Ena Lamont Stewart
Encyclopedia
Ena Lamont Stewart was a Scottish playwright
and the daughter of a Church of Scotland
minister whose family was originally from Canada
and had settled in Glasgow. She worked as the librarian of Baillie's Reference Library.
Ena married the Scottish actor Jack Stewart
and had a son, William. The couple both joined Glasgow's MSU Repertory Theatre in Rutherglen
.
She was disturbed by the poverty in the Gorbals
, and by the sight of "shawly women". She became a receptionist at the Sick Children's Hospital and witnessed malnutrition
and other diseases.
She wrote Men Should Weep in two days. Both plays were commercial successes. However, her subsequent plays were turned down.
Men Should Weep was a major theatrical landmark for the representation of Scottish, class and gender issues. Glasgow Unity Theatre
first performed the play at the Athenaeum Theatre, Glasgow, on 30 January 1947. After the company closed in 1951, the play fell into obscurity. Stewart revised her play in the 1970s, and it was revived for the 1982 Clydebuilt Season. The play saw the light of day again in 2005 when it was rated one of the top 50 plays of the last century.
and Ada F Kay
- a founder member of the Scottish Society of Playwrights
, and the Scottish League of Dramatists.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and the daughter of a Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
minister whose family was originally from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and had settled in Glasgow. She worked as the librarian of Baillie's Reference Library.
Ena married the Scottish actor Jack Stewart
Jack Stewart
Jack Stewart may refer to:*Jack Stewart , New Zealand diver*Jack Stewart , former National Hockey League player*Jack Stewart , former member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly...
and had a son, William. The couple both joined Glasgow's MSU Repertory Theatre in Rutherglen
Rutherglen
Rutherglen is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1975, it lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow. In 1996 Rutherglen was reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.-History:...
.
She was disturbed by the poverty in the Gorbals
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived here because their jobs provided this home and they could not afford their own...
, and by the sight of "shawly women". She became a receptionist at the Sick Children's Hospital and witnessed malnutrition
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
and other diseases.
Plays
Ena's first play was Distinguished Company. Her second play was Starched Aprons about the everyday trials of hospital life.She wrote Men Should Weep in two days. Both plays were commercial successes. However, her subsequent plays were turned down.
Men Should Weep was a major theatrical landmark for the representation of Scottish, class and gender issues. Glasgow Unity Theatre
Glasgow Unity Theatre
The Glasgow Unity Theatre was a theatre group that was formed in 1941, in Glasgow. The Unity theatre movement developed from workers' drama groups in the 1930s, seeing itself as using theatre to highlight the issues of the working class being produced by and for working class audiences...
first performed the play at the Athenaeum Theatre, Glasgow, on 30 January 1947. After the company closed in 1951, the play fell into obscurity. Stewart revised her play in the 1970s, and it was revived for the 1982 Clydebuilt Season. The play saw the light of day again in 2005 when it was rated one of the top 50 plays of the last century.
Other plays
Acclaim
In autumn 1998, theatre professionals were asked to nominate ten English language 20th century plays. 100 plays were selected, among them Ena Lamont Stewart's, representing the year 1947.Scottish Society of Playwrights
Ena was - with Joan UreJoan Ure
Joan Ure was the pen name of Elizabeth Thoms Clark , a Scottish poet and playwright. She was born Elizabeth Thomson Carswell on 22 June 1918 in Wallsend, Tyneside, of Scottish parents who moved to Glasgow. She had a daughter, Frances, by Jack Clark, a businessman...
and Ada F Kay
Ada F Kay
Ada F Kay, also known as A.J. Stewart, is a British writer with a particularly complex personal history. She grew up in Lancashire but lived much of her adult life in Scotland.-Work:...
- a founder member of the Scottish Society of Playwrights
Scottish Society of Playwrights
The Scottish Society of Playwrights is a professional member’s organisation representing theatre playwrights in Scotland. It is affiliated to the Scottish Trades Union Congress, and party to the Theatrical Management Association playwright’s agreement....
, and the Scottish League of Dramatists.