International Socialists

Shomi Yoon

October 6 1914 - September 20 2002

Joan Littlewood, a major radical political theatre figure in Britain, died in September, aged 87. She broke up the fabric, revolutionised the way that plays were presented, the way that they were written, and the way directors and actors and writers collaborated. During the 1950s and 60s she transformed British drama. She challenged the conservative and snobbish concept of theatre then prevalent.

Her commitment to the working class audience saw accents that were heard for the first time on stage in Britain. That is, the working class not merely as caricature, but as representative of genuine working class life. She showed a commitment to socialism and the collective and democratic character that could exist in theatre. But above all, she used theatre as a tool that could somehow relate and deal with the reality of those working class people.

Rather than theatre itself being the agency that could bring about change to this reality, Littlewood’s commitment to theatre first and foremost came from wanting to emphasise a working class audience that was part of that reality. Theatre for Littlewood, was a weapon that she used as part of her social and political commitment to change. Asked about her political beliefs last year she laughed and said "Oh, I’ve always been a communist. How could you not be?"

The impact of her best work, including productions of Brendan Behan’s The Quare Fellow, Shelagh Delaney’s A Taste of Honey and the 1963 satire on WWI Oh What a Lovely War!, were enormous and far reaching. My personal favourite is Behan’s The Quare Fellow – a play that is an overwhelming indictment of capital punishment without a hint of sentimentality and soaked in humour - as Littlewood puts it – "the prisoner is about to be topped for murder, and yet you never stopped laughing."

Joan Littlewood inspired a whole generation of radical theatre. Her work had a massive impact on theatre and continues to do so.