Joan Littlewood

Who was Joan Littlewood?

Joan Maud Littlewood was an English theatre director, best known for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of Modern Theatre".

Littlewood and her company lived and slept in the Theatre Royal while it was restored. Productions of The Alchemist and Richard II, the latter starring Harry H. Corbett in the title role, established the reputation of the company.

She also conceived and developed the Fun Palace in collaboration with architect Cedric Price, an experimental model of a participatory social environment that, although never realized, has become an important influence in the architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries.