The Amateur Community & The Library Theatre

Note: Little information regarding the British Drama League and the Scarborough Theatre Guild's significant connection to Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre survives in archive and the history appears to have been largely lost and - in many cases - confused or conflated, particularly with regard to overstating the significance of Scarborough Theatre Guild's relationship to the theatre.
However, both the League and the Guild played a pivotal role in the early history of theatre in the round in Scarborough. The following information has been compiled from archive newspaper articles, correspondence and material held in archive by Scarborough Library.

The British Drama League and Scarborough Theatre Guild

When Stephen Joseph first visited Scarborough to investigate setting up his own theatre company in the town in 1954, one of the most significant people he met was Ken Boden. Ken had ties to both the British Drama League and Scarborough Theatre Guild and, through him, was able to connect with the large amateur dramatic community in the town, which became a vital early part of the history of Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre in Scarborough.

However, the precise links between Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre and the League / Guild has become confused over time and led to misapprehension about their roles and which of the two was most prominently involved with Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre and, more generally, The Library Theatre. Traditionally, it has been assumed Scarborough Theatre Guild was the most important organisation in helping Stephen, but recent research suggests Stephen worked most closely with the British Drama League which was far more active in The Library Theatre than previously assumed.

The best place to start with understanding the unusual position of the League and the Guild in Scarborough is probably Ken Boden's own account, which was discovered in 2025 by Simon Murgatroyd whilst researching the history of Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre. In the minutes of a committee meeting of the regional branch of the British Drama League on 1 February 1961, Ken Boden provided the following appraisal of the organisations and their relationship.

The History of the of the British Drama League in Scarborough in Relation to that of the Scarborough Theatre Guild by Ken Boden
The British Drama League (BDL)* was first formed in Scarborough in 1948 by Mr Harry Casey and it was known as the North Riding Division. District covered was York, Kirkbymoorside, Whitby, Middlesborough and Scarborough. In the days after the war this Committee organised many Festivals which were financially a success. This North Riding Committee consisted of representatives of affiliated Drama Groups in and around Scarborough. Apart from Festivals they organised weekend courses, day schools, play readings and courses in connection with the Hull University.
A few of the members of the Committee realised that any monies from successful festivals went to the BDL Northern Area, so they decided to form the Scarborough Theatre Guild (STG). This Guild was formed in 1950 and a constitution was drawn up and apart from Officials, the Committee consisted of representatives from Drama Groups together with five other interested persons.
In 1952 the Secretary Mr. Casey pointed out to the members at the BDL Annual Meeting that it would be futile to organise courses in Scarborough any more because of the fact that the STG were providing for members things that the BDL had arranged in previous years. At this time new districts had been appointed in Middlesborough, Kirkbymoorside and York which meant the district was only concerned with Filey, Scarborough, Robin Hood's Bay and Whitby.
For two years at the most, the Secretary of the BDL and the STG was the same [Ken Boden] and the officials elected at the A.G.M. of the STG were also elected at the A.G.M. of the BDL when the AGM of the STG was closed. It was purely and simply a formality.
After this there was never much BDL business to discuss because of the activities of the STG. The BDL was pushed more and more into the background but it was used by the STG to organise first rounds of the BDL Community Festivals in order to ensure that the loss would be that of the BDL and not STG.
The members of the BDL did not agree with this breakaway however and [a number of] societies such as the Phoenix, have since had nothing to do with the STG. Their main grievance was that the STG intended to do productions and draw their cast the amateur dramatic societies.

What this essentially illustrates is that the amateur dramatic society was split in two in Scarborough between the British Drama League and the Scarborough Theatre Guild with the latter largely formed for financial reasons to keep money, which had previously gone to the British Drama League. Confusing matters was the fact that Ken Boden was the secretary of each group and details pertaining to each were being passed back and forth between the two - not necessarily with authorisation.

Why is this important? Stephen Joseph knew when he came to Scarborough that he would rely on the help of the amateur community to help run the company, particularly with regard to front-of-house volunteers and he needed to create links with those communities. Anywhere else, it would have been through the local branch of the British Drama League but Scarborough - due to the prevalence of amateur groups had created this unusual situation. To put this in perspective, the BDL estimates that, as of 1961, there were approximately 35 amateur drama companies operating in the Scarborough area - a huge pool of people to draw upon. And the linchpin was Ken and Margaret Boden, who were ingrained within the wider amateur community.

Stephen met Ken in 1954 in Scarborough and explained his plans for a professional theatre in the round company presenting new plays in - potentially - the Concert Room at Scarborough Library. Even though he believed the project "rather strange", Ken - like so many people - was impressed by Stephen's enthusiasm and passion and he offered Stephen the help of himself and the organisations he worked with. Working as an insurance agent, Ken's ability to secure props and help from his clients became legendary within the company.

When Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre opened on 14 July 1955, members of groups connected with the STG and Scarborough Library staff voluntarily manned the front of house with Margaret running the box office and Ken acting as Theatre Manager; apparently Stephen offered free theatre tickets to his front-of-house staff. For many years, the theatre would depend on the voluntary help of the local amateur community to keep the theatre viable.

Once the theatre was established, Ken essentially combined his work with the BDL with that of Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre and began encouraging year-round theatre in the town at the venue. He began organising out-of-season amateur in-the-round productions as well as seeking financial support to keep The Library Theatre space running. Many of Scarborough's most prominent amateur societies performed at the venue in-the-round and Ken was responsible for organising the annual In The Round Festival at The Library Theatre from 1961, which was presented under the auspices of the BDL and which Stephen Joseph adjudicated for many years - often, apparently, quite harshly! - for many years.

Meanwhile, Scarborough Theatre Guild produced plays inspired by Stephen and tackling works plays by up and coming playwrights such as David Campton and even a young actor and aspiring playwright with the company named… Alan Ayckbourn. Scarborough Theatre Guild performed the world premieres of three one acts plays by Alan Ayckbourn with Double Hitch (1960), Love Undertaken (1961) and Follow The Lover (1962).

This relationship between amateur and professional - encouraged and nurtured by Stephen Joseph - continued until 1965 when Stephen Joseph announced this would be the final season of Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre. Ken had other ideas.

Ken persuaded Scarborough Library and Stephen Joseph to let him run an amateur summer season at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre in 1966 under the auspices of the BDL. With that in place, he then began plans to restore professional theatre the following year - the story of which can be found here. Needless to say, Ken was successful and following the death of Stephen Joseph in 1967, professional theatre continued at the venue made possible by Ken and a number of people within the BDL; indeed minutes from the period indicate it was viewed as the amateurs were now running the professional organisation. Again professional and amateurs united to keep the theatre viable until a permanent Artistic Director was appointed in 1972 with Alan Ayckbourn.

The fact there is a Stephen Joseph Theatre today is inarguably due to the efforts of Ken and Margaret Boden, the British Drama League and the wider amateur community in Scarborough during this period, who ensured all the hard work that had gone into establishing Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre did not go to waste.

Ken Boden, having been made redundant in 1969, was given a salaried position as Theatre Manager for the first time that year and continued in that role until 1985, when he retired in the same year that Alan Ayckbourn announced he was to take a two year sabbatical from Scarborough by becoming a company manager at the National Theatre.

It's also notable that after 1962, when Studio Theatre Ltd moved to the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre was increasingly pressed by financial difficulties, which led to it working with the DBL to finance the purchase of lighting, rostra for seating and other elements. Most of the physical assets utilised by Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre such as the seating rostra, lamps, sound and light boards as well as the fascia outside Scarborough Library used to advertise the company had been sold to the Guild with the proviso they be available for professional production use by the company and other visiting companies.

Scarborough Theatre Guild did not survive past the late 1960s and appears to have little interaction with Scarborough Theatre Trust past 1962.

With Alan's appointment as Artistic Director in 1972 and the move towards a year-round, fully professional theatre, the involvement of the amateur community lessened - although there continued to be a strong amateur performance presence at both The Library Theatre and, from 1976, the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round. But - undoubtedly - for the first twenty years of the life of the company, Scarborough's amateur community was a vital and important part of the history of the company.

* Note with regard to the British Drama League: The British Drama League was an organisation established in 1919 to promote amateur and professional theatre in England, founded by Geoffrey Whitworth. Its work included pursuing the creation of the National Theatre, offering library and research services, founded the journal Drama in 1919, and encouraging the introduction of drama into the national curriculum. Its name was changed to the British Theatre Association in 1972 and it was disbanded in 1990, due to financial pressures.

Article by and copyright of Simon Murgatroyd. Please do not reproduce this article without permission of the copyright holder.