Littlewood, Joan (1914-2002), an English director, writer, and actor, ranks among the most influential creative forces in modern English theater history. Littlewood directed the Theatre Workshop from 1945 to 1973, except for brief periods in the 1960’s. The Theatre Workshop settled in London in 1953. Through the workshop, Littlewood directed many of the most important new English plays of the 1950’s and early 1960’s, especially plays with working-class subjects. Her productions were known for their daring, sometimes controversial techniques and their left-wing political attitudes. In many cases, Littlewood and her associates helped shape the final productions, editing and rewriting the scripts.
The most significant Littlewood productions included The Quare Fellow (1956) and The Hostage (1958) by Brendan Behan, A Taste of Honey (1958) by Shelagh Delaney, Fings Ain’t Wot They Used T’Be (1959) by Frank Norman, Sparrers Can’t Sing (1960) by Stephen Lewis, and an original satirical revue called Oh, What a Lovely War (1963). In 1955, she directed the first English production of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage, acting the title role herself. Littlewood also adapted for the stage such literary classics as Alice in Wonderland, A Christmas Carol, and Treasure Island.
Joan Maud Littlewood was born on Oct. 6, 1914, in London. She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and then joined the Theatre of Action in Manchester in 1933. In 1935, she helped found the Theatre Union. The theater lasted until 1940 and was re-formed as the Theatre Workshop in 1945. Littlewood settled in France in 1975. She wrote an autobiography, Joan’s Book: Joan Littlewood’s Peculiar History As She Tells It (1994). She died on Sept. 20, 2002.
