Katharine Worth (4 August 192228 January 2015) was a British academic, Professor of Drama at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

Biography

Early life and education

Katherine Joyce Worth (née Lorimer) was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

on 4 August 1922 to George and Elizabeth Lorimer. The family later moved to

Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located on the North Sea coast. The town is a fishing port and formerly a part of a trade route for shipping grain. Newbiggin Colliery operated from 1908 unti ...

and

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, Northumberland, where she grew up. She was successful in obtaining a scholarship to

Bedlington Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census. Bedlington is an ancient market town, with a rich history of industry and innovative residents. Located roughly ...

High School but left to sit the Civil Service entry exam when she was sixteen years-old. She obtained a BA in English through a

correspondence course Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

with the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

whilst employed as a junior civil servant. She went on to Bedford College, University of London where she wrote a dissertation on

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

for her Masters in Research, followed by a doctoral thesis on American playwright and Nobel laureate Eugene O’Neill for her PhD, under the supervision of Una Ellis-Fermor the College's then Hildred Carlile Professor of English.

Career

Worth initially lectured for the University of London department of Extra-Mural Studies and for the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school 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 ...

. In 1964 she was appointed lecturer at Royal Holloway, becoming reader in 1974 and then professor in 1978. Worth set up a joint English and Drama degree at Royal Holloway in 1978, later introducing single honours Drama. On her appointment as the first professor of drama at the University of London she also became the first woman in England to hold this academic title. In her teaching Worth was always committed to combining theory with theatre practice. Worth was a distinguished expert on Modern theatre, especially Irish theatre, and a leading authority on

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...

. Worth published many essays and books – including ''Samuel Beckett’s Theatre: Life-Journeys'' – on Beckett. She also produced several productions of his plays: for example, working with actor Patrick Magee Worth produced Beckett's television play '' Eh Joe'' and his radio plays, '' Words and Music'', '' Embers'' and '' Cascando''. Beckett gave Worth special permission to work with these texts. Beckett also gave Worth permission to adapt his short story ''

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''; the award-winning production of Worth's adaptation – directed by

Tim Pigott-Smith Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was a British film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he won t ...

and performed by Julian Curry at the Demarco Gallery Theatre 2–29 August 1987 - received a Fringe First at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

. It was later staged at the Belfast Festival (23-8 November 1987), the Donmar Warehouse in London (18 January - 6 February 1988, the Lehman College Center for the Performing Arts of the City University of New York (April 1988), the Princess Grace Theatre, Monaco (18 May 1991), and the 1991 Beckett Festival, Dublin.see also Worth also produced a double bill of

Wilde Wilde is a surname. Notable people with the name include: In arts and entertainment In film, television, and theatre * Andrew Wilde (actor), English actor * Barbie Wilde (born 1960), Canadian actress * Brian Wilde (1927–2008), British actor * ...

's ''

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

'' and Yeats's ''Full Moon in March''.

Retirement

Following her retirement, Worth spent a decade (1987–97) as co-editor of the Society for Theatre Research's ''Theatre Notebook'', a journal of the history and technique of the British theatre; she also served as a visiting professor at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

for most of this period. In addition she held a

Leverhulme The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to cover ...

Professorial Fellowship (1987–89) and served on the advisory boards of the journals ''Yeats Annual'' and ''Modern Drama'' as well as those of many others. In 2013 several rehearsal rooms and a new theatre named after

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.

were added to Sutherland House, the Regency villa that houses Royal Holloway's drama department. The new complex was named 'The Katharine Worth Building' in Worth's honour. On 8 May 2015, Worth's life was one of those celebrated on BBC Radio 4's obituary programme '' Last Word''.

Personal life

In 1947 she married George Worth, with whom she had a daughter, Libby, and two sons, Christopher and Charles. She died on 28 January 2015 of a viral infection and is survived by her children, George having predeceased her.

Publications

* * * * * * * *

References

Selected bibliography

*''Revolutions in Modern English Drama'', 1973 *(ed.) ''Beckett the Shape Changer'', 1975 *''The Irish Drama of Europe: from Yeats to Beckett'', 1978 *''Oscar Wilde'', 1983 *''Maeterlinck’s Plays in Performance'', 1985 *''Waiting for Godot and Happy Days: text and performance'', 1990 *''Sheridan and Goldsmith'', 1992 *''Samuel Beckett’s Theatre: life journeys'', 1999 *(ed.) ''Where There is Nothing'' by W.B Yeats and ''The Unicorn from the Stars'' by Yeats and Lady Gregory, 1987. {{DEFAULTSORT:Worth, Katharine Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Alumni of Bedford College, London Academics of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama 1922 births British drama teachers 2015 deaths People from Newbiggin-by-the-Sea