|
Links
Articles
News
Reviews
Amateur
Theatre
Contact
Other
Resources
|
The Worst It Can Be Is a Disaster
By Braham Murray
Methuen Drama
RRP: £16.99 (pb)
Dateline: 21st September, 2007
Braham Murray is joint artistic director of the Royal Exchange Theatre
in Manchester and the only surviving artistic director from the company's
creation in 1976 in the St Ann's Square former cotton exchange building.
The Worst It Can Be Is A Disaster is Murray's autobiography,
titled after a comment made to him by Richard Negri, designer of the
theatre space at the Exchange, to cheer him up during an all-night lighting
session.
While still a student at Oxford, Murray directed for the two main university
theatre societies and became president of the Experimental Theatre Club,
taking one of his productions to the West End and then Broadway instead
of taking his finals. He became artistic director of Century Theatre
at the age of twenty-two, which presented plays in its infamous touring
"blue box" theatre (which eventually settled in Keswick before
being replaced by the current Theatre by the Lake), and at the University
Theatre in Manchester (now the Contact Theatre). He stayed on at the
University Theatre and recruited his theatrical heroes Michael Elliott
and Casper Wrede to form the 69 Theatre Company, which became the Royal
Exchange Theatre Company when it moved into its current home.
The picture that Murray paints of himself shows a man obsessed with
creating theatre, often to the cost of his private life and his family.
At one time, it was not uncommon for him to be directing productions
in Manchester, London and New York during the same season as well as
trying to run a theatre company. Outside the theatre, his private life,
two marriages, several affairs and two sons are mentioned but not talked
about in anything like as much depth as his major productions. In fact
he comes across as someone who is uncomfortable and rather naïve
about aspects of life outside the rehearsal room, but perhaps he is
simply uncomfortable writing about them. He does come across as a shrewd
businessman in his dealings with funders, architects, public bodies
and others to keep a company functioning, something that was particularly
obvious when he kept the Royal Exchange going even after the theatre
itself had been shut down by an IRA bomb.
Murray makes us feel his embarrassment at the often-misplaced over-confidence
of his younger self (which of us doesn't feel that if we are honest?)
and his amazement at the projects he was asked to do and the people
who wanted to work with him, particularly in the early days. However
there is also an element of 'setting the record straight' over some
public fallings-out with colleagues, directors, actors and board members
and accuses one local critic of having a vendetta against the company.
He seems to stare up at you from within the pages of the book with the
wide-eyed innocence of a school child being told off as if to say, "it
wasn't really my fault", so you want to believe him but can't help
wondering whether there's another side to the story.
The 310-page book is divided into no less than 84 chapters arranged
more-or-less chronologically, which makes it an easy book to dip into.
It would perhaps have been nice to have had a few photographs, especially
at this price, but Murray has an engaging style and has written an an
entertaining book that will certainly be of interest to anyone who wants
to know more about the recent history of theatre in the north west.
David Chadderton
Articles from 2007
Articles from 2006
Articles from 2005
Articles from 2004
Articles from 2003
Articles from 2002
Articles from 2001
Articles from 2000
Articles from 1999
Articles from 1998
Articles from 1997
|
