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Modern British theatre made in Middlesbrough

Few people realise that Middlesbrough played a leading role in the birth of modern British Theatre but Ormesby Hall and º£½ÇÖ±²¥ are to celebrate this with a very special visitor.

Jean Newlove, the famous choreographer of Joan Littlewood’s experimental Theatre Workshop will be visiting both º£½ÇÖ±²¥ and Ormesby Hall to celebrate the centenary of Littlewood’s birth. Joan Littlewood, known as the ‘mother of modern theatre’ left London for Manchester where she met Ewan MacColl and founded Theatre Workshop. After the war they called the company back together and wound up at Ormesby Hall for 18 months in the mid-forties at the invitation of owners Colonel and Ruth Pennyman. Their antics there are the stuff of legend.

Jean, the second wife of Ewan MacColl (his first wife was Joan Littlewood) was the first assistant of the Rudolf Laban, the Hungarian pioneer of modern dance and she is the mother of the late Kirsty MacColl. Jean married Ewan 12 years after he had split from Joan and Joan was godmother to both her children, Hamish and Kirsty. Now in her early 90s, she is making the special trip to º£½ÇÖ±²¥ from her home in France as part of the first ever national Fun Palaces celebrations in October – a movement to recreate the vision of Joan and architect Cedric Price of a ‘laboratory of fun’, a ‘university of the streets’ that would welcome in all the community.

Littlewood’s vision never came to fruition but it is now thanks to producer Stella Duffy who wanted to do something for her centenary. Both º£½ÇÖ±²¥ and Ormesby Hall are registered Fun Palaces and Jean will be giving a free talk at the University on Thursday 9 October.

º£½ÇÖ±²¥ dance and performing arts students will also be treated to a workshop on Friday 10 October. Jean will also be making a private visit to Ormesby Hall to take a step back in time and recall the time she spent there between 1946 and 1948.

Ormesby Hall will, for the first time ever, be displaying a copy of the original letter recently discovered at the National Trust property that Joan Littlewood sent to Colonel Pennyman after Theatre Workshop left. It begins with reference to ‘now we and our junk have left’ bearing testimony to some of the antics they were involved in that eventually led to Colonel Pennyman asking them to leave.

Although the company’s time at Ormesby Hall is documented in a number of books and biographies including those by Ewan MacColl, Joan Littlewood and Jean’s own autobiography ‘Yumde deedah’, the letter itself has never before been on public display. Visitors can also see their signatures in the visitor book.

Jean herself will be talking about her life and the time she spent at Ormesby Hall: 'It was a remarkable time in my life and having the opportunity to re-visit the Hall is fabulous. It’s also fantastic to be able to meet some of the possible performing arts stars of the future at º£½ÇÖ±²¥.'

Liz Hayward, Learning and Access Manager at Ormesby Hall, added: 'There are a lot of stories about the things that the company got up to when they were here including almost rescuing a lion cub from a circus and getting Colonel Jim Pennyman to clean out a stable for it. They also had a dummy ‘cast member’ called The Admiral who they had to take turns to look after. Apparently the Colonel even organised an ambulance to take him to Scotland when he ‘fell ill’.

'Theatre Workshop and Joan Littlewood were extremely left wing, so much so that MI5 kept an eye on them. When they discovered that Ewan MacColl’s real name was Jimmy Miller they were sure he had changed his name to avoid being called up for the army. They arrived to arrest him at the same time that the Picture Post was at the Hall taking publicity shots for a new production. Somehow Colonel Pennyman managed to keep them separate or it would have been a real scoop for the journalists.'

Ormesby Hall volunteer Jean Pacey was 15 at the time Theatre Workshop were at the Hall and she was desperate to join them but her parents wouldn’t allow it. Now over 50 years later she will get the opportunity to re-connect with Jean Newlove.

'It’s fantastic to be able to meet Jean after all these years and to remember those amazing times,' recalls Jean Pacey, now 81 and who herself went on to a career as a drama teacher.

During a long working life time, 72 years to date, Jean has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company, taken master classes for actors at RADA and Bristol Old Vic, and for dancers and actors in Havana, Cuba. She introduced Laban classes to actors in companies in Sweden and Czechoslovakia whilst on tour with Theatre Workshop. Her own dance group visited Warsaw and Moscow. In addition she has worked with actors in San Francisco, run many courses in Europe, directing musicals and plays for young people. She is currently working with drama students and her ex-Laban Diploma students.

Jean’s free public lecture starts at 6.00pm at º£½ÇÖ±²¥ Centuria Building on 9 October.

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