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George Devine

George Alexander Cassady DevineCBE(20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film.

George Devine
Born(1910-11-20)20 November 1910
London, England
Died20 January 1966(1966-01-20)(aged 55)
London, England
Occupation(s)Theatrical producer, manager, actor
SpouseSophie Harris
Children1

Early life and education

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Devine was born inHendon,London to Georgios Devine (son of an Irish father and a Greek mother) and a Canadian mother, Ruth Eleanor Cassady (fromVancouver).[1][2]His father was a clerk inMartins Bank.[3]

Ruth Devine became mentally unstable after her son's birth,[4]and his parents' marriage, deeply unhappy throughout his early childhood, had broken down by the time he was in his early teens. Around this time he was sent toClayesmore School,an independent boys' boarding school founded by his uncleAlexander "Lex" Devine,who took his nephew under his wing hoping that he would take over the running of the school.[5]In 1929, Devine went toOxford Universityto read for a degree in history atWadham College.[6]

It was at Oxford that his interest in theatre, which had begun at school, came to fruition, and in 1931 he became president of the prestigiousOxford University Dramatic Society,or OUDS.[7]In early 1932, he invited the young actorJohn Gielgudto direct a production ofRomeo and Julietand, as the OUDS did not admit women, invitedPeggy AshcroftandEdith Evansto play Juliet and the Nurse.[8]Gielgud insisted on having the costumes designed byMotley,a newly formed theatre-design team consisting of sistersSophieandMargaret Harrisas well asElizabeth Montgomery.[9]

The great success of the production encouraged Devine to abandon his degree before sitting his finals and move to London to begin an acting career.[10]He also worked for Motley as their business manager.[2]

Pre-war years

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Although Devine managed to get some work as an actor, both atthe Old Vicand for John Gielgud (whose directing career had taken off after the OUDSRomeo and Juliet), he was initially not a great success.[11]Rather overweight, dark and foreign-looking, he did not fit the conventional stereotype and tended to play relatively small character parts.[12]Always interested in France (he spoke the language perfectly) and in French theatre, he suggested to Gielgud that they should invite the French directorMichel Saint-Denisto London in 1935 to direct a version of his successful production ofAndre Obey'sNoé.[13]

This proved to be the beginning of a close and fruitful partnership between the two men. Saint-Denis remained in London and, together with Devine and their friendsMarius GoringandGlen Byam Shaw,founded theLondon Theatre Studioin 1936,[14]which offered training not only to actors and directors but also to stage designers. Run by Motley, this was the first course in Britain to offer training in set and costume design.Jocelyn Herbert,who was later to become part of Devine's life, was a student on the course.[15]

At the end of the 1930s Devine finally got the chance to direct a play himself. His first professional production was an adaptation byAlec GuinnessofCharles Dickens' novelGreat Expectations,which played at the Queen's Theatre in 1939, with Guinness as Herbert Pocket andMartita HuntasMiss Havisham;David Leansaw this and later acknowledged that it "exerted a tremendous influence" on his celebrated1946 film.[16][17]Devine also directed a successful production of a stage version ofDaphne du Maurier'sRebeccaat theQueen's Theatrein 1939.[18]

Wartime

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When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Devine did not initially expect to be called up, owing to a supposedly weak heart. He did, however, pass his army medical and went into basic training with theRoyal Artilleryat the end of 1941.[19]After a period of relative inactivity in India, he was transferred toBurmawhere he spent the final part of the war engaged in jungle warfare. He attained the rank of captain and was twicementioned in despatches.[20]

Post-war years and Old Vic Theatre School

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Devine returned to England in 1946, and in September of that year appeared as George Antrobus inLaurence Olivier's production ofThornton Wilder'sThe Skin of Our Teeth,also starringVivien Leigh,at thePiccadilly Theatrein London. Soon afterwards, together with Saint-Denis and Byam Shaw, and under the auspices of the Old Vic, he opened the Old Vic Theatre School in Thurlow Park Road,Dulwich,London, to continue the training courses begun at the London Theatre Studio before the war. At the same time he formed theYoung VicTheatre Company, which was intended to bring theatre to young people. The school ran successfully for several years, training actors such asPrunella ScalesandJoan Plowright.[citation needed]

In 1952, the three directors were forced to resign following a dispute with the Old Vic governors, and Devine embarked on a free-lance career as a director and actor.[2]Byam Shaw had moved toStratford-upon-Avonto run theShakespeare Memorial Theatre,and Devine directed several successful Shakespeare productions there in the early 1950s, including a notorious version ofKing Lear(1955), which starred John Gielgud and was designed by the experimental Japanese American artist and sculptorIsamu Noguchi.[21]He also directed several operas atSadler's Wells Theatrein London,[2]and appeared in several films.

Royal Court Theatre

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In 1952 the young directorTony Richardsoncast Devine in a television adaptation of "Curtain Down", a short story byAnton Chekhov.[22]There soon developed what Devine came to call their "great friendship". Not long afterwards, together with Richardson's friend and partner the American sociologist George Goetschius, they formed a plan for a radical new theatre company,[23]the objective of which, as Devine wrote later, "was to get writers, writers of serious pretensions, back into the theatre", and thus to make the theatre "part of the intellectual life of the country".[24]The fulfilment of these goals led to the formation in 1955 of what was called the English Stage Company. They acquired the rental of the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, London, and Devine placed an advertisement inthe Stageasking for new plays.[25] The Royal Court opened in April 1956 with a production ofAngus Wilson's playThe Mulberry Bush,followed byArthur Miller'sThe Crucible,in which Devine played Governor Danforth as well as directing.[26]It was not until the third production,John Osborne'sLook Back in Anger,that the theatre really attracted public attention. Although the play was badly reviewed by traditional theatre critics such asMilton Shulmanand Philip Hope-Wallace, glowing reviews from the two Sunday criticsKenneth TynanandHarold Hobsonensured that the play eventually became a hit.[27]

Under Devine's direction the English Stage Company remained primarily a writers' theatre, nurturing new talents such asArnold Wesker,Ann Jellicoe,Edward Bond,Donald Howarth,Keith Johnstone,and many others. Devine's policy of taking on young directors as assistants produced some notable talents includingWilliam Gaskill,John Dexter,Lindsay Anderson,Anthony Page,andPeter Gill.Devine was also interested in continental drama. He staged several plays byEugène Ionesco,including a celebrated production ofThe Chairs,in which he appeared with Joan Plowright.[28]He also greatly admiredSamuel Beckett,several of whose plays were produced at the Royal Court, includingEndgamein which Devine played Hamm.[29]

Several more of John Osborne's plays were staged at the Royal Court and George Devine appeared in one, the historical dramaA Patriot for Me,when he suffered a second heart attack followed soon afterwards by a stroke that eventually led to his death at the age of 55.[30]He had begun to draft an autobiography, which included these words:

I was not strictly after a popular theatre à laJoan Littlewood-Roger Planchon,but a theatre that would be part of the intellectual life of the country. In this respect I consider I utterly failed. I feel I have the right to talk in this proprietary way about the English Stage Company to which I gave nine years of my life and nearly died in the tenth. I was convinced the way to achieve my objective was to get writers, writers of serious pretensions, back into the theatre. This I set out to do. I wanted to change the attitude of the public towards the theatre. All I did was to change the attitude of the theatre towards the public.[30]

Personal life and death

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Following their meeting in 1932, Devine and Sophie Harris formed a relationship, and he moved in with her in London after he left Oxford. They married in October 1939,[31]and their daughter Harriet was born in September 1942, after Devine had embarked for India. The marriage ended in the late 1950s, when Devine began living with Jocelyn Herbert, with whom he remained until his death.[32]

He was awarded theCBEin 1958.[33][2]Devine was appearing inA Patriot for Mewhen he suffered the heart attack that led to his death on 20 January 1966 at age 55.[34]

Legacy

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The George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright is named in his honour.[35]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1939 The Silent Battle Sonneman
1952 The Card Mr. H. Calvert
1953 The Beggar's Opera Peachum
1954 The Million Pound Note Chop House Proprietor
1957 Time Without Pity Barnes – the Editor
1959 Look Back in Anger Doctor
1963 Tom Jones Squire Allworthy

Notes and references

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  1. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 1, 4.
  2. ^abcde"The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/32801.ISBN978-0-19-861412-8.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  3. ^Wardle 1978,p. 1.
  4. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 1–2.
  5. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 6, 11.
  6. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 11–12.
  7. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 10–11, 17.
  8. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 14, 19–20.
  9. ^Devine, pp. 2–3
  10. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 23–24.
  11. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 32–34.
  12. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 16, 25–26, 31.
  13. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 11, 47–50.
  14. ^"Artistic Directors – George Devine".Royal Court Theatre.Retrieved27 September2013.
  15. ^"The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/89981.ISBN978-0-19-861412-8.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
  16. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 82–84.
  17. ^Brownlow, Kevin(1996).David Lean: A Biography.St. Martin's Press.p.206.ISBN978-0312145781.
  18. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 84–85.
  19. ^Devine, pp. 5–10
  20. ^"Mystery of the second world war 'trophy' and the Royal Court founder".TheGuardian.com.9 January 2022.
  21. ^Hamilton, Jennifer Mae (2017).This Contentious Storm: An Ecocritical and Performance History of King Lear.London: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 163–166.ISBN9781474289061.Retrieved1 April2023.
  22. ^Richardson, p. 59
  23. ^Richardson, p. 60
  24. ^Wardle 1978,p. 279.
  25. ^"History".Royal Court Theatre.Retrieved27 September2013.
  26. ^Richardson, p. 78
  27. ^Richardson (p.79) points out that no performance at the Royal Court actually sold out. But he writes that those two reviews "made us the theatre of the moment".
  28. ^Richardson, p. 90
  29. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 204–8.
  30. ^abDevine, p. 167
  31. ^Devine, pg. 5
  32. ^Devine, ch. 8
  33. ^Wardle 1978,p. 192.
  34. ^Wardle 1978,pp. 277–80.
  35. ^"George Devine Award".George Devine Award.Retrieved31 March2023.

Further reading

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