Walter Nugent Monck
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(1878–1958) was an English
theatre director
A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...
and founder of
Maddermarket Theatre
The Maddermarket Theatre is a British theatre located in St. John's Alley in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It was founded in 1921 by Nugent Monck.
Early history and conversion
The theatre was originally built as a Roman Catholic chapel in 1794. In ...
,
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
.
He was born in
Welshampton,
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, the son of George Gustavus Monck (1849–1920), vicar of Welshampton who later worked as a priest in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. The son was educated there and at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
. In 1895, he abandoned his study of the violin in favour of acting.
After some years with a regional touring company, he premiered in London in
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson ( , ; 8 December 1832 – 26 April 1910) was a Norwegian writer who received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to his noble, magnificent and versatile poetry, which has always been distinguished ...
's ''Beyond Human Power'' at the
Royalty Theatre
The Royalty Theatre was a small London theatre situated at 73 Dean Street, Soho. Established by the actress Frances Maria Kelly in 1840, it opened as Miss Kelly's Theatre and Dramatic School and finally closed to the public in 1938. in 1901.
That same year, Monck met
William Poel
William Poel (1852-1934) was an English actor, theatrical manager and dramatist best known for his presentations of Shakespeare.
Life and career
A son of William Pole, he grew up among Pre-raphaelite painters and reportedly sat for William Holm ...
, who would profoundly influence Monck's career. By 1902 Monck was stage manager for the
Elizabethan Stage Society
The Elizabethan Stage Society was a theatrical society dedicated to putting on productions of drama from the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, particularly (but not exclusively) those of William Shakespeare. It was founded in 1895 by William Poel. It ...
, learning to direct in Poel's revolutionary manner. In 1909, he directed a series of historical tableaus at
St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich
St Andrew's Hall and Blackfriars' Hall or The Halls are a Grade I listed complex of former friary church and convent buildings in the English city of Norwich, Norfolk, dating back to the 14th century. They make up the most complete friary s ...
. Thenceforth, his career centered on
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
, although he occasionally returned to London, as he did in 1910 to manage Poel's production of ''
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying ...
'' at
His Majesty's Theatre. From 1910, he produced a series of
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 masque ...
s at
Blickling Hall
Blickling Hall is a Jacobean stately home situated in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure, near the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England. The mansion was built on the ruins of a Tudor building for Sir Henry ...
.
In 1911, he directed an amateur production of ''
The Countess Cathleen
''The Countess Cathleen'' is a verse drama by William Butler Yeats in blank verse (with some lyrics). It was dedicated to Maud Gonne, the object of his affections for many years.
Editions and revisions
The play was first published in 1892 in ...
'' which was seen by
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 ...
; Yeats subsequently invited Monck to become temporary director of the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...
while Yeats and the main company toured the United States.
The same year, Monck formed a troupe of amateur players to produce
mystery play
Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represen ...
s and
morality play
The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...
s. Out of this troupe came the Shakespearean company that, a decade later (after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
service in the
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
), Monck housed in a renovated Catholic chapel which had once served as a
baking powder
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increase ...
factory. Monck named his theatre after the adjoining
Church of Saint John the Baptist, Maddermarket, Norwich
The Church of St John the Baptist, Maddermarket, is a redundant Anglican church in the city of Norwich, Norfolk, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is in the care ...
. Madder (now known commercially as
rose madder
Rose madder (also known as madder) is a red paint made from the pigment madder lake, a traditional lake pigment extracted from the common madder plant '' Rubia tinctorum''.
Madder lake contains two organic red dyes: alizarin and purpurin.
...
) is a plant that since medieval times had been used to dye Norwich cloth. Originally seating 220, the theater was expanded in 1953 to seat 324. Audiences viewed plays staged on a replica of a Renaissance stage, the first such permanent stage since before the
English Restoration
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...
.
On this stage, Monck and his company kept up a steady stream of performance. The repertory, which changed at a rate of one per month, included all of Shakespeare's work, of course, as well as numerous other Renaissance plays and many modern works. By the early 1950s, he had produced over 200 plays. Despite his isolation from London, he was among the more influential mid-century producers. From the mid-30s on, he occasionally directed in London and Stratford. These productions included a ''
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
''Pericles, Prince of Tyre'' is a Jacobean play written at least in part by William Shakespeare and included in modern editions of his collected works despite questions over its authorship, as it was not included in the First Folio. It was pu ...
'' with
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Awards, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Emmy, and Tony Award, Tony for his ...
in 1947; ''
Cymbeline
''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerni ...
'' at the
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...
in 1946; and ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' in London in 1953.
Monck retired from his positions in 1952, but he remained intermittently active with the company until his death in 1958.
While generally considered less innovative and less imaginative than Poel, Monck was an influential director both for directors and for scholars. For directors, he continued Poel's destruction of the legacy of actor-managers such as
Charles Kean
Charles John Kean (18 January 181122 January 1868), was an English actor and theatre manager, best known for his revivals of Shakespearean plays.
Life
Kean was born at Waterford, Ireland, a son of actor Edmund Kean and actress Mary Kean (''ne ...
and restored some of the vital conditions of Renaissance stagecraft. For the same reason, he aided scholars in exploring their own theories about Elizabethan practice; for example, his ruthlessly cut performances provided insight into the "two hours traffic" of the Renaissance stage.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monck, Walter Nugent
English theatre directors
People from Shropshire
1877 births
1958 deaths
Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers
British Army personnel of World War I
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire