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Stephen Joseph (13 June 1921 – 4 October 1967)Colin Chambers (ed.) ''The Continuum Companion to Twentieth Century Theatre,'' London: Continuum, 2002, p.410 was an English stage director and pioneer of "
theatre in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored aga ...
."


Life

Stephen Joseph was born in
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 ...
, the child of actress
Hermione Gingold Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and e ...
and the publisher Michael Joseph. He was educated at
Clayesmore School Clayesmore School is an independent school for boys and girls, aged 2 – 18 years, in the village of Iwerne Minster, Dorset, England. It is both a day and boarding school and is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (H ...
in Dorset. At the age of 16 he became a student of the
Central School of Speech and Drama 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 ...
, where he graduated two years later. From 1941 to 1946 he served as an officer in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, where he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
. After the war he studied English literature at
Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...
, leading to the award of an MA degree. While at Cambridge he joined
Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...
and both wrote and directed ''La Vie Cambridgienne'', a revue broadcast by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in July 1948. In November 1948 he joined the
Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...
Repertory Theatre as director, then moved on to manage the Summer Theatre season at Frinton-on-Sea. While there he saw a production by Jack Mitchley of the
Christopher Fry Christopher Fry (18 December 1907 – 30 June 2005) was an English poet and playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, especially ''The Lady's Not for Burning'', which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s. Biograph ...
play ''A Phoenix too Frequent'', staged in the round, which caused him to experience "a bee beginning to buzz at the back of my mind". He returned to the Central School of Speech and Drama as a tutor, then in 1951 was granted leave of absence to study for a degree in playwriting at the
University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
.


Theatres in the round

On his return he set up a company, ''Studio Theatre Ltd'', devoted to productions in the round. After many difficulties and frustrations in finding suitable venues in London, a chance meeting led in 1955 to his using the concert room in the Central Library at
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...
, on the Yorkshire coast. Initially the company did a summer season in Scarborough, and in winter toured other towns, partly with a view to finding a more permanent home for the company. This succeeded in 1962, when they found a disused cinema in
Hartshill Hartshill is a large village and civil parish in North Warwickshire, England, 2.5 miles (4 km) north-west of the town of Nuneaton. The parish borders the district of Nuneaton and Bedworth at the south, the North Warwickshire district parishes ...
,
Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
, which became the Victoria Theatre, with
Peter Cheeseman Peter Barrie Cheeseman, CBE (27 January 1932, Cowplain, Hampshire – 27 April 2010, Stoke-on-Trent) was a British theatre director who is credited with having pioneered "theatre in the round". Early life His father's work as a Naval Commun ...
in charge. Meanwhile Joseph was appointed as fellow, and subsequently lecturer in the Department of Drama at the
University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
. He refounded the theatre in Scarborough as the Scarborough Theatre Trust, which by 1967 was beginning to be successful with the assistance of new playwrights such as
Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...
. His work was brought to an untimely end, however, by his death in Scarborough from cancer in 1967. The Scarborough Theatre developed and became the Stephen Joseph Theatre. The Victoria Theatre in Stoke eventually relocated and became the
New Vic Theatre The New Vic Theatre is a purpose-built theatre in the round in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The theatre opened in 1986, replacing a converted cinema, the Victoria Theatre in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent. History In the early 1960s, Stephen J ...
. The
Stephen Joseph Studio The Stephen Joseph Studio is a former German Protestant Church, now part of the University of Manchester, in Greenheys, Manchester, England. It used to lie on Wright Street (off Ducie Street), a street which no longer exists (grid reference ). ...
in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
is named in his honour.
Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Ayckbourn (born 12 April 1939) is a prolific British playwright and director. He has written and produced as of 2021, more than eighty full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of ...
wrote
He knew more than any person I’ve ever known about playwriting, when it came to talking about it, and he knew more about directing than any living person, and I suspect he knew an awful lot about acting: he certainly managed to talk about it very lucidly and entertainingly and interestingly, although he must have been the World’s worst actor.
Stephen Joseph died aged 46, on Wednesday 4 October 1967, at his home in Scarborough. He had been working until the last. His legacy and name live on though in the theatres he created, the Stephen Joseph Theatre and the New Vic Theatre, and also through the playwrights he encouraged and inspired such as Alan Ayckbourn,
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...
, James Saunders and
Alan Plater Alan Frederick Plater (15 April 1935 – 25 June 2010) was an English playwright and screenwriter, who worked extensively in British television from the 1960s to the 2000s. Career Plater was born in Jarrow, County Durham, although his family ...
.


Books and professional societies

In 1961 he helped to found the
Association of British Theatre Technicians The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) is a British charitable organisation representing technical staff working within theatre. Overview The ABTT was founded in 1961 by group of theatre producers, technicians and architects. The ...
, and in 1964 the Society of Theatre Consultants. He wrote the following books: * * * * * *


See also

*
Stephen Joseph Studio The Stephen Joseph Studio is a former German Protestant Church, now part of the University of Manchester, in Greenheys, Manchester, England. It used to lie on Wright Street (off Ducie Street), a street which no longer exists (grid reference ). ...


Bibliography and sources

*
Stephen Joseph at SJTStephen Joseph Papers
at the
John Rylands Library The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a late-Victorian neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Enriquet ...
, Manchester. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Stephen 1921 births 1967 deaths British theatre directors People educated at Clayesmore School People from Scarborough, North Yorkshire Theatre people from London Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge