Keith Johnstone REUnion At the royal court

Jon Oram (standing second from left) Keith Johnstone (seated centre) Roddy Maude Roxby (seated far right)

Theresa Dudeck, writer of ‘Keith Johnstone a critical biography’  is currently producing a documentary film about Keith Johnstone.  She organized an on-stage interview with him and some original members of Theatre Machine. The Royal Court Theatre served as Keith’s early theatrical home. He was appointed Literary Manager of the Court, where he was responsible for reading and selecting scripts, when Bill Gaskill invited him to run the writer’s workshop 50 years ago. The philosophy was to prioritize action over words; for instance, when Edward Bond suggested that a chair could be a character on stage, the writers demonstrated it instead of just discussing it. Notable writers in the group included John Arden, David Cregan, Edward Bond, and Ann Jellicoe The writer's group significantly influenced Ann, leading directly to her writing The Knack. Keith's work with this group inspired the idea of improvised performances with actors and led to the formation of Theatre Machine. They discovered many foundational principles of improvisation, such as “yes… and...”, which remain central to impro. Keith recalled, “We laughed so much in the writers' group that I wanted to perform improvisation for audiences to ensure it wasn't just us who found it amusing. The audiences laughed even more, and louder.” When Keith left England for Canada in the mid-1970s, Theatre Machine continued to perform and develop their unique style. . Roddy Maude Roxby  influence, especially his love of masks, played a significant role in shaping their approach. Keith’s work and his book Impro have had a worldwide impact on theatre performance. Improvisation, once absent from drama schools, is now an essential part of actor training.
It was wonderful to spend a little time with Keith again. We discussed teaching, reminiscing about how, as director of Colway Theatre in 1985, I brought him over from Canada to conduct a course at Monkton Wilde for a select group of twenty actors, directors, and writers. In the evenings, we would review the day's workshops at my nearby cottage or at Colway, Ann’s house in Lyme Regis.  Among those on the course was Phelim McDermott, who later founded Improbable Theatre  with Lee Simpson, both of whom attended the reunion. Keith introduced ‘The Life Game’ for the first time during this course. Twenty years later, Phelim and Lee developed it into a touring theatre show that achieved global success. Improbable Theatre frequently revisits it.
Coincidentally, Lee remembered me when I was a drama advisor in Norfolk when he was still in school. I had introduced impro to his drama teacher through class workshops, and Lee recalled being encouraged by his teacher to audition for me. It was surprising to realize I had been a formative influence on both Lee and Phelim’s paths in impro. Another poignant coincidence was the reunion taking place  in the week Ann Jellicoe died, she should have been here.  Keith, was deeply affected, they have been close friends for sixty years, He wouldn’t be able to attend her funeral due to his flight back to Canada and his mobility challenges. As I was due to be the celebrant, I asked if he wanted to me to share any words about her. He responded, “Yes, Ann always wanted to be truthful, and she always was. Tell them that…”
Keith exhibited a sense of melancholy as he pondered his vulnerabilities and voiced his dissatisfaction with the current state of improvisation. He had ceased attending performances and contemplated abandoning his role as an educator. Nonetheless, he felt an obligation to persist in his pursuit of excellence. Keith's primary concern centered around the misapplication of the games and exercises he devised at the Royal Court. Initially intended for fostering deeper comprehension and connection, these activities had been trivialized into mere entertainment. The competitive element of Theatre Sports, which was originally meant to be superficial and mocked, had become a serious matter, with undue emphasis on winning and losing. Performers frequently aimed solely for humor, often pushing themselves excessively and resulting in uninspired and monotonous presentations. Hearing Keith express such disillusionment regarding his life's work, feeling it had been misconstrued, was painfully disheartening. His influence has transformed my life and the lives of people who have gone on to to remakable things.  However I had grown tired myself of the prelifertion of comic impro, the fomat game oriented  improv shows, the mania and madness hve certin despertion about them. I should read Impro again and refresh my own interpretation of the purposes behind the games and exercises.