Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre: 1969

This page contains a more detailed guide to significant events concerning Scarborough's Theatre in the Round at the Library in 1969.

1969

  • Alan Ayckbourn is appointed (unpaid) Director of Productions for the summer season; as with Rodney Wood, the position is unpaid but includes accommodation for the summer season.
  • 23 June: The summer season opens with the world premiere of Peter Hawkins' play The Dynamic, Death-Defying Leap Of Timothy Satupon The Great (which to this day remains the longest title for any play performed at the Stephen Joseph Theatre!)
  • 31 July: World premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's How The Other Half Loves.
  • Alfred Bradley is commissioned to write a children's play for the summer season; however the Libraries Committee later informs the company the venue is not licensed for children's entertainment and the plans are abandoned.
  • 7 December: The possibility of building a theatre on a site in The Crescent is reported for the first time in a meeting of Scarborough Theatre Trust; the actual location is later revealed to be adjacent to The Crescent in the Valley Gardens.
  • Alan Ayckbourn is reported to be considering writing a musical for the 1970 season - this idea never transpires and it will be another decade before an Ayckbourn musical is staged in Scarborough with Suburban Strains.
  • Despite the issue of the company not playing the National Anthem at every performance having apparently been resolved a decade earlier in 1959, the theatre is asked for a decision regarding the policy! A vote by Scarborough Theatre Trust to restore the anthem is defeated by four votes to three.
  • The fund for a new building to house the company is reported to now stand at £13,027.
  • Involved with the theatre since 1955 and having essentially saved it from closure in 1955, the secretary and theatre manager Ken Boden is granted a salary by the theatre having been made redundant; it transpires all his work for the Library Theatre for the past 14 years has been unpaid.
Article by and copyright of Simon Murgatroyd. Please do not reproduce this article without permission of the copyright holder.