H. K. Ayliff
Encyclopedia
H. K. Ayliff was an English theatre director who directed Shakespeare in contemporary dress as early as the 1920s, as well as Yellow Sands
on Broadway
.
H.K. Ayliff was one of a triumvirate of celebrated British theatre directors during the years between the two world wars, the others being Tyrone Guthrie
and Basil Dean
.
Henry Kiell Ayliff was born 1871 in Grahamstown
, South Africa
, grandson of English settlers of 1820. He moved to England as a young man to study painting at the Royal Academy
Schools and in Paris
. In 1901 he gave up painting and studied acting under Herman Vezin, playing several parts in London and the provinces, including Juggins in Bernard Shaw
’s Fanny's First Play
at The Royal Court
in Sloane Square
. He frequently joined with other out-or-work actors in putting on one-off show-case productions, often directing these, and so developing a talent as a director.
He married Gertrude Homewood, an actress, in 1907. They had three children, Susan born in 1908, Esther in 1910 and David in 1916. In 1922 he started working as director at Barry Jackson
’s Birmingham Repertory Theatre
.
In April 1923 Cymbeline
, the first of a series of modern-dress Shakespeare productions, caused quite a furore. Other important productions were the first production of Shaw’s five-part epic Back to Methuselah
, Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author
for which he also wrote the English version, and the very popular The Farmer's Wife
by Eden Philpotts.
Many productions transferred to London during this period, and HK also found himself being employed by London managements such as C.B.Cochran for several productions. In 1929 Barry Jackson instituted a Summer Festival of plays at Malvern. Initially this was dedicated to the plays of George Bernard Shaw, but from 1931 the theme became ‘Five Centuries of English Drama’, starting with pre-Shakespeare, through Restoration
, Georgian
, Victorian
, and ending with a new modern play. Most of these were directed by HK, when he was not otherwise engaged in the West End
.
The outbreak of war in 1939 saw the end of the Malvern Festivals though the Malvern Theatre management tried unsuccessfully to revive it when peace was restored. Mr. and Mrs. Ayliff retired to their country cottage in Cambridgeshire
at the outbreak of war, but in 1943 he returned to Birmingham to direct Shaw’s Heartbreak House
and play the part of Capt. Shotover, Barrie’s Quality Street and another modern-dress production of The Taming of the Shrew
with the young Margaret Leighton as Katherine.
In 1947 he directed a revival of James Bridie
’s A Sleeping Clergyman at London’s Criterion Theatre
, which he had first directed at the 1933 Malvern Festival and a revival of The Farmers Wife at The Apollo Theatre
. He died in Cambridgeshire in 1949.
Yellow Sands
Yellow Sands is a play which opened at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1925, where it ran for 610 performances, and at the Fulton Theatre, New York on September 10, 1927, where it ran for 25 performances, closing in October 1927. It was written by Eden Phillpotts and his daughter Adelaide...
on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
H.K. Ayliff was one of a triumvirate of celebrated British theatre directors during the years between the two world wars, the others being Tyrone Guthrie
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Life and career:Guthrie...
and Basil Dean
Basil Dean
Basil Herbert Dean CBE was an English actor, writer, film producer/director and theatrical producer/director....
.
Henry Kiell Ayliff was born 1871 in Grahamstown
Grahamstown
Grahamstown is a city in the Eastern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa and is the seat of the Makana municipality. The population of greater Grahamstown, as of 2003, was 124,758. The population of the surrounding areas, including the actual city was 41,799 of which 77.4% were black,...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, grandson of English settlers of 1820. He moved to England as a young man to study painting at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
Schools and in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In 1901 he gave up painting and studied acting under Herman Vezin, playing several parts in London and the provinces, including Juggins in Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
’s Fanny's First Play
Fanny's First Play
Fanny's First Play is a 1911 play by G. Bernard Shaw. It was written anonymously, then later discovered to be the work of George Bernard Shaw and produced by the Shubert family. It opened at the Adelphi Theatre at Westminster in London on April 19, 1911 and ran for 622 performances , and second...
at The Royal Court
The Royal Court
The Royal Court is a music production crew created by producer King Logan King arrived on the scene in 2007 with the hit single "Ice Box" by Omarion , co-produced with Timbaland, which generated over 100,000 radio spins and fostered more than 15 remixes.-Omarion - 21:*"Ice Box" *"Beg For It" The...
in Sloane Square
Sloane Square
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The square is part of the Hans Town area designed in 1771 by Henry...
. He frequently joined with other out-or-work actors in putting on one-off show-case productions, often directing these, and so developing a talent as a director.
He married Gertrude Homewood, an actress, in 1907. They had three children, Susan born in 1908, Esther in 1910 and David in 1916. In 1922 he started working as director at Barry Jackson
Barry Vincent Jackson
Sir Barry Vincent Jackson, , was a distinguished theatre director and the founder of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.-Life and career:He was the son of George Jackson of Birmingham and was educated privately....
’s Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
.
In April 1923 Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
, the first of a series of modern-dress Shakespeare productions, caused quite a furore. Other important productions were the first production of Shaw’s five-part epic Back to Methuselah
Back to Methuselah
Back to Methuselah , by George Bernard Shaw consists of a preface and a series of five plays: In the Beginning: B.C. 4004 , The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabas: Present Day, The Thing Happens: A.D. 2170, Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman: A.D. 3000, and As Far as Thought Can Reach: A.D...
, Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...
for which he also wrote the English version, and the very popular The Farmer's Wife
The Farmer's Wife
The Farmer’s Wife is a silent film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.It was based on a play of the same name by British novelist, poet and playwright Eden Phillpotts, best known for a series of novels based on Dartmoor, in Devon.-Synopsis:...
by Eden Philpotts.
Many productions transferred to London during this period, and HK also found himself being employed by London managements such as C.B.Cochran for several productions. In 1929 Barry Jackson instituted a Summer Festival of plays at Malvern. Initially this was dedicated to the plays of George Bernard Shaw, but from 1931 the theme became ‘Five Centuries of English Drama’, starting with pre-Shakespeare, through Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
, Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
, Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, and ending with a new modern play. Most of these were directed by HK, when he was not otherwise engaged in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
.
The outbreak of war in 1939 saw the end of the Malvern Festivals though the Malvern Theatre management tried unsuccessfully to revive it when peace was restored. Mr. and Mrs. Ayliff retired to their country cottage in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
at the outbreak of war, but in 1943 he returned to Birmingham to direct Shaw’s Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cultured, leisured Europe" was drifting toward destruction, and that "Those in a position to guide Europe to safety...
and play the part of Capt. Shotover, Barrie’s Quality Street and another modern-dress production of The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1591.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken tinker named Sly into believing he is actually a nobleman himself...
with the young Margaret Leighton as Katherine.
In 1947 he directed a revival of James Bridie
James Bridie
James Bridie was the pseudonym of a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and surgeon whose real name was Osborne Henry Mavor....
’s A Sleeping Clergyman at London’s Criterion Theatre
Criterion Theatre
The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has an official capacity of 588.-Building the theatre:...
, which he had first directed at the 1933 Malvern Festival and a revival of The Farmers Wife at The Apollo Theatre
Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. Designed by architect Lewin Sharp for owner Henry Lowenfield, and the fourth legitimate theatre to be constructed on the street, its doors opened on 21 February 1901 with the American...
. He died in Cambridgeshire in 1949.