Ena Lamont Stewart (10 February 1912,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

– 9 February 2006,

Dalmellington Dalmellington ( sco, Dawmellinton, gd, Dail M'Fhaolain) is a market town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In 2001 the village had a population of 1,407. The town owes its origins to the fault line separating the Southern Uplands of ...

) was a Scottish

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Life and career

Stewart was the daughter of a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister whose family was originally from Canada and had settled in Glasgow. She worked as the librarian of Baillie's Reference Library. She married the Scottish actor Jack Stewart and had a son, William. The couple both joined Glasgow's MSU Repertory Theatre in

Rutherglen Rutherglen (, sco, Ruglen, gd, An Ruadh-Ghleann) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having existed as a Lanarkshire burgh in its own ...

. She was disturbed by the poverty in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...

, and by the sight of "shawly women". She became a receptionist at the Sick Children's Hospital and witnessed

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

and other diseases. Stewart was, with Joan Ure and Ada F Kay, a founder member of the

Scottish Society of Playwrights The Scottish Society of Playwrights (SSP) is a professional member's organisation representing theatre playwrights in Scotland. It is affiliated to the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and party to the Theatrical Management Association playwrigh ...

, having called with Hector MacMillan and John Hall the meeting which decided to establish the Society in September 1973, and the Scottish League of Dramatists.

Plays

Stewart's first play was ''Distinguished Company''. Her second play was ''Starched Aprons'' about the everyday trials of hospital life. She wrote ''

Men Should Weep ''Men Should Weep'' (originally called ''Quancos Should Dance'') is a play by Ena Lamont Stewart, written in 1947. It is set in Glasgow during the 1930s depression, with all the action taking place in the household of the Morrison family. It ...

'' in two days. Both plays were commercial successes. However, her subsequent plays were turned down for production. ''Men Should Weep'' was a major theatrical landmark for the representation of Scottish, class and gender issues.

Glasgow Unity Theatre The Glasgow Unity Theatre was a theatre group that was formed in 1941, in Glasgow. The Unity theatre movement developed from workers' drama groups in the 1930s, seeing itself as using theatre to highlight the issues of the working class being prod ...

first performed the play at the Athenaeum Theatre, Glasgow, on 30 January 1947. After the company closed in 1951, the play fell into obscurity. Stewart revised her play in the 1970s, and it was revived for the 1982 Clydebuilt Season. The play saw the light of day again in 2005 when it was rated one of the top 50 plays of the last century.

Other plays

''The Heir to Ardmally'', 1950's (Pitlochry festival theatre) ''Walkies Time for a Black Poodle'' ''Knocking on the Wall'' – Edinburgh festival

Acclaim

In autumn 1998, theatre professionals were asked to nominate ten English language 20th century plays. 100 plays were selected, among them Ena Lamont Stewart's, representing the year 1947.
National Theatre 2000: One Hundred Plays of the Century: Men Should Weep

Sources

The Guardian, 27 August 2005: Revolt of the WasherwomenCambridge Histories Online: Cast Study: Ena Lamont Stewart's ''Men Should Weep'', 1947
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Ena Lamont 1912 births 2006 deaths Scottish women dramatists and playwrights Writers from Glasgow Scottish women poets 20th-century Scottish poets 20th-century Scottish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Scottish women writers

Life and career

Plays

Other plays

Acclaim

See also

Sources