The Joint Stock Theatre Company was founded in London 1974 by David Hare,

Max Stafford-Clark Maxwell Robert Guthrie Stewart "Max" Stafford-Clark (born 17 March 1941) is a British theatre director. Life and career Stafford-Clark was born in Cambridge, England. the son of David Stafford-Clark, a physician, and Dorothy Crossley (née Old ...

Paul Kember and

David Aukin David Aukin (born 12 February 1942) is a theatrical and executive producer as well as a qualified solicitor. He has been nominated many times for British Academy Television Awards and has won twice for producing films about Tony Blair: ''The Gove ...

. The director

William Gaskill William "Bill" Gaskill (24 June 1930 – 4 February 2016) was a British theatre director who was "instrumental in creating a new sense of realism in the theatre". Described as "a champion of new writing", he was also noted for his productions of B ...

was also part of the company. It was primarily a company which presented new plays. Joint Stock created a style of working with writers using company research to inspire workshops. From these workshops writers such as David Hare,

Howard Brenton Howard John Brenton FRSL (born 13 December 1942) is an English playwright and screenwriter. While little-known in the United States, he is celebrated in his home country and often ranked alongside contemporaries such as Edward Bond, Caryl Chu ...

and

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

would gather material to inspire a writing phase before rehearsals began. This methodology is sometimes referred to as The Joint Stock Method. Significant productions include Hare's ''Fanshen'', Brenton's ''

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'', Stephen Lowe's ''Ragged Trousered Philanthropists'' and Churchill's '' Cloud Nine''. The company ceased to be active in 1989. In 1993

founded the touring company

Out of Joint Out of Joint is a British and international touring theatre company based in London. It specialises in the commissioning and production of new writing, interspersed with occasional revivals and classic productions. It was founded in 1993 by direct ...

which shares some working practices with Joint Stock.

Productions

References

*Ritchie, R. (ed.) (1987), ''The Joint Stock Book: Making of a Theatre Collective'', London: Methuen, *Stafford-Clark, M., and P. Roberts (2007), ''Taking Stock: The Theatre of Max Stafford-Clark'', London:

Nick Hern Books Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988. History Nick Hern Books was founded in June 1988,Sara ...

, {{ISBN, 1-85459-840-6 * Baz Kershaw, "Building an unstable pyramid - the fragmentation of British alternative theatre", in ''New Theatre Quarterly'', Volume XI, no. 36, November 1993; pp. 348-356.

External reference

The Joint Stock Theatre Company on ''The Literary Encyclopedia''Joint Stock Theatre Group Archives
a
Special Collections Dept.
University Library, University of California, Davis Theatre companies in London Arts organizations established in 1947