The London Theatre Studio was a

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

and

design school An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-seco ...

Upper Street Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Pentonv ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, from 1936 to 1939. It was directed by the French actor and director

Michel Saint-Denis Michel Jacques Saint-Denis (13 September 1897 – 31 July 1971), ''dit'' Jacques Duchesne, was a French actor, theatre director, and drama theorist whose ideas on actor training have had a profound influence on the development of European the ...

. The school was the first in England to teach theatrical design as well as drama. It was closed at the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and after the war its director and other instructors returned to teaching drama and design in other places.

Background

In 1929, with the support of

Jacques Copeau Jacques Copeau (; 4 February 1879 – 20 October 1949) was a French theatre director, producer, actor, and dramatist. Before he founded the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in Paris, he wrote theatre reviews for several Parisian journals, work ...

, his uncle, Michel Saint-Denis and other members of Copeau's company moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and established the ''Compagnie des Quinze'', a company of actors, in which Saint-Denis put into effect the innovative teaching methods of Copeau. This folded in 1934, and in 1935 Saint-Denis moved to London, where the next year he founded the London Theatre Studio with

George Devine George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

Marius Goring Marius Re Goring, (23 May 191230 September 1998) was a British stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' and as Julian Cr ...

, and

Glen Byam Shaw Glencairn Alexander "Glen" Byam Shaw, CBE (13 December 1904 – 29 April 1986) was an English actor and theatre director, known for his dramatic productions in the 1950s and his operatic productions in the 1960s and later. In the 1920s and 1930s ...

.Fonds Michel Saint-Denis in the British Library
michelsaintdenis.net, accessed 8 December 2020"Saint-Denis, Michel Jacques (1897–1971)" in Jonathan Law, ''The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre'', pp. 936, 937

Margaret Harris Margaret Frances Harris (28 May 1904 – 10 May 2000) was an English theatre and opera costume and scenic designer. Biography Early years Harris was born in Hayes, Kent, the fourth child and second daughter of William Birkbeck Harris, a Ll ...

later did not know how the money for setting up the school was raised, but speculated that it was with the help of

Tyrone Guthrie Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at his ...

The school

The first classes of the new school were in rooms in

Beak Street Beak Street is a street in Soho, London, that runs roughly east–west between Regent Street and Lexington Street. Location On its south side, Beak Street is joined by Warwick Street, Upper John Street, Upper James Street, Bridle Lane and G ...

which had once been used as practice rooms by

Serge Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...

. As they were small, the students were not all on site at the same time. Then, with financial help from a student named Laura Dyas, a purpose-designed school was created in Providence Hall, a former

Strict Baptist Reformed Baptists (sometimes known as Particular Baptists or Calvinistic Baptists) are Baptists that hold to a Calvinist soteriology (salvation). The first Calvinist Baptist church was formed in the 1630s. The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith ...

chapel in Providence Place,

, Islington,Michael Mullin, ''Design by Motley'' (Associated University Press, 1996)
p. 61
/ref> with a conversion of the building designed by

Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer. At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most im ...

and

F. R. S. Yorke Francis Reginald Stevens Yorke (3 December 1906 – 10 June 1962), known professionally as F. R. S. Yorke and informally as Kay or K, was an English architect and author. One of the first native British architects to design in a modernist style, h ...

. Breuer designed the stage and auditorium, and also all the furniture, much of which was in moulded plywood. The contract for the building works was dated July 1936, and for the furniture September 1936.Contract and specification of works by F.R.S. Yorke and Marcel Breuer for alterations and additions to Providence Hall, Upper Street, Islington, for the London Theatre Studio Ltd, July 1936, and contract for constructing and erecting furniture to their designs, September 1936. YoF/1/5
worldcat.org, accessed 14 December 2020 An Oxford friend of Devine, Peter Bayne, was brought in as business manager, and a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

, London Theatre Studio Ltd, was incorporated. The new school followed the methods of Copeau, as developed further by Saint-Denis, and in its first term had twenty-four students. Huang Zuolin

The school's design course was taught by

Sophie Harris Audrey Sophia "Sophie" Harris (2 July 1900 – 10 March 1966) was an English award winning theatre and opera costume and scenic designer. Biography Born in Hayes, Kent, the third child and first daughter of William Birkbeck Harris, a Lloyd ...

, Margaret Harris, and

Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1932 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She is best remembered for her leading role as the witch Samantha Stephens on the televisi ...

, who were collectively a unit known as

Motley Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, the motley fool, or the arlecchino character in ''commedia dell'arte''. The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word ''motley'' i ...

, and

Richard Southern Sir Richard William Southern (8 February 1912 – 6 February 2001), who published under the name R. W. Southern, was a noted English medieval historian based at the University of Oxford. Biography Southern was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne o ...

taught stage scenery design and its history. This was the first theatrical design course at an English drama school.''Theatre Design & Technology'', Volume 30 (Spring, 1994), p. 13 George Devine was assistant director of the school and taught

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylig ...

.Nigel H. Morgan, ''Stage Lighting Design in Britain: The Emergence of the Lighting Designer, 1881-1950'' (Entertainment Technology Press, 2005), pp. 208, 257 Saint-Denis taught directing, and

Huang Zuolin Huang Zuolin (; October 24, 1906 – June 1, 1994) was a Chinese film director. Life Huang Zuolin whose ancestral home was at Panyu, Guangdong Province, was born in Tianjin. He graduated from Tientsin Anglo-Chinese College in 1925. During the pe ...

was among his students.Faye Chunfang Fei, ''Chinese Theories of Theater and Performance from Confucius to the Present'' (University of Michigan Press, 1999)
p. 154
/ref> While he was in England, Saint-Denis also worked in theatre, including directing productions by the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (194 ...

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elect ...

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...

, and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

were among those he directed, and Guinness, who was already working as an actor, took classes at the Studio. At this time, there were some sixteen professional actors enrolled as students. The London Theatre Studio was closed in 1939, as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War. In July 1941, an extraordinary general meeting of London Theatre Studio Ltd decided to wind up the company voluntarily, as it "cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business".

Aftermath

Saint-Denis stayed in England, and from 1940 to 1944 was the director of ''

Radio Londres ''Radio Londres'' (, French for "Radio London") was a radio station broadcast from 1940 to 1944 by the BBC in London to German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi-occupied France. It was entirely in French Language, French and was o ...

'', a BBC station broadcasting in French. After the war, he established

the Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...

Theatre School (1947–1952) with George Devine and Glen Byam Shaw. He went on to found a new drama school in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in 1954, and in 1960 was an advisor for the creation of the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants aw ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Margaret Harris was later a director of the

Motley Theatre Design Course Motley Theatre Design Course is a one-year independent theatre design course in London. It was founded at Sadler's Wells Opera in 1966. History of the school Sadler's Wells Opera and English National Opera In 1962, Sadler's Wells Opera announced th ...

, a historian of which has observed that her aims "...hearkened back to the London Theatre Studio ideal of a ‘company’ who work in happy collaboration, rather than a group of individuals in creative competition with each other". A drama instructor at the school, Oliver Reynolds (1908–1998) was rejected for military service when the London Theatre Studio closed and spent the war years transcribing books into

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

. After the war, he launched his own drama school, before in 1951 joining the staff of the

Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

Notable staff

120px, Sophie Harris *

(1897–1971), Director *

(1910–1966), assistant director, lighting tutor *

(1912–1998), Shakespearean acting *

(1900–1966), design *

(1902–1993), design *

(1904–2000), design *

(1903–1989), stage scenery

Notable students

:''See also :Alumni of the London Theatre Studio'' Ustinov Low

(1906–1994) *

(1914–2000)"The London Theatre Studio, by Sophie Jump"
michelsaintdenis.net, accessed 14 December 2020 *

Yvonne Mitchell Yvonne Mitchell (born Yvonne Frances Joseph; 7 July 1915 – 24 March 1979) was an English actress and author. After beginning her acting career in theatre, Mitchell progressed to films in the late 1940s. Her roles include Julia in the 1954 BBC ...

(1915–1979) *

James Donald James Donald (18 May 1917 – 3 August 1993) was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he specialised in playing authority figures, particularly military doctors. Early life Donald was born in Aberdeen, the fourth son of a Scottish Presbyterian m ...

(1917–1993) *

Jocelyn Herbert Jocelyn Herbert RDI (22 February 1917 – 6 May 2003) was a British stage designer. Early life Born in London the second of the four children of playwright, novelist, humorist and parliamentarian A. P. Herbert (1890–1971), through her fat ...

(1917–2003)Cathy Courtney, ''Jocelyn Herbert, A Theatre Workbook'' (Art Books International, 1993 ), p. 211 * John Crockett (1918–1986) *

Angelica Garnett Angelica Vanessa Garnett (née Bell; 25 December 1918 – 4 May 2012), was a British writer, painter and artist. She was the author of the memoir ''Deceived with Kindness'' (1984), an account of her experience growing up at the heart of t ...

(1918–2012) *

Noel Willman Noel Willman (4 August 1918 – 24 December 1988) was an Irish actor and theatre director. Born in Derry, Ireland, Willman died aged 70 in New York City, United States. Willman's films included '' The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956), '' Across ...

(1918–1988) *

Sonia Rolt Sonia Rolt OBE (15 April 1919 – 22 October 2014) was a campaigner for the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) of Great Britain and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010 for her services to industrial archaeology and h ...

(1919–2014) *

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

(1921–2004) *

Maria Britneva Maria Britneva, Baroness St Just, (2 July 1921 – 15 February 1994) was a Russian-British actress who was a close friend of Tennessee Williams. As co-trustee of the trust which he set up for his sister, she became his literary executor. Earl ...

(1921–1994)

John Lahr John Henry Lahr (born July 12, 1941) is an American theater critic and writer. From 1992 to 2013, he was a staff writer and the senior drama critic at ''The New Yorker''. He has written more than twenty books related to theater. Lahr has been ca ...

"The Lady and Tennessee"
''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', 19 December 1994, accessed 8 December 2020 *

Maureen Pryor Maureen St John Pook (23 May 1922 – 5 May 1977), known professionally as Maureen Pryor, was an Irish-born English character actress who made stage, film, and television appearances. ''The Encyclopaedia of British Film'' noted, "she never playe ...

(1922–1977)

Notes

{{coord missing, London Drama schools in London