Honey in The Stone (1957)
Author:
New Play:
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Staging:
First performance:
Opening night:
Final performance:
New Play:
Venue:
Location:
Staging:
First performance:
Opening night:
Final performance:
Ruth Dixon
Yes
Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre
Concert Room, Scarborough Library
Round
15 August 1957
15 August 1957
4 September 1957
Yes
Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre
Concert Room, Scarborough Library
Round
15 August 1957
15 August 1957
4 September 1957
Director:
Stage Manager:
Asst. Stage Manager:
Stage Manager:
Asst. Stage Manager:
Clive Goodwin
Alan Ayckbourn
Anne Taylor
Alan Ayckbourn
Anne Taylor
Character
Anna Maria Van Aart
Lily
Wong
Christian Van Aart
David Van Aart
Jonathan Van Aart
Anna Maria Van Aart
Lily
Wong
Christian Van Aart
David Van Aart
Jonathan Van Aart
Actor
Betty Cardno
Shirley Jacobs
Frank Mills
Rodney Wood
Malcolm Rogers
Clive Goodwin
Betty Cardno
Shirley Jacobs
Frank Mills
Rodney Wood
Malcolm Rogers
Clive Goodwin
Why is this play significant?
Three years into Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre's existence and it had produced nine new works, seven of which were written by women. At this point, there was no professional producing company in the UK which could match this record of producing work by female playwrights.Notes
○ Honey In The Stone was one of two new plays presented during the 1957 summer season alongside Catherine Prynne’s The Ornamental Hermit.
○ After three seasons, the Studio Theatre Company had presented nine world premieres. Seven of which were written by women, this gender-neutral commitment to premiering new work was essentially unheard during this male-dominated period of writing in British theatre and something which Stephen Joseph is not given enough credit for.
○ This was the second - and final - premiere of a new play by Ruth Dixon at the Library Theatre. She was one of the four inaugural playwrights at the company’s first season in 1955 with her play ‘Prentice Pillar, which was later revived in 1960.
○ Honey in The Stone is a good example of how Stephen Joseph did not believe in patronising his audiences with familiar or easy work. The play was inspired by the story of the Boers in South Africa and a family trekking away from the English and the gold and diamond mining industrialisation, only to find themselves fighting got protect and preserve the peace of their town.
○ Honey in The Stone was presented during Alan Ayckbourn's inaugural season with Studio Theatre Ltd in which he was employed as an Acting Stage Manager (a stage manager with limited acting responsibilities).
○ After three seasons, the Studio Theatre Company had presented nine world premieres. Seven of which were written by women, this gender-neutral commitment to premiering new work was essentially unheard during this male-dominated period of writing in British theatre and something which Stephen Joseph is not given enough credit for.
○ This was the second - and final - premiere of a new play by Ruth Dixon at the Library Theatre. She was one of the four inaugural playwrights at the company’s first season in 1955 with her play ‘Prentice Pillar, which was later revived in 1960.
○ Honey in The Stone is a good example of how Stephen Joseph did not believe in patronising his audiences with familiar or easy work. The play was inspired by the story of the Boers in South Africa and a family trekking away from the English and the gold and diamond mining industrialisation, only to find themselves fighting got protect and preserve the peace of their town.
○ Honey in The Stone was presented during Alan Ayckbourn's inaugural season with Studio Theatre Ltd in which he was employed as an Acting Stage Manager (a stage manager with limited acting responsibilities).
All research for this page by Simon Murgatroyd.