Steve Holbrook forwarded a letter of appeal which we are happy to distribute…
This version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was Sir Barry Jackson’s favourite production, as is clear from my MPhil/PhD research at Birmingham Central Library. I’m very passionate about this Jazz (or plus-fours) Hamlet of 1925 not least because my dad’s family is from near ‘Brum’.
The production deserves a feature in Birmingham’s 2013 celebrations. The Rep pioneered modern dress in Shakespeare in the 1920s and its influence is evident in the RSC’s ‘The Tempest’ showing right now in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Rep’s 1925 production’s influence on mainland Europe was immense. Theatres grabbed Sir Barry’s projects with gusto.
During my research visits to Birmingham I spoke to several local arts activists who were keen on celebrating Sir Barry Jackson’s founding of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company. I mentioned my research to Professor Stanley Wells, the leading Shakespeare expert in the UK, who was most encouraging and he knew Sir Barry. The professor provided me with at least two possibly fruitful leads.
My immediate predecessor, also researching the Barry Jackson Archive, was Dr Dennis Elkins of the USA who is now a successful director of Shakespeare productions in his home country. Dennis would be a superb choice for Director of the Jazz Hamlet (in Downton Abbey’s ‘20s costumes). He would involve his own theatrical company as well as actors in ‘Brum’ – making it a truly repertory production. The Rep was one of the foremost – perhaps the earliest – proponent of Shakespeare in modern dress. The prince would be a doppelganger for our own Prince William. Check photo above!
My research also put me in contact with Marc Schweissinger of Cardiff University. Marc supported the notion that Sir Barry was a Man of Weimar, his fame carrying over to German theatre. At least two Shakespeare productions were staged in Germany during the 1920s having been directly inspired by the work of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company. A 2013 event remembering Sir Barry would embrace his German links to Weimar and involve Shakespearians from Germany and the USA.
Sir Barry’s achievements were huge in presenting Shakespeare’s plays in modern dress. The Rep did it first!
Come on people of the Midlands, especially those in Brum, stand up for and remember Sir Barry Jackson!
Thanks for printing this appeal.
Steve Holbrook