Foreword to Ley Kenyon's Artwork
Title
Foreword to Ley Kenyon's Artwork
Description
Kenneth MacKintosh describes the camp theatre and its many productions. He praises Ley Kenyon's drawings. All this was interrupted by the start of the Long March.
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Temporal Coverage
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Language
Type
Format
One printed sheet
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Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
PAnkersonR18010001
Transcription
Forward
BY KENNETH MACINTOSH
THEATRE DIRECTOR AT STALAG LUFT 111
WHEN, on the night of 27th January, 1945, the dress rehearsal of "The Wind and The Rain", was harshly interrupted by the German order to quit the camp, and we were marched from Stalag Luft III on to the frozen roads of a retreating enemy, not a few of us were able, in the chaotic and exciting hours which followed, to reflect with a sense of regret that we were leaving behind us something which had been built up, in the two and a half years of its life, from a flat plot of land held firm by the roots of trees to a flourishing repertory theatre, as complete in its equipment as, and in some respects more efficient than, many provincial theatres at home.
Everyone who lived in the camp will remember the theatre as a place where, in relative comfort, he could see a new 'major production' every twelve days; plays varying from "Macbeth" and "St. Joan" to "Blithe Spirit" and "Arsenic and Old Lace" – and every fourth or fifth production a Musical Comedy, Revue or Music Hall. And in between, band shows, orchestral concerts and a host of minor presentations, not the least of which was the monthly Sunday night production of original or unusual plays, and plays with new actors for the members of Theatre Club.
Some of us, who worked and planned, produced and acted – almost 'lived' – in the theatre, will never forget the pleasure and the frustrations, the gradual development and continual progress of experience and improvisation. And it is, perhaps, to us – who knew every nail in the building's structure – that Ley Kenyon's drawings will appeal most. It would be difficult for someone who was not there to appreciate the gratitude one feels towards Kenyon for having made these illustrative drawings which are so full of significant detail. A patched flat leaning against a wall, an old but remembered prop pushed to a corner, recall countless associations.
None of those whose life was in the theatre will feel that these were wasted years. What counted was not that one 'did' the posters, or the booking of seats, the carpentry, or the stage management; nor that one flattened a thousand tins as raw material for a batten reflector or rehearsed in an ice-bound washroom: but the sense that we served a live theatre with worthwhile aims, which outstripped similar theatres, which not only fulfilled a basic need for relaxation in an otherwise stringent life, but often formed a respect for the Theatre and an interest in it which many of our fellow-prisoners, who had previously been out of touch or just not interested, will have with them all their lives.
Kenneth Macintosh
BY KENNETH MACINTOSH
THEATRE DIRECTOR AT STALAG LUFT 111
WHEN, on the night of 27th January, 1945, the dress rehearsal of "The Wind and The Rain", was harshly interrupted by the German order to quit the camp, and we were marched from Stalag Luft III on to the frozen roads of a retreating enemy, not a few of us were able, in the chaotic and exciting hours which followed, to reflect with a sense of regret that we were leaving behind us something which had been built up, in the two and a half years of its life, from a flat plot of land held firm by the roots of trees to a flourishing repertory theatre, as complete in its equipment as, and in some respects more efficient than, many provincial theatres at home.
Everyone who lived in the camp will remember the theatre as a place where, in relative comfort, he could see a new 'major production' every twelve days; plays varying from "Macbeth" and "St. Joan" to "Blithe Spirit" and "Arsenic and Old Lace" – and every fourth or fifth production a Musical Comedy, Revue or Music Hall. And in between, band shows, orchestral concerts and a host of minor presentations, not the least of which was the monthly Sunday night production of original or unusual plays, and plays with new actors for the members of Theatre Club.
Some of us, who worked and planned, produced and acted – almost 'lived' – in the theatre, will never forget the pleasure and the frustrations, the gradual development and continual progress of experience and improvisation. And it is, perhaps, to us – who knew every nail in the building's structure – that Ley Kenyon's drawings will appeal most. It would be difficult for someone who was not there to appreciate the gratitude one feels towards Kenyon for having made these illustrative drawings which are so full of significant detail. A patched flat leaning against a wall, an old but remembered prop pushed to a corner, recall countless associations.
None of those whose life was in the theatre will feel that these were wasted years. What counted was not that one 'did' the posters, or the booking of seats, the carpentry, or the stage management; nor that one flattened a thousand tins as raw material for a batten reflector or rehearsed in an ice-bound washroom: but the sense that we served a live theatre with worthwhile aims, which outstripped similar theatres, which not only fulfilled a basic need for relaxation in an otherwise stringent life, but often formed a respect for the Theatre and an interest in it which many of our fellow-prisoners, who had previously been out of touch or just not interested, will have with them all their lives.
Kenneth Macintosh
Citation
Kenneth MacKintosh, “Foreword to Ley Kenyon's Artwork,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 18, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/40513.
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