Geoffrey Arundel Whitworth

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

( 7 April 1883 - 9 September 1951)

J. C. Trewin John Courtenay Trewin (4 December 1908 – 16 February 1990) was a British journalist, writer and drama critic. Trewin was born in Plymouth, Devon, although both his parents were Cornish. He was educated at Plymouth College and in 1926 jo ...

"Whitworth, Geoffrey Arundel (1883–1951)"
rev. Mark Pottle, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2008. Accessed 24 December 2015. was an English lecturer and author who sought to promote amateur and professional theatre through the formation of the

British Drama League The All-England Theatre Festival ("AETF") organises the only countrywide eliminating contest for one-act plays in performance throughout England. It provides an opportunity for Amateurs to compete against like-minded groups and to benefit from ...

, acting as its director for many years. Whitworth was instrumental in the founding of the National Theatre, and served the committee lobbying for this as its secretary. Though not an actor, he was praised by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

as one of the most important figures in the history of British theatre. The library he assembled is a large and important collection, now held at the Theatre Museum at Covent Garden. From 1919 until 1948, Whitworth edited the League's magazine, ''Drama''. He was the drama critic of ''

John O'London's Weekly ''John O'London's Weekly'' was a weekly literary magazine that was published by George Newnes Ltd of London between 1919 and 1954. In 1960 it was briefly brought back into circulation (writer Peter Green's biography lists him as having been fil ...

'' (1922) and the ''

Christian Science Monitor Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

'' (1923). In 1924–5, he organized the theatre section of the

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhib ...

at Wembley. Whitworth was a fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...

and an author. His works include a translation of ''The Legend of Tyl Ulenspiegel'' (1918) and a novel, ''The Bells of Paradise'' (1918). He wrote two notable plays, ''Father Noah'' (1918) and ''Haunted Houses'' (1934) as well as works on the theatre, ''The Theatre of my Heart'' (1930; revised 1938), ''The Making of a National Theatre'' (1951) and ''The Civic Theatre Scheme'' (1942). Whitworth's wife, Phyllis Whitworth, also worked on behalf of the League. Between 1924 and 1931, she also directed and managed the

Three Hundred Club 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 n ...

for staging plays likely at first to have a limited audience. She died in 1964.

References

External links

*J. C. Trewin
"Whitworth, Geoffrey Arundel (1883–1951)"
rev. Mark Pottle, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 2008. Accessed 24 December 2015. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitworth, Geoffrey 1883 births 1951 deaths Drama teachers English theatre directors Theatre in the United Kingdom British writers