Revived Plays
'The real delight lies in the rediscovery of a major play by what is, in effect, the National Theatre of Surrey'
(Michael Billington, Theatre Critic, quoted in The Guardian)
‘Dr Knock’, 1979.
Image credit: © Unknown. Image supplied by the OT.
Image credit: © Paul Thompson. Image supplied by Vivien Heilbron.
The theatre has prided itself on breathing new life into old scripts since its early days.
In 1979, a translation of ‘Dr Knock’ by Harley Granville Barker (1877-1946) was the first neglected classic to be revived at the Orange Tree. A decade later, it staged the world premieres of Barker’s final two plays, ‘The Secret Life’ and ‘His Majesty’ which, despite Barker’s status as one of the greatest figures of twentieth-century theatre, had never been performed.
A longstanding relationship was established with Michel Vinaver (1927-), a distinguished French playwright who had been ignored in Britain to that date. Since staging ‘A Smile on the End of the Line’ in 1987, the Orange Tree has produced more of Vinaver’s work than any other theatre.
'I remember one woman saying to me, "I used to go to a different theatre, and I always enjoyed the performances, but by the next day I forgot what they were about. When I come to the Orange Tree, it gives me something to think about for the whole week"'
(Marsha Hanlon, Former Stage Manager and Theatre Manager)
Image credit: © Unknown. Image supplied by the OT.
But perhaps the greatest re-discovery was Rodney Ackland (1908-1991). A successful playwright in the 30s and 40s, Ackland wrote virtually nothing after an early version of his play, ‘Absolute Hell’, was fiercely attacked by critics for its scandalous themes. By the time the first of his plays was staged at the Orange Tree in 1984 ('The Dark River'), many assumed he was dead – when in truth he had been living locally in real poverty. Thanks to a chance encounter between Walters and Ackland’s social worker in a Richmond department store, Ackland was thrust back into the limelight: ‘Absolute Hell’ was staged in 1988 and received with astonishment. Within the year, the play was adapted for BBC2 with an all-star cast that included Judi Dench.
The tradition of reintroducing under-performed plays has continued with great success under the artistic leadership of Paul Miller, with notable productions of lesser-known works by D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930), Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) and Terence Rattigan (1911-1977). The latter’s ‘While the Sun Shines’ has been one of the theatre’s most successful shows to date.
Image credit: © Helen Murray.
