My first job at the Crucible was to co-direct Vladimir Mayakovsky’s Mystery Bouffe with Venables
Posted in General on 23. Sep, 2010
My first job at the Crucible was to co-direct Vladimir Mayakovsky’s Mystery Bouffe with Venables. What could have been a nightmare audition on a hiding to nothing was made easy by her generous, unprecious preparedness to share and concede the rehearsal room floor.It makes perfect sense then, that Venables’ major contribution as Director of Education at the RSC from 1999 should have been in the creation of groundbreaking partnerships Spending time with Clare Venables was like being at a party. Venables was always an instinctive collaborator, happiest and most fulfilled when bouncing thoughts around an intimate group of others whom she trusted. In that time she not only championed the cause of regional repertory theatre, she also bred a group of new group of British directors who are now leading players in theatre and film, including Stephen Daldry, Steven Pimlott, Tom Cairns and Martin Duncan.She always kept herself well informed. She had a good ear for distinctive new theatrical voices, but it was more than that.
Venables was not only a theatre educator but an important theatre and opera director as well as a writer, adapter and translator.As Artistic Director of the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield (1981-92), Venables gave me, along with many other young directors at the time, the kind of break that is rare in our industry. Clare Venables was definitely in the nurturing camp, dedicating her life and career to recognising and developing new talent in others Her energy and enthusiasm were infectious. Clare Rosamund Venables, theatre educator and director: born Southend-on-Sea, Essex 17 March 1943; died Warwick 17 October 2003. There are three breeds of theatre director in the world; those who nurture new talent, those who are scared of it, and those who cannot be bothered with it. In his latter years, Jimmy Weedon suffered with Parkinson’s disease, which he tackled with fortitude and in his usual dignified manner.Gerry Pattenden.
He was also a devoted family man who enjoyed walking his dogs and listening to classical music in his leisure. To those who knew him better, he was a private man, kindly and thoughtful, who could exercise a mischievous and teasing sense of humour at times. There is no doubt this was an important legacy to his successor, and clearly Weedon derived much satisfaction in witnessing how Nottingham University has flourished and expanded to become a leading international university over the past 10 years.Basil Charles Leicester Weedon was born in Wimbledon, in south-west London, and educated at Wandsworth School. The young Weedon then worked as a research chemist in the Dyestuffs division of ICI Ltd, at Blackley, Manchester, before returning to Imperial College as a Lecturer in Chemistry in 1947. He was promoted to a Readership in 1955 and appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry at Queen Mary College in 1960.In retirement, Weedon was chairman of the Council of the National Stone Centre in 1988-91 and of the East Midlands Regional Electricity Consumers Committee in 1990-94.Known to his friends as “Jimmy”, Weedon was seen by many as somewhat distant, even shy. He graduated from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, in 1942, when he was just 19 years old, and he completed his PhD in organic chemistry three years later. There was significant uncertainty about the future of the university at this time but, through his conscientious and astute management of resources, Weedon not only ensured that the prime function of teaching and research was being performed, he also made sure that the financial position of the university was very strong.
It came as no surprise to many of his close colleagues therefore that, when he was invited to become the fourth Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham University in 1976, he did not hesitate to accept.Weedon took over the post at Nottingham at a particularly challenging time in the development of the university. Nottingham University had gone through a significant post-war expansion, the country’s first new medical school of the 20th century (Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham) had been completed, and the funding crisis in higher education of 1981 was looming. In 1973 he was appointed CBE.By the mid-1970s, Weedon had become an established and respected scientist and also a resolute committee man with a flair for administration and a burgeoning interest in policy-making. These studies are described among over 200 original scientific papers that Weedon published.