acting – and so she thinks

The Importance of Happiness: Noel Coward and the Actors’ Orphanage by Elliot James – an interview

admin — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 19:54:23 +0000

The Actors’ Orphanage was a home for the abandoned children of struggling or incapacitated actors. In 1934 it was a harsh and brutal institution. Meanwhile however, the playwright and cultural phenomenon, Noel Coward, was looking for more meaning in his life. After success after success, he would always ask… ‘What now?’ In The Importance of Happiness: Noel Coward and the Actors’ Orphanage by Elliot James, this little known and inspiring true story shows how the legendary Noel Coward and his committee of famous actors transformed the austere Actors’ Orphanage into a place of love and laughter. The lives of many children were greatly improved, against many odds.

Using documents from the archives, many of these events have never been written of before. Elliot James explores how Noel fixed serious, multifarious problems and ended a reign of terror within the orphanage. How he created a rural idyll and led the glamorous fundraisers, such as the Theatrical Garden Parties, midnight matinees at the London Palladium, cabaret at the Cafe de Paris and charity galas at West End theatres. Until, that is, World War II arrives and the Blitz. Now the entire orphanage is evacuated across the dangerous Atlantic Ocean to the United States. The New York years see a new level of happiness for the children, as they put on a Broadway show and meet stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Gertrude Lawrence. However as some grow up they are inevitably called back to Europe and the War. The difficult post-war years see Noel struggle to make the orphanage solvent and successful once again. There will be more problem children, monstrous staff and glamorous fundraisers before Noel can finally hand over the reins to his young protege, Richard Attenborough.

I had a quick chat with him.

Why did you decide to write the book?

I have been a Coward fan since I was young… I was living in Canada and got terribly homesick and in a cliched way, only wanted to watch very English films or or read very english books… to quell the homesickness… and who is more ‘classically English’ than Noël Coward. So I discovered his work and was hooked… it started with his ‘Live at Las Vegas’ album and then I discovered his plays, books and everything. Well, a few years ago I was living in LA and got homesick all over ago (age 36!) and RE-discovered Coward all over again. He’s a wonderful role model and example, in terms of spirit, attitude to life, humour, discipline, work ethic and… kindness. When I returned to England I pursued my passion and started writing articles on various aspects of his life and work… and quickly found that there was a part of his life little known of… his presidency for 22 years of the Actors’ Orphanage. I’d found the subject for my next article! I started interviewing surviving orphans and uncovering files from various archives…. there was enough material for a book! So I wrote it.

Can you tell us more about the history of the orphanage and Noel?

The Actors’ Orphanage took in the children of struggling or deceased actors… for example, an actor might have fallen on hard times in the theatre and been unable to work, due to illness or war injuries. Some fathers had been killed. Sometimes children were the product of an affair.. and the stigma of the time meant that they must be sent away somewhere… out of sight. And a single mother working in the theatre, touring the country would have been a hard life. Remember welfare did not exist then. The Orphanage provided a home and basic education… but it was quite austere.

Noël Coward meanwhile had been a star for many years. In 1934 he was the reigning ‘King of the Theatre’ but… he was beginning to question what else was there to life? He’d achieved so much so young… As the most famous man in the theatre he was asked to be the president of the charity… and the role seemed to give him an answer to what else there was to life. Now he could help others in a very deep and meaningful way. It enriched his life, gave him self worth and was a kind of personal salvation. And my goodness, the orphanage needed a saviour in 1934.

Did you learn something about it?

I discovered so much fascinating history. For example, they evacuated all the children to New York for the duration of World War II. Many did NOT want to return to post war, bomb damaged England. Later, one of the boys was terribly naughty and Coward tried to help him. He became his godfather and got him into show business. That boy was Peter Collinson who later directed The Italian Job, which was Noël’s final film appearance. A sweet swansong for Noël and a sign that Peter appreciated Noël’s help at the orphanage when he was growing up. I also learnt about the fabulous, star studded fundraisers, the marvellous forgotten stars of the era, the many problems they had to contend with… staff issues, bullying, financial trouble, and… so many little acts of kindness by those blessed by success in the acting profession. Coward encouraged many of his show business friends to help with the orphanage.

Whose story is this? Of the children or Noel Coward?

It is a kind of double biography. It’s the complete history of the orphanage, yes, but with a focus on the 22 years that Noël was president… and an analysis of what was going on in his life while he was president… with flashbacks to his own, very different, childhood. His life became entwined with the orphanage in all kinds of ways… for example his knighthood was blocked because he was in the US trying to negotiate the evacuation and upset the wrong people… it’s a complicated story but it’s all in the book. His fabulous cabaret career was born out of the charity fundraisers for the orphanage! From a damp tent in Regents Park to raise funds to the Desert Inn, Las Vegas!

How does theatre help people?

Theatre never dies. The Ancient Greeks had it… Ancient tribes telling stories around a campfire was a kind of theatre. So it must be something we need. The greatest genius of the theatre was William Shakespeare and what did his plays do? What do they still do? They make us think and feel what it is to be Human. They connect us. Coward said that Theatre must be entertaining above all else… but his best plays… Private Lives, for example, are full of subtext and emotion…. it’s a very moving play along with all the tremendous humour and fun. So yes, theatre makes us laugh, makes us feel things, connects us…. and it’s a communal activity and we ARE a social animal, we need communal activities. Seeing Blithe Spirit boarded up on St Martins Lane in the West-End is very sad. Coward’s comedy had originally run in London through the entire War… but now we are living through a very different problem… but theatre never dies. It will be back and we will appreciate the magic of theatre even more.

True Brits

admin — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 13:20:00 +0000

‘Do you feel British?’ Rahul asks the audience, as he bounds onto the stage in t shirt and jeans, with a twinkle in his eye, looking like any other teenager. True Brits is an exploration of identity – how it is formed, the different facets influencing it, and what it means to individuals and the groups in which they live. Taking place between the bombings of July 2005 and the London 2012 Olympics, writer Vinay Patel has created a play in which Rahul, an 18 year old second generation Asian from Bexleyheath, South London deals with life, facing up to bullying, family expectations, university, and dating. In short, all the normal things that a teenager experiences – even a British Asian one. The main message is that maybe, despite his looks and heritage, he is not that different. In fact, according to a study that Patel read, the group most identifying with being British are young British Asians.
To many in the audience it seems ludicrous that this point needs to be made. But as the play unfolds we start to recognize certain things. The unease felt when someone appearing to be Muslim gets on a train. Fear triggered by a bag in a crowded place. The assumption that certain life paths are there for some people. The belief that marriage must be to someone from a similar background. ‘Innocent’ racist jokes become more sinister when uttered by children singing on the bus. We might like to believe that we live in an enlightened world, but stereotyping, ignorance and prejudice still play out on the streets and in the lives of so many places and people in Britain.
Patel is clearly writing from experience: the two inspirations behind True Brits were “that the society I grew up in had tossed me aside after 7/7, and that during the Olympics this was my home, always was and likely always would be”, he said in an interview with A Younger Theatre. It’s clear how disaffection might embed itself in young people, and not everyone channels it creatively like Patel. Despite evident pride in his country, jubilation at the Olympics, his best friend fighting in the British army, we’re left with a sense Rahul will always experience that feeling of being an ‘other’ even as he identifies as British. He may appear to move seemlessly through the choices of Thames or the Ganges, Reeboks or turbans, London or Bombay, chips or rice, but deep down it is not so easy. The kind of feverish and potent pride in the country that we see on stage does not always mean acceptance, and equally embracing British culture does not mean a denial of heritage and family.
Actor David Mumeni is engaging throughout the 70 minute one man show, shifting accents between the posh voices of his girlfriend and his family, the cockney rhymes of bullies, and the discriminatory tones of police pretending to be friendly during their random checks. The set design is minimal and unchanging, the attention very much being on the words and emotion conveyed. Rave reviews followed its first outing in Edinburgh, and will do after this run at the Vaults. Whatever you do, don’t miss out next time.
The first play from new talent Vinay Patel, True Brits is directed by Tanith Lindon, produced by Rich Mason Productions and supported by HighTide Festival Theatre.

Made In Britain at Old Red Lion Theatre

admin — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 20:40:52 +0000

It’s not just angry young men any more. They’re all angry – men, women, boys, girls. And with good reason, as Made In Britain, showing at London’s Old Red Lion Theatre, makes apparent. Against a background of sketchy CCTV footage bristling with flashes of urban society Sarah Bryan and James Rallinson play Danny and Nina, two young people disillusioned with the desperate situation in which they find themselves, angry and frustrated at a society which promises so much but fails to deliver on it.
Through alternating monologues we hear their tales, tales of school bullies, fathers they adore and despise, abandonment, and unemployment. Circumstances have not been kind, but their youthful vigour remains through their desire to connect and alter their situation. Directed by Jonathan O’Boyle from the script written by Ella Carmen Greenhill, it is unambiguous and explicit, a message of cynicism and disenchantment at a world where capitalism is king and the struggles of the normal person are forgotten being made very clear. This space in which they speak is the only forum for these voices which have been denied.
Broken relationships, futile jobs, suicide, and the poverty trap are all explored tenderly and robustly, before the two meet at a G8 summit where their problems are reflected and magnified on a global scale. Politics and personal grief are very closely intertwined in this play, where culpability lies in a hazy space somewhere between the individual and the situations in which they find themselves. They don’t believe in politics as an agent for social change, and far from suffering from malaise, they are fuming – but what do they do about it?
Things are not fair – and the play asks how we deal with that, whether acceptance or revenge are the routes to take, or something in between. It doesn’t end prettily, and Danny dying for his beliefs is a profound twist on the stereotypes we have cast on this action, and has us questioning whether all action is useful.
Made In Britain is one of a new season of plays which new artistic director Stewart Pringle has commissioned for the thirty year old pub theatre in Angel. He recently told What’s On Stage that he wants the output to be ‘unpredictable, loud, and constantly surprising.’ On those measures, Made In Britain is a success.

Shakespeare Shorts

admin — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 14:59:43 +0000

Shakespeare is so well known that it takes guts and effort to reinterpret in new ways that allow the brilliance to shine through for audiences in an accessible way, and Action To The Word manage this dynamically and dazzle with it in their production of Shakespeare Shorts, now on at independent venue Camden People’s Theatre.
Directed by Alexandra Spencer-Jones, and with only a cast of ten, they effortlessly sparkle through some of the most emotional, hard hitting, resonant and profound scenes of the Bard’s work with a vibrancy that brings a fresh perspective to the eyes gathered in this small theatre. Dressed in black with minimal lighting, the ensemble clearly demonstrate the wisdom of the words and seem to accentuate this via the stark simplicity of all that they do. No set. No costume. Simply the power of their interpretation.
Punctuated with modern pop music to emphasise the shifts between scenes and plays (amongst others the soundtrack features Drop Dead Gorgeous by Republica, 10CC’s The Thing We Do For Love, and the classic True from Spandau Ballet) they rally through Hamlet, Macbeth, Titus Andronicus, Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and well as others from the canon,with startling clarity and crispness. Managing to move between light comedy to powerful tragedy with fluidity and agility, keeping each clearly resonant, the Bard is brought up to date – or rather his universal themes are made blatantly obvious – love, sex, drugs, fun, violence and danger.
The company developed the production in Cambridge when most were still students, and it remains as slick and hard hitting as when they first performed it back in 2008. Click below for tickets.

LIFT – where the city meets the stage

admin — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 19:04:00 +0000

One city, 30 productions, 13 countries, 15 venues, 30 days, and a million emotions, passions, voices and subjects, LIFT festival is back in London for its 20th anniversary. Combining poetry, performances, acting, immersion and experiences that cover the sometimes surprising, shocking, variegated and vast nature of this amazing world in which we live, the festival continues to push the boundaries of theatre. Using theatre as a way to explore the world, the London International Festival of Theatre integrates art forms to create powerful performance that speaks to and of the world.

As director Michael Ball says ‘LIFT 2014 comes at a time when the world is experiencing seismic change – in our climate, in governments and, perhaps most significantly, in ways in which we can communicate with each other. We have looked at what makes up this astonishingly vibrant and tolerant city and made it a stage on which artists with radical imaginations will conjure visions of other lands, enthralling us with stories born in the worlds from which they come.’
Some of these artists work in circumstances that can be difficult or even dangerous, and LIFT gives voice to their revealing work, connecting us all with the big issues of our times. Invigorating, evocative, and wholly original, the programme is one that will you have you thinking and talking – which is what good theatre should always do. It also utilizes multiple venues, including The Tabernacle in Notting Hill, Peckham Liberal Club, and WIlton’s Music Hall, introducing people and places.

Highlights include After A War, where 23 international artists and companies from the UK, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America, reflect on the impact and legacy of WWI, this first truly global event and on contemporary issues of war and peace. There also explorations of the beautiful game in this World Cup year, in Michael Essien, I want to play as you…which looks at football as a way out of poverty, and Turfed which uses the philosophy of football to explore the global issue of youth homelessness. Change For A Tenner is a series of gatherings about change, both big and small, is an inspiring collection looking at everything from the value of art to the impact of the baby boomers, and our capacity to make a difference.
It’s certainly entertainment to make you think, but not in a proselytising fashion. This is provocative art that entertains as it educates and forces us to ponder the world around us and our place in it.
Running throughout June, get your tickets here.