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Poke was on the finance subcommittee and helped managed the company's accounts. He also contributed his opinions about the theatre's artistic direction. The ESC’s
Artistic Director from 1956–65, was Devine. Poke disagreed with him several times over the artistic control of the theatre and the choice
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would protest against the action and might threaten to stop funding the company. Poke was correct: the Arts
Council stated its objections and newspaper drama critics boycotted Royal Court performances. Backtracking, the directors admitted that they should have taken Poke’s advice and reinstated the
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In March 1966 when the hearing resumed Poke, Gaskill and
Esdaile pleaded not guilty. The court ruled that the performance violated the Theatres Act as the RCT was open several nights a week as a public theatre and was not just a private club. The ESC was fined £50 which was a token amount for a
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and Edward
Blacksell. Duncan and Poke had met at Cambridge. In 1954 Duncan invited Poke to become a member of a group known as the 'English Stage Society'. The society's aims were to sponsor lectures and play-readings and particularly to support the founding of a permanent repertory company.
120:. Blond was an influential industrialist and a skilled financial advisor. In 1954 Poke and Duncan outlined the ESC's vision to Blond, who agreed that he would support them when the company had acquired a theatre. Poke carried out negotiations to purchase Alfred Esdaile's rundown
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In 1970 Poke refused the offer of the
Chairmanship of the ESC, but accepted when offered the position in 1973. He served as the chairman until 1978. Remaining on the council until the 1990s, Poke was president until his death in 2000.
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of production. Poke's taste was, on the whole, for traditional
English drama. Hence he voiced his concerns about the left-wing politics evident in many plays staged by the ESC and what he thought was their pessimistic tone.
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took over the magazine in 1950, but
Greville Poke stayed on as editor. In 1953 he resigned and went on to sell advertising space for the Taw and Torridge Festival of the Arts in Devon that year. This was managed by
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a licence unless two scenes were cut, including one in which a baby is stoned to death on stage. The
Director of Public Prosecutions made eighteen summonses against the ESC prompted by the Chamberlain.
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of 1843. Poke, the secretary, William
Gaskill, the director and Esdaile, the licensee, were summoned to a hearing at Marlborough Magistrates Court to represent the ESC. The Lord Chamberlain had denied
200:. As an ex-journalist, he was reluctant to curtail the freedom of the press and was the only person within the ESC to oppose the decision to exclude Spurling. He warned the ESC that the
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Poke was among the founding members of the ESC and took the role of
Honorary Secretary from 1954 to 1973. One of Poke's first actions was to assist in gaining the support of
103:. The ESC became a registered corporate body on 16 October 1954. It altered its name from 'Society' to 'Company' to differentiate itself from existing organisations.
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In 1969 the ESC became involved in a controversy involving critics in the press, and Poke advised the Company on how to handle the situation. The directors regarded
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174:. To avoid prosecution, Poke proposed that the company stage the play as a dress rehearsal without a ticket charge. This idea was successful. Soon the
43:(1931–1934), where he took a third-class degree. As a young man he was keen on acting in, and directing, amateur productions and going to the theatre.
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Duncan wanted to establish a theatre company devoted to the staging of non-commercial plays. This led to the foundation of the
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staged in December 1965. The company had claimed that it was being run as a private club, and was therefore exempt from the
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23:. He served as the Honorary Secretary of the English Stage Company from 1954 to 1973 and chairman from 1973 to 1978.
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in 1947. His wife was an actress and the couple had two sons, Christopher Frederick Lawrence Poke and the musician
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Greville Poke's parents were Frederick Robert Poke and Ethel Esther Mulcaster. He was born on 19 August 1912 in
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The family operated a newspaper distribution business. Poke joined the business before becoming the editor of
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As well as the ESC, Poke was involved with several other theatrical organisations. He was chairman of the
128:(RCT) from Esdaile. Nevertheless Blond joined the group and was its first ESC chairman from 1954 to 1970.
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magazine owner. Poke was educated at Harrow School. He studied History, Archaeology and Anthropology at
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451:"V&A Theatre and Performance Collections, English Stage Company/Royal Court Theatre Archive"
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The Historical Register of the University of Cambridge, Supplement, 1931–1940
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The Making of Theatrical Reputations: Studies from the Modern London Theatre
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followed, which abolished the censorship of plays by the Lord Chamberlain.
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In early 1966 the ESC was prosecuted for their production of Edward Bond's
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In 1967 Lord Chamberlain banned the ESC's performance of Bond's play
339:"Look and Learn A History of the Classic Children's Magazine"
95:(ESC) with assistance from the organisers of the festival,
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298:. Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. 1942.
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company’s policy of inviting the press to productions.
313:"Deceased Estates, The Gazette Official Public Record"
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Banned! A review of theatrical censorship in Britain
167:in 1968. This liberated theatres from censorship.
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565:Archival Material at Leeds University Library
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388:The Royal Court Theatre and the Modern Stage
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271:"Oxford Dictionary of National Biography"
238:and the Richard Haines Charitable Trust.
476:"English Stage Company, Companies House"
392:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
224:London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
507:. MacGibbon and Kee. pp. 171–172.
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439:. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
41:Jesus College, University of Cambridge
594:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
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107:Career at the English Stage Company
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163:contributed to the repeal of the
589:People educated at Harrow School
159:technical offence. The case of
47:Personal life and early career
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236:Royal Theatrical Support Fund
190:, a drama critic working for
599:British arts administrators
503:Findlater, Richard (1967).
404:"The English Stage Society"
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435:Zarhy-Levo, Yael (2008).
413:. Oxford University Press
348:. Look and Learn Magazine
21:the English Stage Company
533:"Greville Poke obituary"
384:Roberts, Philip (1999).
112:Establishing the Company
61:James John Lawrence Poke
561:Greville Poke biography
35:, and his father was a
93:English Stage Company
72:Competitor's Journal
126:Royal Court Theatre
57:City of Westminster
55:(1925–1993) in the
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17:Greville John Poke
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242:References
136:Censorship
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