2008-2009 Lecture Programme

Six or more evening meetings are held monthly in London during the winter for members, their guests, and the general public, at which lectures (given by invited speakers) are followed by discussion and refreshments. A special Annual address is given, usually in May, following the Society's Annual General Meeting. This series of lectures is funded by the proceeds of a substantial bequest made to the Society for that purpose by the late Margaret Collins.

Reports of lectures can be found in the lecture-report archive.

To be presented by Jonathan Croall
In this talk biographer Jonathan Croall describes his seven-year quest to find the remarkable woman behind this great actress. Read more...

In the chair: Sir Donald Sinden (tbc).

Wolf Mankowitz (1924-1998):
Playwright and Producer in Post-War London
Thursday, 13th November 2008, at 7.30 pm

To be presented by ANTHONY DUNN
This lecture proposes a reconsideration of Mankowitz's work to mark the tenth anniversary of his death. The principal focus will be on his achievements as playwright and producer in the 1950s and early 1960s, with particular reference to The Bespoke Overcoat (1953), Belle (1961) and Passion Flower Hotel (1965). Read more...

The Maggie Collins Lecture:

To be presented by Professors RICHARD HAND and MICHAEL WILSON.
Between 1920 and 1922 the theatre producer José Levy enlisted the help of Sybil Thorndike, Lewis Casson, Russell Thorndike and others to stage a season of Grand Guignol plays at the Little Theatre in John Street. Read More...

To be presented by MICHAEL GORON
This lecture will examine the working lives of the 'refined girls' employed in what was popularly called "The D'Oyly Carte Boarding School". Read more...

To be presented by JEFFREY RICHARDS
Professor Jeffrey Richards of the University of Lancaster will talk about the nineteenth century art critic and social reformer's involvement with theatre and his passion for the panto. Read more...

To be presented by DAVID ROBINSON
David Robinson, the world's leading authority on Chaplin, will talk about the actor and director's early stage career and his later involvement in the theatre. Read more...

'Better Red Than............': Forty Years of Red Ladder Theatre, 1968-2008
Wednesday, 22nd April 2009, at 7.30 pm

Presented by Bill McDonnell
Bill McDonnell has worked in the theatre as a performer, writer and facilitator, both in Britain and in Northern Ireland during the 'Troubles'. Read more...

To be presented by IAN HERBERT
The Chairman writes: "I still keep the old school exercise book in which I set out to report on a year's plays and films before taking up my place at Cambridge. Read more...