On October 22 1959 an unusual play opened at the Royal Court theatre, London; a theatre never afraid to be different. It had after all presented John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger* three years previously - a play which rocked the establishment, and transformed English drama for ever. The critics adored it, it played to full houses every night, and it made lots of money for everyone concerned.
But this new play left its audiences baffled, its critics dismissive and uncomprehending, and it lost a packet. The play, Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance by a young Yorkshire man John Arden, tells the story of four uniformed soldiers who walk into a strike-bound, northern town. Heavy snow has cut the town off from the world. The villagers wonder if the soldiers are strike-breakers? Or as they are led to believe, recruiters? But the villagers are unaware that there had been an incident recently, where the death of a British soldier, Billy Hicks, from that very village, led to five people being executed as an act of revenge.
Musgrave himself is a strong, brooding man, with a twisted sense of justice. He is further outraged when an encounter with a local barmaid causes the accidental death of one of his own men. There is a meeting in the market place. The villagers think it’s a recruitment meeting, but instead Musgrave takes out a Gatling machine gun, and points it at them, and at the audience. Musgrave tells them about the atrocities that followed Hick’s death, and explains that since this single death caused five on the other side, five times five townsfolk should be killed to settle the account.
The soldiers hoist up the skeleton of Billy Hicks, still dressed in his uniform, and Musgrave dances his macabre dance of vengeance, reciting:
Up he goes, and no-one knows
Who it was that raised him.
He sits on your back and
You’ll never, never lose him.
The play doesn’t quite end in carnage, at least not for the villagers. The snow had thawed sufficiently for a troop of Dragoons to arrive and save the day. One of the soldiers is shot, while Musgrave and the last surviving soldier await to be hanged.
On that first October night the audience was mystified. In the late 1950s public opinion had not soured on military actions as it did later in the 1960s, primarily due to the coverage of the Vietnam War. The 1950s was a period when the world had largely recovered from World War II, and the Cold War had begun its icy grip. Communism was the big scare. The Korean War was generally seen to be justified in the West. There were other bloody conflicts mostly connected with decolonisation in Africa and Asia, and a civil war in Cyprus. Generally, people were pre-occupied with peace.
It was only later, in the light of the Vietnam War that these conflicts were reported unfavourably, producing a context in which audiences could appreciate John’s message. Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance is considered a classic anti war play today; but at the time it was dismissed as a failure. John Osborne made the snide comment: “ Arden became an in-house joke for box-office disaster.” It is estimated that between 1956 and 1961 the Royal Court made about £50,000 from Osborne’s plays, but lost nearly £15,000 on Arden’s.
Birthday tribute
The actor and director Eamonn Draper first saw the play in Cork shortly after he left university. He was, as he says, “totally blown away by it”. The images stayed with him through the years, and through his own brief army career. He came to Galway to direct The Caretaker by Harold Pinter at An Taibhdhearc. That was successful. The management invited him to direct another play of his choice. He had John Arden’s play translated into Irish, and with the late Mick Lally in the title role, directed the play in 1974.**
Last Friday at the Town Hall, Eamonn put together a tribute to John Arden to mark his 80th birthday. It was an opportunity to get brief glimpses of his astonishingly productive work to date, which included plays, novels, film, ballads, and snatches of autobiography from the master himself, this time wheelchair bound.*** We saw his humorous side in a black and white film he made with Margaretta D’Arcy ( his wife of 53 years ), of the people and families at St Bridget’s Place Lower, known locally as ‘Hidden Valley’. They have lived there for more than 20 years. We saw John struggling with the recipe to make soda bread, and following Margaretta along Dyke Road, swigging wine from a litre bottle asking: “Have you a cork for this m’lady?” And not really caring if she had.
It’s been a successful marriage and a creative partnership. An idealisation happily followed by Margaretta.
Left-wing politics
John was born in Barnsley, October 26 1930, into a well-off Conservative family. His father managed a glass making business, while his mother, a schoolteacher, was a liberal, and probably gave her son that rebellious streak that has radicalised his politics and writings. He hoped to change the world by first working in British army intelligence during his compulsory conscription; and then studying architecture. But soon found that writing and protest was his way forward.
There were times when their Left -wing radicalism got the pair of them into trouble. They had first rented a wooden house on an island on Lough Corrib in 1961, and moved there permanently 10 years later. It was a tough life especially on wet days. The sheer impracticality of trying to raise five sons (one of whom sadly died ), on an island forced them back on shore. First to Currandulla before coming permanently to Galway. During this time they wrote The Ballygombeen Bequest about an English tenant being hoodwinked by an absentee English landlord. The play became one of the hits of the Edinburgh Festival in 1972, but a Commander Burges in Sussex took exception to the plot and sued. During the case the Ardens’ lawyer suggested that they get a writer to vouch for their character and reputations, but every one ran for cover “like scalded cats”, says John. Only John Osborne, who initially had been unkind, now immediately stepped forward and agreed to give evidence. His reputation was such that the court was impressed. The case lasted five years. When I saw the play, an actor came out before it began, and tried to make clear that the story had no connection whatsoever with the good Commander. The explanation only added to the drama. The Ardens admit that the whole experience was ‘murderous’. But in the end they were lucky to escape with an apology and costs.
Hearing extracts from John’s other works, it was apparent last Friday that not only was his play Sergeant Musgrave’s Dance years before its time, much of his other writings are startlingly relevant today. They reflect the greed of financiers, the skulduggery of some politicians, and the isolation of the poor. In the 26-hour Non Stop Connolly Show (which he wrote with his wife ), and presented at Liberty Hall, Dublin 1975, there is a moving scene between Padraig Pearse and James Connolly as to what kind of Ireland they hope their revolution will bring about. Because we are so used to see the Ardens about the city I forget that together they have collaborated on three major plays, while John has written seven plays and five works of fiction winning numerous literary awards including the Evening Standard, the John Whitting, the VS Pritchett, the Giles Cooper, and was shortlisted for the Booker 1982 for his Silence Among the Weapons.
Two other things struck me also. What a very good actor John is (he frequently portrayed characters in his plays ); and what a productive and fortunate partnership exists between himself and Margaretta. You might imagine that they have earned a rest, and time to enjoy the comfort of their home and neighbours. But these two people still passionately care about injustice in the world; the bullying of great nations against a weaker one, the struggle of small people against the stronger one, and are prompted to write, plead, protest and stand in the rain on a wet Saturday asking people to support their latest concern.
NOTES: *Look Back in Anger is regarded as a turning point in British theatre, releasing harshness and realism rather than the more escapist fare previously enjoyed. It was hugely successful, transferring from the Royal Court to the West End, Broadway, and Moscow. In 1958 it was made into a film staring Richard Burton.
** It was revived in April 1995 with, again, Eamonn directing a large cast which included Tess Tiarnan, Michael O’Se, Sean Forde, Ultan Macken, Eamonn Shevlin, Brian O Carra, Peadar de Burca, and Roisin Donnellan.
*** Taking part included Emma Campbell, Fred Johnston, Treasa Ní Cheanahan, Brian Ó Donnchada, Tom McLoughlin, Donnacha Ó Faoilain, Brendan Murray, Róisín Duignan, and Sean Forde. Videos were compiled and edited by Finn Arden.
