'The Mother of Modern Theatre'

As well as Boal, another favourite theatre practitioner of mine is Joan Littlewood. Littlewood began work in the theatre troupe Theatre of Action where she met her husband, folksinger Ewan MacColl. She had previously trained at RADA ( Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) but left and settled in Manchester.  Littlewood was notorious for being left-wing and for being an active communist, things which led her to be watched by MI5 several years and being banned from broadcasting with the BBC. Littlewood is most well known for setting up the company Theatre Workshop,which is perhaps one of the most influential companies in Modern British Theatre. The company, who toured for several years before settling down at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East,  London, was aiming to provide theatre for the masses, and wanted to allow the common public the chance to see theatre. 

There is a good book I have been reading on this subject, Theatre Workshop,Joan Littlewood and the making of modern British theatre by Robert Leach and this book states: 

'If the theatre is to play an effective part in the life of the community it must face up to contemporary problems and at the same time revive all that is best in theatrical tradition. We believe Theatre Workshop is doing this. Theatre Workshop is an experimental theatre whose aim is to show to the widest public and particularly to that section of the public which has been starved theatrically, plays of artistic siginficance' (Leach, R. (2006) Theatre Workshop, Joan Littlewood and the making of modern British theatre; University pf Exeter Press: Exeter, Pg 49)

One thing that I really liked when looking at this book was the fact that it contains a chronology from 1926-1988 detailing the important dates for Theatre Workshop alongside what was happening in politics and society and theatre, arts and culture, which really helps to set Littlewoods work in scene with the rest of the world.

Theatre Workshop although popular with its audiences faced immense struggles with finance, the cast and crew worked as a commune and lived in the theatre whislt renovating it between rehearsals, and also in those days whenever someone wanted to perform a show they had to get permission from the Lord Chamberlains Office, and Littlewood was prosecuted and fined several times for allowing improvising during performances. Littlewood was well know for swearing when angry and being disrespectful and in a time when women could easily be ignored by men she was not well liked by society, but her work in this type of theatre is of mass importance, and perhaps links with the types of Applied Theatre we see nowadays.