The Complete Plays: 1962 Overview
This page contains details about the 1962 season at Theatre in the Round at the Library Theatre, Scarborough. For details about individual plays, click on the play titles below.All information on this page has been researched and compiled by Simon Murgatroyd M.A. from programmes, brochures and newspaper articles.
Summer 1962
All plays were performed in-the-round in the Concert Room on the first floor of Scarborough Library. The season ran from 12 June to 15 September 1962. The plays were performed in rep with a change of programme on Thursdays.Advertised Programme
○ A Thief in Time
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw triple-bill)
○ Usher
○ The Birds & The Well-Wishers
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw triple-bill)
○ The Station People
○ Usher
○ A Thief in Time
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw triple-bill)
○ The Caretaker
○ Usher
○ The Ginger Man
○ A Thief in Time
○ Death at the New Year
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw triple-bill)
○ Usher
○ The Birds & The Well-Wishers
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw triple-bill)
○ The Station People
○ Usher
○ A Thief in Time
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw triple-bill)
○ The Caretaker
○ Usher
○ The Ginger Man
○ A Thief in Time
○ Death at the New Year
12 - 20 June
21 - 27 June
28 June - 4 July
5 - 11 July
12 - 18 July
19 - 25 July
26 July - 1 August
2 - 8 August
9 - 15 August
16 - 22 August
23 - 29 August
30 August - 5 September
6 - 12 September
13 - 15 September
21 - 27 June
28 June - 4 July
5 - 11 July
12 - 18 July
19 - 25 July
26 July - 1 August
2 - 8 August
9 - 15 August
16 - 22 August
23 - 29 August
30 August - 5 September
6 - 12 September
13 - 15 September
Actual Programme
○ A Thief in Time
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw double-bill)
○ Usher
○ The Birds & The Well-Wishers (double-bill)
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw double-bill)
○ The Station People
○ Usher
○ A Thief in Time
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw double-bill)
○ The Caretaker
○ Usher
○ The Rainmaker
○ A Thief in Time
○ Death at the New Year
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw double-bill)
○ Usher
○ The Birds & The Well-Wishers (double-bill)
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw double-bill)
○ The Station People
○ Usher
○ A Thief in Time
○ The Man of Destiny (Shaw double-bill)
○ The Caretaker
○ Usher
○ The Rainmaker
○ A Thief in Time
○ Death at the New Year
12 - 20 June
21 - 27 June
28 June - 4 July
5 - 11 July
12 - 18 July
19 - 25 July
26 July - 1 August
2 - 8 August
9 - 15 August
16 - 22 August
23 - 29 August
30 August - 5 September
6 - 12 September
13 - 15 September
21 - 27 June
28 June - 4 July
5 - 11 July
12 - 18 July
19 - 25 July
26 July - 1 August
2 - 8 August
9 - 15 August
16 - 22 August
23 - 29 August
30 August - 5 September
6 - 12 September
13 - 15 September
Note: The Shaw double-bill consisted of The Man of Destiny and O'Flaherty V.C.; The Birds and the Well-Wishers was produced as a double-bill with Nine Floors, Not Counting the Mezzanine.
Creatives
Stephen Joseph (Artistic Director)Alan Ayckbourn (Director / Writer)
David Campton / Director / Writer)
Peter Cheeseman (Director)
Richard Gill (Writer)
R.G. Gregory (Writer)
Joan Macalpine (Writer)
William Norfolk (Writer)
Actors
Marie AdamsAlan Ayckbourn
Arnold Beck
Elizabeth Bell
Richard Gill
Actors
Peter KingMellan Mitchell
Stanley Page
David Wehner
Other Staff
Peter Cheeseman (Theatre Manager)Arnold Beck (Stage Manager)
David Wehner (Stage Manager)
Zena Curtis (Assistant)
Ken Boden (Local Secretary)
Veronica Pemberton-Billing (Catering)
1962 Production Notes
○ 1962 marked the final year Theatre in the Round was run by Studio Theatre Ltd. In October 1962, the company moved to Stoke-on-Trent where Stephen Joseph had opened the Victoria Theatre.
○ The director Peter Cheeseman joined the Studio Theatre Ltd company for Scarborough's 1961 winter / 1962 summer season before moving with the company to its first permanent home at the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, in the autumn. He would go on to become the long-running Artistic Director of the Victoria (later the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme) from 1964 - 1998.
○ The Man Of Destiny was initially advertised as a Shaw triple bill alongside two other unnamed plays, but was later altered to a double-bill with O'Flaherty V.C..
○ Usher marked the directorial debut of David Campton, the company's first writer-in-residence.
○ Usher was credited to in the summer brochure and the programme to Jocelyn Graves - undoubtedly a pseudonym for Campton. The play would subsequently be produced and published bearing Campton's name as author. The reason for this is likely to be because he also directed the piece. At the time, it was rare - and even frowned upon - for a writer to direct their own plays and, possibly, Campton made the decision to give the impression he was only directing the play.
○ Nine Floors, Not Counting The Mezzanine marked the acting debut in Scarborough of Heather Stoney. The actress, who would enjoy success on stage, screen and radio, became Alan Ayckbourn's long-term partner during the 1970s before the pair married in 1997. The Birds and the Well-Wishers marked the first time she would act opposite Alan Ayckbourn.
○ The Birds And The Well-Wishers was initially advertised without an accompanying play, but was later altered to a double-bill with Nine Floors, Not Counting The Mezzanine.
○ The Station People was written by Richard Gill, an actor with the Studio Theatre Ltd company, again demonstrating Stephen Joseph's desire to nurture writing talent within the company.
○ The Caretaker marked the second production of a Pinter play by the Studio Theatre Ltd company. The first, The Birthday Party, was actually directed by Harold Pinter himself in Scarborough in 1958 and was only the second professional production of the play following its original disastrous London production. The Birthday Party was only performed on tour, so The Caretaker marked the first time a Pinter play had been professionally produced and seen in Scarborough.
○ The Rainmaker was a late replacement for the advertised production of The Ginger Man, which could not be performed by the company due to royalty issues.
○ Death In The New Year marked the final performance by Studio Theatre Ltd in Scarborough before the company moved to its new home at the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, in autumn 1962. Not wishing to close the Library Theatre, Stephen Joseph ran the theatre under his company Theatre In The Round Ltd for two years before incorporating a new company, Scarborough Theatre Trust, in 1964.
○ Death In The New Year marked the final time Alan Ayckbourn would act professionally with the Scarborough company. He would also not be a permanent member of the company again until he returned as Director of Productions in 1969; although he would contribute the plays Relatively Speaking (then known as Meet My Father) and The Sparrow - which he also directed - in the interim.
○ The majority of productions in 1962 were performed without an interval.
○ The director Peter Cheeseman joined the Studio Theatre Ltd company for Scarborough's 1961 winter / 1962 summer season before moving with the company to its first permanent home at the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, in the autumn. He would go on to become the long-running Artistic Director of the Victoria (later the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme) from 1964 - 1998.
○ The Man Of Destiny was initially advertised as a Shaw triple bill alongside two other unnamed plays, but was later altered to a double-bill with O'Flaherty V.C..
○ Usher marked the directorial debut of David Campton, the company's first writer-in-residence.
○ Usher was credited to in the summer brochure and the programme to Jocelyn Graves - undoubtedly a pseudonym for Campton. The play would subsequently be produced and published bearing Campton's name as author. The reason for this is likely to be because he also directed the piece. At the time, it was rare - and even frowned upon - for a writer to direct their own plays and, possibly, Campton made the decision to give the impression he was only directing the play.
○ Nine Floors, Not Counting The Mezzanine marked the acting debut in Scarborough of Heather Stoney. The actress, who would enjoy success on stage, screen and radio, became Alan Ayckbourn's long-term partner during the 1970s before the pair married in 1997. The Birds and the Well-Wishers marked the first time she would act opposite Alan Ayckbourn.
○ The Birds And The Well-Wishers was initially advertised without an accompanying play, but was later altered to a double-bill with Nine Floors, Not Counting The Mezzanine.
○ The Station People was written by Richard Gill, an actor with the Studio Theatre Ltd company, again demonstrating Stephen Joseph's desire to nurture writing talent within the company.
○ The Caretaker marked the second production of a Pinter play by the Studio Theatre Ltd company. The first, The Birthday Party, was actually directed by Harold Pinter himself in Scarborough in 1958 and was only the second professional production of the play following its original disastrous London production. The Birthday Party was only performed on tour, so The Caretaker marked the first time a Pinter play had been professionally produced and seen in Scarborough.
○ The Rainmaker was a late replacement for the advertised production of The Ginger Man, which could not be performed by the company due to royalty issues.
○ Death In The New Year marked the final performance by Studio Theatre Ltd in Scarborough before the company moved to its new home at the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, in autumn 1962. Not wishing to close the Library Theatre, Stephen Joseph ran the theatre under his company Theatre In The Round Ltd for two years before incorporating a new company, Scarborough Theatre Trust, in 1964.
○ Death In The New Year marked the final time Alan Ayckbourn would act professionally with the Scarborough company. He would also not be a permanent member of the company again until he returned as Director of Productions in 1969; although he would contribute the plays Relatively Speaking (then known as Meet My Father) and The Sparrow - which he also directed - in the interim.
○ The majority of productions in 1962 were performed without an interval.
All information for this page has been researched and compiled by Simon Murgatroyd and should not be reproduced without permission. Any approved reproduction of information from this page should always credit 'A Round Town (www.theatre-in-the-round.co.uk).