Life at The Little Theatre column: "More able to survive this pandemic with wit and courage"

Little Theatre, Southport

By Jennifer Corcoran and Andrew Sloman

The clocks have moved forward and so to have our plans to open our doors once more. If all goes well, we should be able to perform again this Summer, and encourage you to follow us online to be first to learn the news.

Last Saturday, March 27, World Theatre Day was celebrated near and far.

The annual event is moveable as it takes place on the same day each year; the observance was initiated in June 1961 by the International Theatre Institute at their world conference.  The first official day was therefore recognised on March 27 1962.

One of the features of the day is a World Theatre Day International Message.  The first was written by Frenchman Jean Cocteau. Cocteau had many strings to his bow as a poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film maker, visual artist and critic.

His full message can be found at the International Theatre Institute web page. In it he observed that the playwright must cast a ‘collective hypnotism’ and the audience, this ‘block of spectators’, become one – ‘an almost childlike soul’.

He celebrated the shared communication and feeling and remarked:

“World Theatre Day marks the occasion when the astonishing marriage of the singular and the plural, the objective and the subjective, the conscious and the unconscious will show the world the extraordinary creatures it has produced.

“Many of the discords in the world result from the estrangement of minds by the barrier of language: it is these discords and this barrier, which the huge and intricate mechanism of the theatre has set itself to overcome. Nations, thanks to these World Theatre Days, will at last become aware of each other’s treasures, and will work together in the high enterprise of peace.”

This year, the occasion was mixed as many theatres have been closed for over a year and Cocteau captures perfectly why this feels such a loss to actors and audiences alike.

Many of our members marked the occasion by sharing photographs and memories from various productions they have performed in.

This year’s message was courtesy of English actor, Helen Mirren.

She praised the imagination of performers, technicians and craftsmen as well as noting that the ever present insecurity of the trade has made them ‘more able to survive this pandemic with wit and courage.’

Let us dream of being open and being able to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of World Theatre Day with you next March.

To share your memories, keep up to date with news and plans for the Little Theatre in Southport, Merseyside and find out the latest information on when we may be able to open click here or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also see some special lockdown performances and a virtual theatre tour on our new YouTube Channel – search for Southport Little Theatre.