopped directing. After a time of drifting she settled in France and became the companion of BaronPhilippe de Rothschild, the vintner and poet, and wrote his memoirsMilady Vine. In the mid-1980s, she commenced work on her 1994 autobiography,Joan's Book.[9]
Littlewood died in 2002 of natural causes at the age of 87 in the London flat ofPeter Rankin.[10][11]
Littlewood was played byZoë Wanamaker in the 2017BBC Television dramaBabs, about the life ofBarbara Windsor.[12]
