James Roose-Evans
Encyclopedia
James Roose-Evans is a British
theatre director, script-writer, priest and writer on experimental theatre, gesture, ritual and meditation. In 1959 he founded the Hampstead Theatre
Club, in London; and in 1974 the Bleddfa Centre for creativity and spirituality, in Powys.
. His brother, Monty, was four years older.
He was educated at The Crypt School in Gloucester
; where he staged an open-air performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Before beginning his eighteen months' National Service in the British Army in November 1946, he made several visits to London theatres, for which he paid by busking in the street. In the Army he worked at the Garrison Theatre, Oswestry (1946), and from 1947 in the Royal Army Education Corps in various parts of Britain and finally in Trieste; where he joined the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1949 he began his studies at Oxford University (from which he graduated in 1957).
In 1954 he joined a repertory company at Bridgewater, Somerset, where his fellow-actor Kenneth Williams
encouraged him to try directing. When the company's director fell ill and Roose-Evans took over the direction of St John Ervine's The First Mrs Frazer, he realised how his feeling for dance, literature, painting and theatre all came together in the director's art. Shortly afterwards he secured a job as director at the Maddermarket Theatre
, Norwich. The theatre was modelled on an Elisabethan play-house. Here in the 1954-1955 season Roose-Evans directed Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth (in which he also played the lead), John Whiting's A Penny For A Song, Shaw's Pygmalion, Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1, Gheon's Thde Marriage of St Francis, Wilde's An Ideal Husband and Garcia Lorca's Dona Rosita (for which he visited Granada and received advice from Lorca's friend, Don Jose Navarro).
In 1959 he founded the Hampstead Theatre Club
in London, where he served as artistic director until 1971.
In 1974 he founded the Bleddfa Centre, in Powys, for those exploring the relationship between creativity and spirituality.
Roose-Evans has directed, among other projects, The Dumb Waiter
(1960), Under Milk Wood
, Private Lives
(1963), An Ideal Husband
, The Seven Year Itch
(1984), 84 Charing Cross Road
(1981; film version 1984), and Cider with Rosie
(1961), the latter two of which he also adapted. Additional playwrighting credits include The Best of Friends (1988), Re: Joyce! (1991), a celebration of the life and career of Joyce Grenfell
on which he collaborated with Maureen Lipman
. He also edited Darling Ma The letters of Joyce Grenfell to her mother (1997) and The Time of My Life The Wartime Journals of Joyce Grenfell.
Roose-Evans won the London Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Director for 84 Charing Cross Road. He is a member of the Royal Society of Arts
, the Welsh Arts Council, the Southeast Wales Art Association, and the Welsh Dance Theatre.
and a number of children's books, including
The Odd and Elsewhere series was illustrated by Brian Robb.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
theatre director, script-writer, priest and writer on experimental theatre, gesture, ritual and meditation. In 1959 he founded the Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
Club, in London; and in 1974 the Bleddfa Centre for creativity and spirituality, in Powys.
Biography
James Roose-Evans was born on 11 November 1927 in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His brother, Monty, was four years older.
He was educated at The Crypt School in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
; where he staged an open-air performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Before beginning his eighteen months' National Service in the British Army in November 1946, he made several visits to London theatres, for which he paid by busking in the street. In the Army he worked at the Garrison Theatre, Oswestry (1946), and from 1947 in the Royal Army Education Corps in various parts of Britain and finally in Trieste; where he joined the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1949 he began his studies at Oxford University (from which he graduated in 1957).
In 1954 he joined a repertory company at Bridgewater, Somerset, where his fellow-actor Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
encouraged him to try directing. When the company's director fell ill and Roose-Evans took over the direction of St John Ervine's The First Mrs Frazer, he realised how his feeling for dance, literature, painting and theatre all came together in the director's art. Shortly afterwards he secured a job as director at the Maddermarket Theatre
Maddermarket Theatre
The Maddermarket Theatre is a British theatre located in St. John's Alley in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It was founded in 1921 by Nugent Monck.-Early history and conversion:...
, Norwich. The theatre was modelled on an Elisabethan play-house. Here in the 1954-1955 season Roose-Evans directed Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth (in which he also played the lead), John Whiting's A Penny For A Song, Shaw's Pygmalion, Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1, Gheon's Thde Marriage of St Francis, Wilde's An Ideal Husband and Garcia Lorca's Dona Rosita (for which he visited Granada and received advice from Lorca's friend, Don Jose Navarro).
In 1959 he founded the Hampstead Theatre Club
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
in London, where he served as artistic director until 1971.
In 1974 he founded the Bleddfa Centre, in Powys, for those exploring the relationship between creativity and spirituality.
Roose-Evans has directed, among other projects, The Dumb Waiter
The Dumb Waiter
The Dumb Waiter is a one-act play by 2005 Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter written in 1957; it premiered at the Hampstead Theatre Club, on 21 January 1960...
(1960), Under Milk Wood
Under Milk Wood
Under Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, adapted later as a stage play. A movie version, Under Milk Wood directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released during 1972....
, Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
(1963), An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband
An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour...
, The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
(1984), 84 Charing Cross Road
84 Charing Cross Road
84, Charing Cross Road is a 1970 book by Helene Hanff, later made into a stage play, television play and film, about the twenty-year correspondence between her and Frank Doel, chief buyer of Marks & Co, antiquarian booksellers located at the eponymous address in London, England.Hanff, in search of...
(1981; film version 1984), and Cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie
Cider with Rosie is a 1959 book by Laurie Lee . It is the first book of a trilogy that continues with As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of War...
(1961), the latter two of which he also adapted. Additional playwrighting credits include The Best of Friends (1988), Re: Joyce! (1991), a celebration of the life and career of Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Grenfell
Joyce Irene Grenfell, OBE was an English actress, comedienne, diseuse and singer-songwriter.-Early life:...
on which he collaborated with Maureen Lipman
Maureen Lipman
Maureen Diane Lipman CBE is a British film, theatre and television actress, columnist and comedienne.-Early life:Lipman was born in Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, the daughter of Maurice Julius Lipman and Zelma Pearlman. Her father was a tailor; he used to have a shop between the...
. He also edited Darling Ma The letters of Joyce Grenfell to her mother (1997) and The Time of My Life The Wartime Journals of Joyce Grenfell.
Roose-Evans won the London Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Director for 84 Charing Cross Road. He is a member of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
, the Welsh Arts Council, the Southeast Wales Art Association, and the Welsh Dance Theatre.
Books
Roose-Evans is the author of- Directing a Play (1968)
- Experimental Theatre from Stanislavsky to Peter Brook (1970)
- London Theatre: From the Globe to the National (1977) ISBN 978-0714817668
- Inner Journey: Outer Journey (1987) ISBN 978-0712614313
- The Cook-a-Story Book
- Passages of the Soul: Ritual Today (1995)
- The Inner Stage: Finding a Centre in Prayer and Ritual (1995) ISBN 978-1561010011
- One Foot on the Stage: The Biography of Richard Wilson (1996)
- Cook-a-Story: The Bleddfa Cook Book (2005)
- Opening Doors and Windows A Memoir In Four Acts (2009)
- Finding Silence 52 meditations for Daily Living (2009)
and a number of children's books, including
- The Adventures of Odd and Elsewhere (1971)
- The Secret Of The Seven Bright Shiners (1972)
- Elsewhere and the Gathering of the Clowns (1974)
- Odd and the Great Bear (1974)
- The Return Of The Great Bear (1975 May) ISBN 978-0233966472
- Odd to the Rescue! (1975)
- The Secret Of Tippity Witchit (1975 October)
- The Lost Treasure Of Wales (1977)
- The Christ Mouse
The Odd and Elsewhere series was illustrated by Brian Robb.