Stephen Joseph

Stephen Joseph (13 June 1921 – 4 October 1967) was an English stage director and pioneer of "theatre in the round."

Stephen Joseph was born in London, the child of actress Hermione Gingold and the publisher Michael Joseph. He was educated at Clayesmore School in Dorset. At the age of 16 he became a student of the Central School of Speech and Drama, where he graduated two years later. From 1941 to 1946 he served as an officer in the Royal Navy, where he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

After the war he studied English Literature at Jesus College, Cambridge, leading to the award of an MA degree. While at Cambridge he joined Footlights and both wrote and directed La Vie Cambridgienne," a revue broadcast by the BBC in July 1948.

In November 1948 he joined the Lowestoft Repertory Theatre as director, then moved on to manage the Summer Theatre season at Frinton-on-Sea. While there he saw a production by Jack Mitchley of the Christopher Fry play A Phoenix too Frequent," staged in the round, which caused him to experience “a bee beginning to buzz at the back of my mind.” He returned to the Central School of Speech and Drama as a tutor, then in 1951 was granted leave of absence to study for a degree in playwriting at the University of Iowa.

On his return he set up a company, Studio Theatre Ltd, devoted to productions in the round. After many difficulties and frustrations in finding suitable venues in London, a chance meeting led in 1955 to his using the concert room in the Central Library at Scarborough, on the Yorkshire coast. Initially the company did a summer season in Scarborough, and in winter toured other towns, partly with a view to finding a more permanent home for the company.

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