Роял Шекспировская компания отметила 80-летие трагически погибшей пионерки театра Базз Гудбоди

THE 80th anniversary of the birth of radical theatre maker Buzz Goodbody was celebrated by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Mary Ann “Buzz” Goodbody was the company’s first female director and visionary director of The Other Place. Originally built in 1973, the ‘tin shed’ theatre was home to the RSC’s developmental and new work, housing many landmark productions with RSC alumni such as Judi Dench, Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren. Sadly Buss did not get to see just how loved the theatre would become as she took a fatal overdose of sleeping pills in her London flat and died aged just 28. But her revolutionary legacy has lived on and was marked at the RSC’s 79th annual Summer School, which saw RSC alumni and special guests from across the industry come together for a day of discussions reflecting upon Buzz’s contribution to world theatre-making. Amongst those taking part were author and journalist John Goodbody, brother to Buzz Goodbody, actor Louise Jameson, honorary associate director, Ron Daniels, director and associate artist Elizabeth Freestone and professor Abigail Rokison-Woodall. In celebration of the milestone in the history of the RSC, the company also made public Buzz’s 1973 manifesto for the first time. The Buzz Goodbody Manifesto, which is now available to view via the RSC’s website, was written for the then artistic director Trevor Nunn and outlines Buzz’s vision for a new, permanent theatre called The Studio in Stratford. Inspired by the revolutionary spirit of the alternative theatre movements occurring throughout Britain during the 1970s and fuelled by Buzz’s artistic vision, the manifesto sets out Buzz’s ambitions for an experimental theatre space which ran on small production budgets, served the local community and schools and challenged actors with new ways of working. RSC co-Artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said: “It was a tremendous privilege to welcome colleagues and collaborators from across the sector to celebrate Buzz Goodbody’s extraordinary contribution to the RSC. “Under Buzz’s leadership, The Other Place firmly established itself as a home for radical experimentation which served the local community, attracted non-traditional audiences, and created new opportunities for artists. “During this time, the venue staged some of the company’s most ground-breaking productions including Buzz’s own Hamlet starring Ben Kingsley and possibly the most famous production of Macbeth from the last century, starring Ian McKellen and Judi Dench, directed by Trevor Nunn. Alongside the classics were works by some of the most exciting contemporary playwrights of the day including David Edgar, Edward Bond Pam Gems, Peter Flannery and Christopher Hampton. “Fifty years on, Buzz’s ethos, her audience-centered approach to finding new routes into the classics and her passionate commitment to democratising Shakespeare runs through the company’s DNA and continues to inspire new generations of RSC artists and practitioners.” There remains a memorial to Buzz in the foyer of The Other Place – now housed in the former Courtyard Theatre – which outlines and celebrates her achievements over a life cut tragically short.