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University of Texas at Austin

James Roose-Evans:

An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Center

Creator: Roose-Evans, James, 1927-2022
Title: James Roose-Evans Papers
Dates: circa 1961-1977
Extent: 1 box (.42 linear feet)
Abstract: The collection documents Roose-Evans' work as founder and director of the Hampstead Theatre and the Stage Two theater workshop. The bulk of the papers consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence with author Laurie Lee, and others in the theater field. In addition to the correspondence, there are funding and proposal letters, a written plan for the formation of the Stage Two Theater Workshop, letters of recommendation and a substantial amount of notes and scripts.
Call Number: Manuscript Collection MS-03602
Language: English
Note: A large volume of James Roose-Evans materials at the Ransom Center (approximately 50 boxes) remain uncataloged. These materials document Roose-Evans' life and career up to 2021. Please contact the Center for questions about these and related materials.
Access: Open for research. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials.
Use Policies: Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at Austin assume no responsibility.
Restrictions on Use: Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom Center's Open Access and Use Policies.


Administrative Information


Acquisition: Purchases, 1973, 1977
Processed by: Dale Sauter, 1999
Repository:

Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Biographical Sketch


James Roose-Evans, theater director and author, was born in London on November 11, 1927. He completed his education at Oxford University in 1957. Roose-Evans began his career as an actor, but by 1954 had started directing. He founded the Hampstead Theatre Club in 1959, and served as artistic director until 1971. In 1969, while at the Hampstead, Roose-Evans also founded and became director of Stage Two, an experimental theater workshop and research center.
Roose-Evans also lectured at, and conducted various theater workshops in the United States throughout his career. In addition, he directed numerous West End productions, including Under Milk Wood, Cider with Rosie, Private Lives, The Happy Apple, An Ideal Husband, Spitting Image, 84 Charing Cross Road, The Seven Year Itch, The Best of Friends, and Mate, a Personal Affair. Roose-Evans also authored books on theater, as well as a series of children's books in the 1970s. He was a member of the Royal Society of Arts, the Welsh Arts Council, Southeast Wales Art Association, and the Welsh Dance Theatre.
Roose-Evans died at age 94 on October 26, 2022.

Sources:


Contemporary Authors. New Revision Series, Vol. 35. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1983.
Who's Who in the Theater. Vol. 17. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1981.

Scope and Contents


The papers of James Roose-Evans, circa 1961-1977, document his work as founder and director of the Hampstead Theatre and the Stage Two theater workshop. The bulk of the papers consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence with author Laurie Lee, and others in the theater field. There is also a substantial amount of notes and scripts pertaining to Roose-Evans' adaptation of Lee's Cider with Rosie. The papers are divided into two series: I. Hampstead Theatre, Stage Two Theater Workshop, circa 1961-1977, undated (9 folders), and II. Cider with Rosie Materials, circa 1962-1969, undated (4 folders).
The Hampstead Theatre, Stage Two Theater Workshop series is grouped together alphabetically by last name of the correspondent. The majority of this correspondence relates to Roose-Evans' promotion of, and requested funding for, the Stage Two theater workshop. This correspondence was arranged and kept by Roose-Evans in groupings that reflect the topic and relationship of the communication, and is enhanced by handwritten notes from him. In addition to the correspondence, there are funding and proposal letters, a written plan for the formation of the Stage Two Theater Workshop, and letters of recommendation for one of Roose-Evans' U.S. lecture series. Prominent correspondents include: Lord David Cecil, Richmond Crinkley, Harold Hobson, Eddie Kulukundis, Laurie Lee, Malcolm Muggeridge, Margaret Rawlings, James Saunders, C. P. Snow, Kenneth Williams, Sandy Wilson, Sir Donald Wolfit, and others. All correspondents in the collection are indexed.
Series II. contains only materials relating to Roose-Evans' adaptation of Cider with Rosie for the stage. Highlighting these materials are correspondence between Lee and Roose-Evans about the adaptation, the original lighting plot by Roose-Evans (with illustrations) on the production, as well as portions of a prompt copy. Also included is a program of the production from 1963, and an undated publicity photograph.

Index Terms


People

Cecil, David, Lord, 1902- .
Crinkley, Richmond.
Hobson, Harold, 1924- .
Kulukundis, Eddie.
Lee, Laurie.
Muggeridge, Malcolm, 1903- .
Rawlings, Margaret, 1906- .
Saunders, James, 1925- .
Snow, C. P. (Charles Percy), 1905- .
Williams, Kenneth, 1926- .
Wilson, Sandy, 1924- .
Wolfit, Donald, Sir, 1902-1968.

Subjects

English theater, 20th century.
Lee, Laurie. Cider with Rosie.
The Hampstead Theatre.

Folder List