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This comprehensive collection of works and papers of British playwright Arnold Wesker
comprises a lifetime of creative endeavor, and documents his involvement in many of
the 20th
century's important political, social and artistic movements. As such, the collection
contains not only the prolific output of a single individual over the last 40 years,
but
also is framed within the larger historical context of international events. Wesker,
considered one of the key figures in 20th century drama, is the author of 50 plays,
mainly
for the stage but also for radio, television, and screen, as well as collections of
short
stories, non-fiction, and an autobiography. |
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The collection is arranged in six series: Series I. Works and Related Material; Series
II.
Career Related; Series III. Center 42 and Roundhouse; Series IV. Correspondence, 1925-1999;
Series V. Personal; and Series VI. Works of Others. In the process of boxing his papers
for
shipment to the Ransom Center, Wesker compiled a list of the contents, which is available
for consultation. It provides a more detailed description of the collection, complete
with
anecdotes and footnotes, and forms the basis for folder descriptions throughout. However,
the materials are not listed in the same order they appear in this finding aid. Box
names
have been cross-referenced on the folders. |
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Series I. Works and Related Material (113 boxes). This series contains produced and
unproduced works in Subseries A. Works by Title, 1949-1998, including plays for stage,
radio, television and screen, opera, ballet, musicals, short stories, and non-fiction.
Generally, the works follow the creative process from preliminary notes and drafts
through
to production and performance. There are a number of roneoed (mimeographed) drafts
of the
plays. Correspondence is included with the works, but related correspondence may also
be
found in Series IV. The comprehensive nature of this collection is remarkable, both
in terms
of content and description. Wesker provides the initial rough handwritten drafts for
the
majority of his works, as well as subsequent typed drafts, all precisely dated. For
example,
playscript drafts fold one into the next, many altered in rehearsal, so that the researcher
has a complete record of the progression of the work over time. |
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The plays, many directed by Wesker, include Annie Wobbler, Caritas, Chips with Everything, Circles of Perception, The Four Seasons, The Friends, The Journalists, The Kitchen, Letter to a Daughter, Love Letters on Blue Paper, The Old Ones, Shylock ( "The Merchant"), Their Very Own and Golden City,
The Wedding Feast, The Wesker Trilogy ( "Chicken Soup with Barley,""Roots," and "I'm Talking about
Jerusalem"), and When God Wanted a Son. Also
present are plays adapted from the works of others, such as Doris Lessing and Arthur
Koestler. In addition to scripts and correspondence, associated material such as first
night
cards, show reports, set designs, rehearsal notes, production photographs, programs,
and
reviews are included for many of the plays. Subseries B. Collected Works contains
collected
editions of plays published in the Penguin Plays series, 1976-1994. Publicity scrapbooks
and
clippings of articles and play reviews are found in Subseries C, arranged by date
from
1960-1966. |
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Wesker's non-fiction includes his autobiography As Much as I Dare, The Birth of Shylock and the Death of
Zero Mostel, Journey into Journalism, and lectures and essays in
Words as Definitions of Experience,Distinctions, and Fears of Fragmentation. His
collections of short stories include Love Letters on Blue Paper,
Said the Old Man to the Young Man, and Six Sundays in January, as well as Fatlips, a story for children, and The King's Daughters, erotic stories for adults. Wesker provided the
text for two works on John Allin's paintings, Say Goodbye,You May Never See Them Again and
Stepney Streets. Research material, holograph and typescript drafts,
proofs and galleys, and reviews accompany these works. |
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Because of the large number of posters received with the collection for Wesker's plays,
readings, lectures, and Centre 42/Roundhouse, a database was generated listing the
title,
place of production/presentation, and dates of performance. This listing is found
at the end
of the inventory as an addendum. The posters include a billboard size serigraph of
Che
Guevara, bearing the now-classic phrase "Hasta la Victoria Siempre,"
that Wesker acquired while in Cuba in 1968 directing "The Four Seasons." |
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Series II. Career Related (18 boxes) reflects Wesker's lifelong involvement in a wide
range
of arts-related events, organizations, and teaching at the University level, as well
as
writings including early manuscripts, poetry, and his prolific "journalism." This
Series is
divided into Subseries A. Events, Subseries B. Organizations, Subseries C. University
Teaching, and Subseries D. Early Writings and Journalism. |
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Subseries A. Events includes addresses, lectures, readings, and speeches; conferences,
seminars, and workshops; programs and invitations; and tours and festivals for a forty
year
period, 1960-2000. Wesker lectured in both academic and professional settings worldwide,
at
such events as the Oxford University Drama Festival in 1960, the annual conference
of
writers in Lahti, Finland, in 1971, P.E.N.'s Writer's Day in 1979, and the 1987 "Wesker
on
Wesker" conference in Macerata, Italy, as well as numerous readings and presentations
at
banquets and award ceremonies. |
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Notable conferences, seminars, and workshops include the 1964 and 1968 Cultural Congress
of
Havana, 1980 Playwrights' Workshop in Montreal, 1982 Rockefeller Foundation conference
in
Bellagio, Italy, 1992 Cambridge Seminar in Portugal, the 1997 International Congress
of the
Greek Playwrights' Society, and the 1999 Edward Albee Theatre Conference in Valdez,
Alaska,
at which Albee presented Wesker with the "Last Frontier Lifetime Achievement Award
For
Distinguished Service in the Theatre." Additional programs and invitations to Wesker-related
events are also found in this subseries. Literary tours and festivals include "Wesker
'68"
in Japan, 1970 Arts Council Writers' Tour, cultural tours in China and Finland, and
the
Intercity Festival in Florence in 1996. |
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Some of Wesker's organizational affiliations in Subseries B. Organizations include
the
Committee of 100 formed in opposition to nuclear weapons in the late 1950s, the Writers'
Guild, The George Orwell Trust, and the British Israel Arts Foundation. Additional
involvement in numerous organizations, foundations, and social causes is reflected
in the
correspondence in Series IV. While sought after by colleges and universities worldwide
for
readings and participation in literary events of all kinds, Wesker also taught short
courses
at the University of Colorado at Boulder (1974) and Denison University in Ohio (1995).
Materials documenting this classroom experience are found in Subseries C. University
Teaching. |
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Wesker is the author of numerous letters to the editor, reviews, articles, and essays
found
in Subseries D. Early Writings and Journalism. He is frequently published in the editorial
pages of newspapers such as The Guardian,The Observer, and The Times (London), on topics
ranging from the 1973 military coup in Chile to the Hebron Massacre in 1994. His articles
and essays on literary and current events appear in international magazines and journals.
There is an especially long run of articles and associated material on Salmon Rushdie
and
the issue of censorship. Wesker also contributed to other works, such as "Debts to the Court" for Richard Findlater's book celebrating 25 years
of the Royal Court. The earliest examples of his writing in the collection are found
in
school exercise books and poems from the 1940s, followed by manuscripts and stories
from the
1950s. |
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Series III. Center 42 and Roundhouse (30 boxes): On April 28, 1960, an article in
the
Yorkshire Evening Post declared that "Arnold Wesker, one of
Britain's youngest and most promising playwrights, has been appealing for a new approach
to
the theatre from trade union branches and political groups. Mr. Wesker wants these
and
similar organisations to become the theatrical sponsors of the 1960s, backing with
their
resources and potential audiences adventurous productions of all kinds." Subsequently,
the
Trade Union Congress of 1960 passed Resolution 42 calling for greater participation
by the
trade union movement in the arts. A year later "Centre 42" came into being, followed
by the
transformation of a vintage railway engine shed into an arts center called the Roundhouse.
Ten years later, with much of his original vision redirected, Wesker resigned from
Centre
42. The intervening years of festivals and exhibitions, fundraising events, hirings
and
firings, cooperation and acrimony, are documented in correspondence and business files
in
Subseries A, and printed literature in Subseries B. Additional Centre 42 correspondence
and
Roundhouse files are located at the Library of the North London Polytechnic. |
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Series IV. Correspondence, 1925-1999 (94 boxes): Wesker's extensive personal and
professional correspondence is found in this series, in addition to the correspondence
in
the Works and Center 42/Roundhouse Series. Friends, associates, actors, agents (especially
Theatrework), colleagues, organizations, and publishers form the bulk of the correspondents
from the 1960s-1990s, as well as subject-related correspondence such as the '67 War
and
journalism. Also present are family letters, beginning in 1925 with Leah Wesker's
letters to
her brother Perly Perlmutter. A large number of greeting cards, invitations, and requests
of
all kinds are included. |
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Series V. Personal (23 boxes) contains articles, essays, interviews, reviews, and
theses
about Wesker; auction catalogs listing his works, awards, biographical information,
appointment diaries, family papers, financial papers (especially accounts and royalty
payments), photographs from the 1950s-1990s, and trips made to Cuba, Israel, and Italy. |
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Series VI. Works of Others (2 boxes): The collection contains Nedzad Dozo's "Bosnian Soldier," a monologue, and drafts and correspondence relating
to "Dusty Wesker's Cookery Book" which Wesker helped
his wife organize and write. In addition to being a traditional book of recipes, it
also
describes the numerous guests entertained at the Weskers' home. Wesker also retained
issues
of numerous literary and popular magazines and newspapers for their historical interest.
Titles include Film, Fireweed,Ink,Black Dwarf,Gramma,Red Mole, and Sunday Times and Observer color supplements. |
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Wesker's collection includes numerous books, many signed/inscribed first editions,
and
Time Out magazine from 1968-1986, as well as audio cassettes and
video tapes of performances of plays, interviews, reviews, talks, and readings. Also
included are audio recordings of Wesker's family members. Personal effects include
mementos
from the Cultural Congress of Havana in 1968, the 1971 Lahti Writers Conference, and
a
wooden puzzle commemorating a June 1980 production of The Wedding Feast. The books and serials have been transferred to
the Ransom Center Library, the mementos transferred to Personal Effects, the audio
recordings are held in the Center's Sound Recordings Collection, and the video tapes
are
located in the Photograph and Film Department. |
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The collection is in good physical condition, except for some musty files in the Centre
42
material that also incurred rust damage from staples and paper clips. Diaries from
1986-1999, holograph notebooks recording dreams, and personal correspondence were
restricted
until Wesker's death, and are now open for research. |
