John English (theatre director)

John English, OBE, MA (13 January 1911 – 20 December 1998), was a theatre director, actor, writer and entrepreneur in Birmingham, England, and the founder of the Highbury Theatre Centre, the Midlands Arts Centre as well as being one of the founding members of the Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain.

John English was born in Dudley, West Midlands, on 13 January 1911. Son of Bertie and Emeline English; along with his sister, Muriel May and his brother, Bill. He was educated at Dudley Grammar School until 1923 when the family moved to the Wylde Green area of Birmingham, where he went on to attend Bishop Vesey's Grammar School leaving aged 16. From a young age he was introduced to the arts and the theatre by both of his parents and would appear in numerous amateur theatre productions. It was here where he developed his craft and a keen eye for detail as both a director and as an actor.

In 1929, English began work as an industrial chemist at the Chance Brothers glassmakers, Smethwick, West Midlands. He later became the firm's production manager and stayed there for 20 years. In 1934, he married Doris Holt (a fellow Highbury member), who then became Mrs Peta English. The couple divorced in 1959, the same year in which he married Alicia "Mollie" Randle. He retired from industry in 1948, aged just 40, to devote himself full-time to the theatre. Shortly after retiring he went on to found the Arena Theatre Company along with his new wife.

In 1924, English's father helped set up the Erdington ILP Play-reading Circle. When the circle began putting on plays they rehearsed in the English's house; called Highbury (from which they later took their name when the ILP chose to rename themselves the Highbury Players). With his father directing the first few productions, a 14-year-old English acted as stage manager. From its conception, English was one of the most prominent founding members of the then, Highbury Little Theatre (latterly Highbury Theatre Centre). He took over from his father as director of the Highbury Players aged just 17 and later went on to become the theatre's first arts director in 1942. It was in 1929 that he directed his first full-length play, a modern-dress version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It was in his position as arts director in which he helped to create and establish many of the features, rules and traditions that are still used by the theatre to this day. He also served as architect and supervised the building of the entire theatre from scratch and did so for all subsequent alterations over the next 10 years. His quote of "a good theatre never stands still" is still the mantra that the theatre stands by, only highlighting his impact and influence on the building and its members. His last role at the theatre was in 1947 in A Month in the Country. He retired from the position of arts director in 1963. During his time at the theatre he directed and co-directed more than 100 productions.

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