Glynne William Gladstone Wickham (15 May 1922–27 January 2004) was a British Shakespearean and theatre scholar.

Life

Wickham was born in Cape Town, and was the great-grandson of

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford. In 1941 he played the title role in '' Hamlet'' for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), directed by Nevill Coghill. In 1942–1946, interrupting his undergraduate studies, he served as a navigator in the RAF. He returned to New College in 1946, and became the first postwar president of OUDS. In 1948 Coghill chose him to direct a "complex" production of a

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

to celebrate the visit of the then Princess Elizabeth to Oxford. He was awarded a

DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in 1951 based on postgraduate research into the evolution of

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

and

Jacobean theatre English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonso ...

from its medieval beginnings. This work formed the basis for his later work ''Early English Stages'', published in five volumes between 1959 and 2002. Appointed in 1948 to the department of drama at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

(the UK's first such department), he convened a 1951 symposium on "the responsibility of universities to the theatre" to endorse the policy of studying drama in the context of theatre and a 1954 symposium on "the relationship between universities and radio, film, and television". He also did the groundwork for the university's theatre collection in 1951 (which now has museum status and is a major archive). In 1954 he married Hesel Mudford with whom he had two sons and one daughter. In 1955, he was made the department's head and in 1960 took up its chair of drama, the first such in the UK. He also helped to set up a playwriting fellowship in the department, attracting young playwrights like

John Arden John Arden (26 October 1930 – 28 March 2012) was an English playwright who at his death was lauded as "one of the most significant British playwrights of the late 1950s and early 60s". Career Born in Barnsley, son of the manager of a glass f ...

, and premiered Harold Pinter's first play, ''

The Room ''The Room'' is a 2003 American drama film written, produced, executive produced and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who stars in the film alongside Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero. The film centers on a melodramatic love triangle between amiab ...

'' in 1957. At his death he was the department's professor emeritus. Wickham served as president of the American Society for Theatre Research from 1976 to 1999. In 1970 his advice was sought by Sam Wanamaker on the setting up of Shakespeare's Globe. In 1999 he was awarded the

Sam Wanamaker Prize The Sam Wanamaker Award or Sam Wanamaker Prize is an award established in 1994 for pioneering work in Shakespearean theatre, usually given to individuals who have worked closely with Shakespeare's Globe or the Royal Shakespeare Company; the aw ...

. The Standing Conference of University Drama Departments's postgraduate scholarship and Bristol University's studio theatre are both named after him.

Works

*''Shakespeare's Dramatic Heritage'' (1969) *''The Medieval Theatre'' (1974) *''English Moral Interludes'' (1975) *''A History of the Theatre'' (1985) *''English Professional Theatre, 1530-1660'' (2001) (editor and co-author)

References

Sources

* * *

External links

Glynne Wickham Studio Theatre, named after himThe Glynne Wickham Archive
at the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a Red brick university, red brick Russell Group research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Society of Merchant Venturers, Merchant Venturers' sc ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickham, Glynne 1922 births 2004 deaths Academics of the University of Bristol Shakespearean scholars Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British expatriates in South Africa