Theatrical giant prefers smaller venues for latest production

One of the most significant post-war British directors, he has had an enormous hand in shaping British theatre over the past 40 years. When asked about this his response is a simple, “you’re very kind” and he carries on talking about his current project.

More evidence of the lack of ego comes from the touring schedule for his latest project. The director’s latest play, A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson, is on an extensive national tour – but some of the venues are not where you would expect to find the work of such a major British theatre artist. The University of York’s theatre, Leeds Carriageworks and the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond are all fine venues, but they are not what you might consider premier stages.

“I rarely work in theatres that are bigger than 500 seats. Once you move into that sort of size space, then it becomes a very different experience. It becomes some much more ‘theatrical’,” says Stafford-Clark.

“I have directed far more in theatres where there is an intimacy, which I think is important when you want a piece of work to connect and engage properly with an audience. It’s particuarly important in a play like this one, where there are only two performers.”

A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson came from a performance the actor Ian Redford gave in the Stafford-Clark directed production of Laughing Matter at the National Theatre in 2002. The actor played the poet, playwright, essayist and dictionary-compiler Samuel Johnson.

“He was such a wonderful character, so interesting and full of story, that we both thought he would be perfect to build a one man show around,” says Stafford-Clark. “Quite early on we realised we were missing a trick. Dr Johnson was also one of the great conversationalists and raconteurs – it was a waste to not have him have a conversation, so we decided we would introduce someone else on stage.”

This someone else is actor Russell Barr who has the unenviable task of playing a host of characters, including Johnson’s biographer James Boswell and the painter Joshua Reynolds as well as King George III, Bonnie Prince Charlie’s saviour Flora Macdonald, and Mrs Thrale, the society hostess who was Johnson’s unrequited love.

The play is being produced by Out of Joint, the company Stafford-Clark formed in 1993 when he stepped down as artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre. It was in this role and as a co-founder of Joint Stock theatre company with David Hare that Stafford-Clark had such an influence on contemporary British theatre, commissioning writers including Caryl Churchill, Mark Ravenhill, Hanif Kureishi and Bradford’s Andrea Dunbar.

He says: “Andrea was wonderful, her ear for dialogue was extraordinay. She was a special talent. Really, I have been lucky to work with people like her through my career.”

A Dish of Tea with Dr Johnson, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, Feb 28, York University, Mar 2-3. See www.outofjoint.co.uk for other dates.