Ashley Dukes (29 May 1885 – 4 May 1959) was an English playwright/dramatist, critic, theatre manager.

Biography

Personal life

Ashley Dukes was born one of five children in 1885. He was the son of the Congregationalist clergyman, Rev. Edwin Joshua Dukes (1847-1930), of

Kingsland, London Kingsland was a small road-side settlement centred on Kingsland High Street on the Old North Road (the present A10), around the junction with Dalston Lane. It is no longer discernable as a separate settlement, though the historic street pattern ...

, and his wife, the former Edith Mary Pope (1863-1898), of

Sandford, Devon Sandford is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district, within Devon, England. ''Sandford'' is part of the electoral ward named ''Sandford'' and Creedy. The ward population at the 2011 Census was 3,429. History The Grade II listed ...

. He met

Marie Rambert Dame Marie Rambert, Mrs Dukes DBE (20 February 188812 June 1982) was a Polish-born English dancer and pedagogue who exerted great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher. Early years and background Born to a liberal Lithuan ...

, a ballet dancer, at a dinner party in 1917. In Rambert's autobiography she says "after four days of personal meetings, and seven months of correspondence we were married on 3 March 1918."

Career

He initially taught science at university and became a drama critic in 1909. He wrote for several publications until 1925. Dukes wrote ''The World to Play With'' concerning the theatre and the play was published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 1928. In 1933, he founded the

Mercury Theatre The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury also ...

in London and wrote plays that appeared in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

and on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in New York. The Ashley Dukes Company was an important interwar promoter of serious drama, and a training ground for actors. Dukes mounted the first theatrical performance of ''

Murder in the Cathedral ''Murder in the Cathedral'' is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935, that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. Eliot drew heavily on the wri ...

'' at the Mercury, driving down to Canterbury with T. S. Eliot to collect scenery and costumes. (He rejected

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

' dramatic ''oeuvre'' for the same stage much to Yeats' annoyance.) Other plays he wrote included ''

Man with a Load of Mischief ''Man with a Load of Mischief'' is a musical, It is based on the play by Ashley Dukes. Book by Ben Tarver music by John Clifton; lyrics by Messrs. Clifton and Tarver; staged by Tom Gruenewald; setting and lighting by Joan Larkey; costumes by Vol ...

''.

Family

He was the older brother of

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

spy

Paul Dukes Sir Paul Henry Dukes (10 February 1889 – 27 August 1967) was a British MI6 officer and author. Early life and family Paul Henry Dukes was born the third of five children on 10 February 1889 in Bridgwater, Somerset, England. He was the ...

and pathologist

Cuthbert Dukes Cuthbert Esquire Dukes OBE (24 July 1890 – 3 February 1977) was an English physician, pathologist and author, for whom the Dukes classification for colorectal cancer is named. Career Dukes was educated at Caterham School. He graduated with ...

References

External links

* * * * 1885 births 1959 deaths People from Bridgwater English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers {{UK-playwright-stub