Westwood Coronation Day Street Party (1977)

Author:
New Play:

Venue:
Location:
Staging:

First performance:
Opening night:
Final performance:

Director:
Design:
Bob Eaton
Yes

Theatre in the Round at Westwood
Studio
End-stage

29 April 1977
29 April 1977
30 August 1977

Bob Eaton
Terry Brown
Stage Manager:
Deputy Stage Manager:
Assistant Stage Manager:
Assistant Stage Manager:
Janet Fox
Christopher Gray
Anne Hawkins
Simon Richardson
Actor
Diane Bull
Bob Eaton
Petronella Ford
Malcolm Hebden
Alison Skilbeck

Why is this play significant?

The first lunchtime show to be staged by the company and the first play to be produced in the Studio space at Theatre in the Round at Westwood.

Notes

○ Westwood Coronation Day Street Party was the first lunchtime play to be presented at the Stephen Joseph Theatre; since 1977 the lunchtime plays have become a staple of the company and are frequently a showcase for new writing. During the 1977 summer season lunchtime shows took place in the Studio space on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, alternating between four productions.
○ The play was one of two produced at the Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round in 1977 to mark the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation; the other was the far less successful production The Jubilee Show.
○ When the company moved to its second home in October 1976 at the former Westwood County Modern School, it was only supposed to be a temporary home until a proposed permanent theatre in the round was built in place of Vernon Road car park. As a result, for the first two years of its existence, the venue was called Theatre in the Round at Westwood. When it became apparent the new theatre was not going to be built and 'Westwood' was to become a more permanent home, the venue's name was changed on 1 April 1978 to the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round in honour of its founder.
All research for this page by Simon Murgatroyd.