Mike Bradwell - The Reluctant Escapologist: Adventures in Alternative Theatre

Adventures in Alternative Theatre

Mike Bradwell

Foreword by Mike Leigh

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

H ere he is, in all his glory! Tough as an old scrotum, and soft as a babys bum, that unique, lovable mass of unhinged madness and profound sanityMike Bradwell himself, in appearance somewhere between Falstaff, Burl Ives and Winnie-the-Poohthe magician of Shepherds Bush, and the inventor of the real Hull Truck. Guru, observer, critic, commentator, historian and chronicler of all things countercultural, and of our alternative theatre in particular, the ultimate outsiders insider; poet, piss-artist, cynic and romantic; inspired director, writer and teacher; actor, fire-eater, vaudevillian, joker and jester; anarchist, exploder, debunker, activist, entrepreneur, visionary, fantast, dreamer, realist and surrealist; inspired manager and practical man-of-the-theatre; passionate nurturer of young talent, loved by generations of actors, writers, directors, designers and techies; partner, daddy, brilliant cook, loyal friend and consummate cheeky bugger in short, your definitive reluctant escapologist, whatever that may be!!

Towards the end of this brilliant account of his epic forty-year journey, Mike tells us, I dont believe that theatre is safe in the hands of grown-ups, and it is his healthy, eternal youthfulness that makes the book so inspiring.

Before I had read it, Mike asked me if I would consider writing a quotable supportive sentence. I wasnt sure what would suit, so he suggested, Buy this book. It is a work of genius. Laugh? I almost shat.

Well, Ive read it, and it gave me diarrhoea. It is as hilarious as it is informative. It is a masterpiece. Read it, and you too are guaranteed a truly moving experience.

Mike Leigh

London, April 2010

I would like to thank everybody who helped, informed and sustained me during the making of this book, especially Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury, Alan Williams, Mia Soteriou, Robin Soans, Philip Jackson, Dave Hill, Jane Wood, Sue Timothy, Tara Prem, Susannah Doyle, Matt Applewhite, Tim Fountain, Tony Bict, Susanna Bishop, Natasha Diot and Jane Fallowfield. I would like to thank Catherine Itzen, James Roose-Evans, Jinnie Schiele, Julian Beck, Judith Malina, Abbie Hoffman, Peter Ansorge, John Tyrtell, Pierre Biner, Howard Goorney and Jean-Louis Barrault, whose books I pillaged on the way. I would like to thank Alan Plater and Kerry Crabbe for allowing me to quote from their plays. I would like to thank Nobby Clark, Gordon Rainsford, Sheila Burnett, Jonathan Player, Nicky Pallot, John Haynes, Jane Wood and Alastair Muir for letting me use their photographs. I would like to thank Chez Betty for the coffee and The Captain for the music. I would like to thank Nicola Wilson who made me keep going. And I would like to thank Helen Cooper and Flora Bradwell who were there every step of the way.

M.B.

*

The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission to quote extracts from the following:

Woodstock by Joni Mitchell, by kind permission of Alfred Music Publishing; AC/DC by Heathcote Williams ( 1972) and the Complete Works of Antonin Artaud, translated by Victor Corti ( 1971), by kind permission of Calder Publications (UK) Ltd; Les bourgeois by Jacques Brel, by kind permission of ditions Jacques Brel; High Windows from High Windows by Philip Larkin ( 1974), published by Faber and Faber Ltd; Joans Book: Joan Littlewoods Peculiar History As She Tells It by Joan Littlewood ( 1994), and Towards a Poor Theatre by Jerzy Grotowski ( 1968), both published by Methuen Drama, an imprint of A&C Black Publishers Ltd; The Theatre Workshop Story by Howard Goorney ( 1981), published by Methuen Publishing Ltd; Four Plays by Conor McPherson ( 1999), published by Nick Hern Books Ltd; and The Bird of Paradise from The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise by R.D. Laing ( 1967), published by Penguin Books Ltd.

Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge the owners of the various pieces of material in this publication. Should the publishers have failed to make acknowledgement where it is due, they would be glad to hear from the respective owners in order to make amends.

T his book tells the tale of the two theatre companies I have run: Hull Truck from 1971 to 1982 and the Bush Theatre from 1996 to 2007and of the people who inspired me to run them in the way that I did. It also offers in part, a partial, personal and totally biased history of alternative theatre in Britain over the last forty years or so, and of its part in my downfall.

I subscribe to the Shankly Protocol. I believe that theatre is not a matter of life and death; its much more important than that. Real theatre must have the same dirty, corruptive influence as rock n roll. Real theatre must be sexy, subversive, dangerous and fun, and in constant opposition to the Establishment. The day the music died was not the day that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed in the plane crash. The music died on the day that Elvis joined the US Army.

I believe that a functioning theatre is as important, and as necessary, to the spiritual and physical well-being of any community, as a school, a hospital, a police station, a library, a sports centre or a prison. The essential bargain of theatre is that a group of human beings get together with another group of human beings and collectively they try to find ways to enrich the experience of being human. The theatremakers that I most revere all appear to believe this too.

Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop company constantly sought to make popular, provocative and radically political entertainment for the widest possible audience. Julian Beck, Judith Malina and The Living Theatre wanted theatre to be become the revolution itself. They demanded Paradise Now and would accept no substitute. Mike Leigh, through his unique improvisation techniques, took truth and honesty in acting on to a higher plane and made, and continues to make, some of the most compassionate drama of all time. And Ken Campbell was the visionary embodiment of the Great God Pan, for ever searching for the most astonishing, remarkable and mind-bending caper of them all. Together they have inspired generations of directors, actors and writers and hopefully they will continue to do so for many years to come.

Apparently we are now living in a new theatrical golden age. The West End is booming. New classless audiences are flocking to the National Theatre, courtesy of the Travelex 10 ticket scheme. Subsidised non-elitist playhouses in both London and the regions offer a cornucopia of multicultural diversity and popular, yet challenging entertainment. There is, we are told, a renaissance in playwriting. There are more new plays being performed than ever before, with thrusting new writers appearing, and being celebrated daily. Some of them are even women, a couple of whom are so especially talented that they have been allowed to play in the biggest boys playground of them allthe Olivier Theatre. Exciting performance and site-specific groups are springing up in catacombs and abandoned glue factories everywhere. The theatre god is in her heaven and all is right with the world.