A Round Town: Credits


Dedication

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A Round Town is dedicated to Prof. Dr. Albert-Reiner Glaap OBE. HIs passion for and enthusiasm for the works of Alan Ayckbourn, theatre in the round and his frequent visits to Scarborough from Germany were an inspiration to me.

Albert's passion for sharing his knowledge of theatre and to be open to new ideas and insights made him a mentor to be valued. It was a huge honour to be asked to provide contributions to several of his works on Alan Ayckbourn and I value the time I spent with him and wish I'd only had more.

This website is dedicated to a man who loved to visit Scarborough and appreciated how much Alan Ayckbourn and theatre in the round contributed to Scarborough. I miss you, Albert.

In memory of Albert-Reiner Glaap, 1 September 1929 to 24 April 2023
Simon Murgatroyd, 9 June 2023

Further information about Prof. Dr. Albert-Reiner Glaap can be found here.

A Personal Note

In 1987, at the age of 16, my father introduced me theatre in the round in Scarborough. That year I saw the world premieres of Alan Ayckbourn's Henceforward… and Stephen Mallatratt's adaption of The Woman in Black alongside Willy Russell's Educating Rita at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round. It was an extraordinary introduction to theatre in the round and it set the course for the majority of my professional life, which has largely focused on theatre in the round and Scarborough, starting as a journalist for the Scarborough Evening News through to my current job as Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist since 2005.

I feel incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to work for Sir Alan and I am very fortunate to hold a job and position working for Sir Alan that I could once only dream of. Between 1999 and 2022, I was also fortunate enough to work for the theatre company which inspired me, not least between 2003 and 2022 when I maintained The Bob Watson Archive at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. That time and work formed part of the inspiration to create this website to celebrate the theatre and the people behind it who have had such an extraordinary impact on my life, even those whom I have only encountered through words in the archive.

I am grateful for the opportunity being the theatre's archivist gave me and for the part it has played in the creation of this site and to Scarborough Theatre Trust for historically giving me access to material for both this and Alan Ayckbourn's Official Website.

Theatre in the Round, Stephen Joseph and Alan Ayckbourn have been an inspiration to me. I hope in some small way, that passion and inspiration can be found throughout this website and will inspire others to look at the significance of theatre in the round to the town of Scarborough.

Simon Murgatroyd
Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist
9 June 2023

Credits

This website would not have been possible without the help, support and contributions from the following. Thank you to all.
◦ Sir Alan and Lady Ayckbourn (alanayckbourn.net)
◦ The Borthwick Institute for Archives (bartpics.co.uk)
◦ Dr Paul Elsam
◦ Jaye & Duncan Lewis (eaglei.uk.com)
◦ Scarborough Theatre Trust Ltd
◦ Scarborough Museums & Galleries (scarboroughmuseumsandgalleries.org.uk)
◦ Jeannie Swales (turnstonemedia.co.uk)

Photographers

This website utilises the images of a number of photographers from 1955 to the present day. Whilst copyright for many of the oldest images is obscure (see here), images from the following photographers and organisations have been used on the website. Where copyright is known, it is included and I hope all visitors to the site will respect the rights of the individuals and organisations.
◦ Tony Bartholomew (bartpics.co.uk)
◦ Ken Boden
◦ James Drawneek (LinkedIn.com)
◦ Haydonning Ltd
◦ Alec Russell
◦ Scarborough Theatre Trust Ltd
◦ Simon Murgatroyd (simon-murgatroyd.com)

Advice & Information

Over the decades I have been fortunate to have met many people involved with theatre in the round and familiar with the history of Scarborough, who have supplied stories, advice or information. It would be impossible to name all of them, but my thanks goes to all especially those highlighted below.
◦ Sir Alan & Lady Ayckbourn
◦ Dr Paul Elsam
◦ Adrian Gatie
◦ Jim Middleton
◦ Austen Sleightholme
◦ Jeannie Swales

And finally…

to my wife, Mo Murgatroyd. A constant inspiration and supporter of my work even after having to listen to each of my talks on theatre in the round half-a-dozen times.

Simon Murgatroyd
9 June 2023