<Archive obituary> Sir Peter Daubeny, CBE (1921-75)
Michael Rhodes
<The Times, August 7, 1975>
SIR PETER DAUBENY
A major theatre influence
Sir Peter Daubeny, CBE, the founder, and for a decade, the Artistic
Director of the World Theatre Season at the Aldwych, died yesterday at
the age of 54.
It would be difficult to exaggerate either Peter Daubeny's fortitude
or the extent of his influence on the English theatre. After being
wounded at Salerno in 1943 and losing his left arm, he did not enjoy
good health and was often in considerable pain but bravely continued
an abnormally active life. During the last twelve years of his life he
spent the bulk of his time working in his World Theatre Season,
travelling tirelessly all over the globe, like a theatrical Marco
Polo, exploring the international scene as no impresario ever had
before.
But it was long before 1964 that he began to change the face of our
insular theatre by importing foreign companies. There are few turning
points in our post-war theatrical history as important as the 1956
visit of Brecht's Berliner Ensemble, which shifted playwrights,
directors, designers and even casting directors to thinking more in
socio-economic terms. Kenneth Tynan had already written copiously
about Brecht and Joan Littlewood had absorbed some of his ideas, but
it was Daubeny who actually brought over three of his productions.
Born in Wiesbaden on April 16, 1921, into a military family with no
theatrical connexions, Peter Daubeny spent a year training as an actor
at Michel St Denis's London Theatre Studio, and in the summer of 1939
he was taken on as a student at the Liverpool Repertory Theatre, but
his acting career was cut short by the war. As a lieutenant in the
Coldstream Guards he fought with the Eighth Army in North Africa until
he lost his arm.
He had already decided on a career in theatrical management before
being invalided back to Britain. With some help from Ivor Novello he
succeeded in mounting the first play to be produced in London after VE
Day – "The Gay Pavilion" by William Lipscombe. It came off after
barely a month's run, but, having met S.N. Behrman socially, Daubeny
was able to bounce back into the same theatre, the Piccadilly, two
months later with "Jacobowsky and the Colonel", Brecht's adaptation of
a play by Werfel, directed by Michael Redgrave, who also played the
Colonel. Within the next four years, though still in his twenties,
Daubeny was able to put on plays by Lonsdale ("Bur for the Grace of
God", with A.E. Matthews), Somerset Maugham ("Our Betters"), Ivor
Novello ("We Proudly Present"), Noel Coward (a revival of "Fallen
Angels" with Hermione Gingold and Hermione Baddeley) and a successful
thriller, "The Late Edwina Black."
His international involvements began mainly with ballet companies.
Between June, 1951, and March, 1952, he presented six foreign
companies at The Cambridge, including the Ballets des Champs-Elysees
with Jean Babilee, Zizi Jeanmaire and Roland Petit, Katherine Dunham's
company and a company from India. In 1953 he brought over Sacha Guitry
and the American National Ballet Company. Then in 1954 he organized
Martha Graham's first visit to London.
Before his first World Theatre Season was launched with the
sponsorship of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1964 as a contribution
to the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth,
he had been responsible for bringing a great many important companies
to England. They included the Mozart Opera Company from Salzburg, les
Ballets Africains, Jean Vilar's Theatre National Populaire, the Red
Army Choir, the Compagnie Madeleine Renaud-Jean Louis Barrault (in a
programme of four plays, one of which was Claudel's "Christophe
Colombe" which gave London audiences one of their earliest experiences
of "total theatre"), Edwige Feuillere's company, the Chinese Classical
Theatre from Formosa, the New York Negro Ballet, the Moscow Art
Theatre, the Comedie Francais, the Swedish Company from Malmo in
Ingmar Bergman's production of Goethe's "Urfaust", Jerome Robbins's
Ballets USA, Marie Bell's company in a Racine season and the
Off-Broadway company in Jack Gelber's "The Connection."
It has been said that the World Theatre Season became one of the
strongest justifications for London's claim to be the world's
theatrical capital: this is true, but we must not forget how much
Daubeny had already done towards establishing the claim.
There is no need to list the companies or the productions which have
been seen in the 11 seasons he organized, but what is not often
realised is how often they provided cues for English productions.
Jacques Charon's direction of the Comedie Francais in Feydeau's "A
Flea in Her Ear" at the National, and Zuckmayer's "The Captain from
Kopenick" might never have been done there if the Schiller Theatre
from Berlin had not brought it to the previous year's World Theatre
Season.
Nor can it be fortuitous that the Royal Shakespeare Company's decision
to revive Dion Boucicault's "London Assurance" was taken just after
the Abbey Theatre from Dublin had brought his play "The Shaughraun" to
the 1968 World Theatre Season. And it was after Japanese Noh Theatre
had featured in the 1967 season that Peter Brook introduced Noh
techniques into his work on "The Tempest".
When ill-health prevented Peter Daubeny from organizing a World
Theatre Season in 1974, it became obvious that no one could step
forward to replace him. Who else would have the flair, the energy, the
devotion and the time to travel round the world shopping for
productions? It was good news that the doctors allowed him to to
produce another season this year, and although it turned out to be
below the standard he had set himself, it should not be allowed to
obscure the importance of his earlier achievements.
Made CBE in 1967 and knighted in 1973, he was also showered with
international honours, the Gold Cross of the Royal Order of King
George I of Greece (1965), Cavaliere of the Order of Merit of the
Italian Republic (1966), Gold Medal of Czechoslovakia (1967), Order of
the Merit of the German Federal Republic (1971), Legion of Honour
(1971), and Polonia Restituta (1974). Italy conferred on him the rank
of Commendatore of its Order of Merit only a few days ago.
Sir Peter Daubeny published two books, "Stage by Stage" (1952) and "My
World of Theatre" (1971). He married in 1948 and is survived by Lady
Daubeny, a son Nicholas, and a daughter, Caroline.
END