James Roose-Evans (11 November 1927 – 26 October 2022) was a British theatre director, priest, and writer on

experimental theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particul ...

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

. In 1959 he founded the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

Club, in London; in 1974 the Bleddfa Centre for the Creative Spirit, in mid-Wales; and in 2015 Frontier Theatre Productions. He was best known for directing the West End play ''

84 Charing Cross Road ''84, Charing Cross Road'' is a 1970 book by Helene Hanff, later made into a stage play, television play, and film, about the twenty-year correspondence between the author and Frank Doel, chief buyer of Marks & Co antiquarian booksellers, loca ...

''.

Early life and education

James Roose-Evans was born in London on 11 November 1927, the second son of Jack and Primrose. His older brother Monty later emigrated to America. Roose-Evans attended the Crypt Grammar School,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...

, before spending eighteen months in the

Royal Army Educational Corps The Royal Army Educational Corps (RAEC) was a corps of the British Army tasked with educating and instructing personnel in a diverse range of skills. On 6 April 1992 it became the Educational and Training Services Branch (ETS) of the Adjutant Gen ...

, ending his service in Trieste in 1947. In 1949, he was admitted to

St Benet's Hall, Oxford St Benet's Hall (known colloquially as Benet's) was a permanent private hall (PPH) of the University of Oxford, originally a Roman Catholic religious house of studies. It closed down in 2022. The principal building was located at the northern ...

where he read English. In the vacations, and after graduating from university, he worked as an actor in

repertory theatre A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

s. In 1954, at

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

, Somerset, where he was leading man, he was encouraged to direct by

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 '' ...

Career as a theatre director

In 1954, Roose-Evans was appointed Artistic Director of the

Maddermarket Theatre The Maddermarket Theatre is a British theatre located in St. John's Alley in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It was founded in 1921 by Nugent Monck. Early history and conversion The theatre was originally built as a Roman Catholic chapel in 179 ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

. Here, in the 1954–55 season he directed nine plays including Shakespeare's ''Macbeth'' (in which he also played the lead), and Garcia Lorca's ''Dona Rosita'', for which he visited Granada and met the eponymous heroine. Having met

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She ...

and seen her

dance company A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a sport, spectacle or entertainment. There are many different types of dance companies, often working in different styles of dan ...

on its first visit to England, Roose-Evans determined to go to America to learn more about modern dance. He was appointed to the Faculty of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

of Music in New York City where he was given a studio, a group of dancers, musicians and a composer, and invited to experiment with integrating music, dance and drama, which he did from 1955–56.

RADA

On his return to the UK, Roose-Evans joined the staff of the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

, directing many productions in the Vanbrugh Theatre, from his own adaptation of Milton's ''Paradise Lost'', to

Henri de Montherlant Henry Marie Joseph Frédéric Expedite Millon de Montherlant (; 20 April 1895 – 21 September 1972) was a French essayist, novelist, and dramatist. He was elected to the Académie française in 1960. Biography Born in Paris, a descendant ...

's ''Port Royal''. His production of

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Und ...

's ''

Under Milk Wood ''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation of ...

'' was revived term after term, with different casts, eventually transferring to the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, with

Philip Madoc Philip Madoc (born Philip Arvon Jones; 5 July 1934 – 5 March 2012) was a Welsh actor. He performed many stage, television, radio and film roles, and was recognised for having a "rich, sonorous voice" and often playing villains and office ...

in the lead role. Among the RADA students Roose-Evans taught were

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Des ...

Sarah Miles Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in films '' The Servant'' (1963), '' Blowup'' (1966), ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1973), '' White Mischief'' (1987) and '' ...

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at Shakespeare's Globe, St Martin's Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. Early life Whiteh ...

, and Michael Williams. He also taught at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama was founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as The Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students. It became a ...

, where he influenced students including

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

and

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

Hampstead Theatre

In 1959 Roose-Evans founded the

Club, at Moreland Hall, in Holly Bush Vale, London. The first season opened with ''Siwan'', a play by the Welsh poet

Saunders Lewis Saunders Lewis (born John Saunders Lewis) (15 October 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Welsh politician, poet, dramatist, Medievalist, and literary critic. He was a prominent Welsh nationalist, supporter of Welsh independence and was a co-found ...

, translated by

Emyr Humphreys Emyr Humphreys (; 15 April 191930 September 2020) was a Welsh novelist, poet, and author. His career spanned from the 1940s until his retirement in 2009. He published in both English and Welsh. Early life and career Humphreys was born on 15 ...

, and with Siân Phillips as the Princess Siwan. A double-bill by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...

, ''The Dumb Waiter'' and ''The Room'', received rave reviews from

Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield Gramm ...

in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', and put the fledgling theatre on the cultural map. Roose-Evans remained at the Hampstead Theatre until 1971, during which time his production of

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

's ''Private Lives'' transferred to the West End, followed by his adaptation and production of

Laurie Lee Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE (26 June 1914 – 13 May 1997) was an English poet, novelist and screenwriter, who was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire. His most notable work is the autobiographical trilo ...

's ''

Cider with Rosie ''Cider with Rosie'' is a 1959 book by Laurie Lee (published in the US as ''Edge of Day: Boyhood in the West of England'', 1960). It is the first book of a trilogy that continues with ''As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning'' (1969) and '' A ...

'' – at one point Hampstead had two productions running simultaneously in the West End. In that time he also founded the short-lived Stage Two, an adjunct to the Hampstead Theatre conceived as a laboratory for

Career from 1971

In the following years, Roose-Evans directed a number of commercial productions (including ''Private Lives'' with

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...

and

Simon Cadell Simon John Cadell (19 July 1950 – 6 March 1996) was an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Jeffrey Fairbrother in the first five series of the BBC situation comedy ''Hi-de-Hi!''. Early life Born in London, he was the son of theat ...

), an experimental production of ''Oedipus'' for the Contemporary Greek Theatre in Athens; as well as his 1973 production of the ''

Chester Mystery Plays The Chester Mystery Plays is a cycle of mystery plays originating in the city of Chester, England and dating back to at least the early part of the 15th century. Origins and history Biblical dramas were being performed across continental Eur ...

'' which he rehearsed over a period of nine months.

''84 Charing Cross Road''

In the summer of 1980, Roose-Evans went to teach a practical course in

Experimental Theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particul ...

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, Michigan. His assistant there, Susan Kruger, gave him a copy of

Helene Hanff Helene Hanff (April 15, 1916April 9, 1997) was an American writer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best known as the author of the book ''84, Charing Cross Road'', which became the basis for a stage play, television play, and film of t ...

's ''

84, Charing Cross Road ''84, Charing Cross Road'' is a 1970 book by Helene Hanff, later made into a stage play, television play, and film, about the twenty-year correspondence between the author and Frank Doel, chief buyer of Marks & Co antiquarian booksellers, loca ...

'', which he then adapted for the stage. He directed the world premiere at the

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council En ...

in the summer of 1981. It transferred to the West End, winning awards for

Rosemary Leach Rosemary Anne Leach (18 December 1935 – 21 October 2017) was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for ''84, Charing Cross Road'' and was nominated for the BAFTA Award fo ...

as Best Actress and for Roose-Evans as Best Director. In 1982 he directed an American cast in the play on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, with

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

and Joe Maher in the leading roles, where it won further awards for Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Play. James subsequently directed tours of ''84'', the first with Miriam Karlin as Helene, and then

Rula Lenska Rula Lenska (born Róża Maria Leopoldyna Łubieńska, 30 September 1947) is a British actress. She mainly appears in British stage and television productions and is known in the United States for a series of television advertisements in the 19 ...

. In February 2015 his new production of ''84 Charing Cross Road'' opened at Salisbury with Janie Dee as Helene and

Clive Francis Clive Francis (born 26 June 1946) is a British stage, television and film actor. Early life Francis was born in Eastbourne, Sussex. He is the son of actors Raymond Francis and his second wife Margaret Towner. His father played Detective Chief ...

as Frank Doel.

Frontier Theatre Productions

Roose-Evans was involved in Frontier Theatre Productions, a new theatre company, which provides a platform for actors aged over 60.

Ritual

Roose-Evans had a special interest in

, and in the development of rituals for particular situations. His book, Passages of the Soul: Ritual Today, describes his work in this area, and the exercises he has evolved.

Meditation and spirituality

In the early 1960s, Roose-Evans presented a series of Epilogues for

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

on the subject of prayer. He also wrote a weekly column on meditation for the ''

Church Times The ''Church Times'' is an independent Anglican weekly newspaper based in London and published in the United Kingdom on Fridays. History The ''Church Times'' was founded on 7 February 1863 by George Josiah Palmer, a printer. It fought for the ...

''. Roose-Evans was brought up an Anglican, but was received into the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

while in Trieste on army service. He later reverted to

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

and in 1981 he was ordained in Hereford Cathedral as a

non-stipendiary priest Self-supporting ministers (SSMs), previously called non-stipendiary ministers or non-stipendiary priests (NSMs), are religious ministers who do not receive a stipend (i.e. payment) for their services and therefore financially support their own mi ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

. Roose-Evans practised meditation for more than fifty years. In his first book on the subject, ''Inner Journey: Outer Journey, Finding a spiritual centre in everyday life'', he wrote, "The little that I know about prayer has been forged in the fire of practice, against a backdrop of uncertainty, stress, and a lack of security, in a restless and hustling profession. I am not an authority on prayer, if indeed such a thing is possible; but it may be an encouragement to others to know that in such a gypsy existence an inner centre can be found and held." His most recent book on meditation is ''Finding Silence: 52 Meditations for Daily Living''. He maintained a blog, entitled The Sound of Silence. In 2020 James was invited to

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposit ...

to receive the Dunstan Award for prayer and the religious life “for his distinctive contribution in exploring over 65 years the relationship between art and life, the creative and spiritual”.

The Bleddfa Centre for the Creative Spirit

The Bleddfa Centre, in Powys, was founded in 1974 by Roose-Evans and his partner Hywel Jones. The Bleddfa Centre hosts seminars, workshops and retreats, and aims to encourage the exploration of the relationship between art and life, and between the creative and the spiritual.

Journalism

Roose-Evans contributed articles and reviews to many journals and publications. He was a regular contributor to the BBC's programme ''

Kaleidescope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...

'', and ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented ...

'', and for two years contributed a weekly column for ''

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

'' magazine, under the heading Something Extra.

Publications

Roose-Evans was the author of twenty-one books, including: ''Directing A Play'', with an introduction by

; ''Experimental Theatre''; ''London Theatre: from the Globe to the National''; ''One Foot on the Stage'' (the biography of the actor Richard Wilson); ''Inner Journey'': ''Outer Journey''; ''Passages of the Soul: Ritual Today''; ''Opening Doors and Windows: A Memoir in Four Acts''; and ''Finding Silence: 52 Meditations for Daily Living''. Roose-Evans also edited the letters of Joyce Grenfell to her mother, ''Darling Ma'', as well as her wartime journals, ''The Time of My Life''. In addition he wrote for Maureen Lipman an entertainment about life of Joyce Grenfell entitled ''Re:Joyce!'' and directed the first performances. It later played two sell-out seasons in the West End. Roose-Evans' papers are lodged at the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

the University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Personal life and death

Roose-Evans had two major relationships in his life: the first was with the actor David March whom he met as a student in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and with whom he lived until 1960. In 1958 he met the actor Hywel Jones, who would be his partner for the next 54 years. Jones died in 2013, and Roose-Evans wrote a memoir of their life together. Roose-Evans died on 26 October 2022, at the age of 94.

Books

Roose-Evans is the author of * ''Directing a Play'' (1968) * ''Experimental Theatre from Stanislavsky to Peter Brook'' (1970) * ''London Theatre: From the Globe to the National'' (1977) * ''Inner Journey: Outer Journey'' (1987) (reprinted 2019 with a new foreword by

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

) * ''The Cook-a-Story Book'' * ''Passages of the Soul: Ritual Today'' (1995) * ''The Inner Stage: Finding a Centre in Prayer and Ritual'' (1995) * ''One Foot on the Stage: The Biography of Richard Wilson'' (1996) * ''Cook-a-Story: The Bleddfa Cook Book'' (2005) * ''Opening Doors and Windows A Memoir In Four Acts'' (2009) * ''Finding Silence 52 meditations for Daily Living'' (2009) *''Blue Remembered Hills: A Radnorshire Journey'' (2017) *''A Life Shared,'' Port Meadow Press,

018 018 may refer to * Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010 * Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden * BMW 018, an experimental turb ...

*''Older: A Thought Diary'' (2019) *''Behold the Word: 52 Visual Meditations'' (2020) (with John Rowlands-Pritchard) and a number of children's books, including * ''The Adventures of Odd and Elsewhere'' (1971) * ''The Secret Of The Seven Bright Shiners'' (1972) * ''Elsewhere and the Gathering of the Clowns'' (1974) * ''Odd and the Great Bear'' (1974) * ''The Return Of The Great Bear'' (1975 May) * ''Odd to the Rescue!'' (1975) * ''The Secret Of Tippity Witchit'' (1975 October) * ''The Lost Treasure of Wales'' (1977) * ''The Christ Mouse'' The Odd and Elsewhere series was illustrated by

Brian Robb Brian Robb (7 May 1913 – 1979) was a painter, illustrator, and cartoonist. He worked for Shell and London Transport, designing posters and advertisements, and as a cartoonist for Punch magazine. During the Second World War, he served as a cam ...

References

External links

James Roose-Evans Papers

.
Official website of James Roose-EvansInterview with Harry Burton, December 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roose-Evans, James Humphrey 1927 births 2022 deaths British non-fiction writers British children's writers British dramatists and playwrights British theatre directors Alumni of St Benet's Hall, Oxford Writers from London English male dramatists and playwrights Male non-fiction writers