1 00:00:17,110 --> 00:00:20,079 JAMES GRASBY: Hello and welcome to the National Trust podcast in 2 00:00:20,370 --> 00:00:24,049 this mini episode. We'll be meeting Evelyn Ellis, a key 3 00:00:24,059 --> 00:00:27,840 member of the Shaw Society, a dedicated group of Shaw fans who 4 00:00:27,850 --> 00:00:32,127 celebrate his work through live readings at Shaw's Corner. [ 5 00:00:32,127 --> 00:00:38,229 GENERIC: Sound of theatre performance] Something dreadful 6 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:38,779 has happened. 7 00:00:38,799 --> 00:00:40,810 What's the matter? I've lost your poem! 8 00:00:40,819 --> 00:00:44,950 EVELYN ELLIS: The young actors who have starved of Shaw. Once 9 00:00:44,959 --> 00:00:47,240 they read it, they're absolutely hooked. 10 00:00:47,250 --> 00:00:49,979 GENERIC: You just don't realize quite how prolific he was, how 11 00:00:49,990 --> 00:00:53,525 much work of his there is out there. So, you know, I'm always 12 00:00:53,534 --> 00:00:54,621 finding new ones. [ 13 00:00:54,621 --> 00:00:55,609 Sound of Theatrical Performance] These are my poems! 14 00:00:55,609 --> 00:00:56,974 So I gather... 15 00:00:56,974 --> 00:01:02,196 What a shame, Mrs bumpers shown them to you. You must think me 16 00:01:02,196 --> 00:01:02,283 an utter ass! 17 00:01:02,283 --> 00:01:05,444 EVELYN ELLIS: It's witty, it's clever and he's always putting 18 00:01:05,455 --> 00:01:09,205 across a message is relevant right up to this very minute. 19 00:01:11,089 --> 00:01:14,330 I'm Evelyn Ellis and I'm treasurer of the Shaw Society, 20 00:01:14,339 --> 00:01:17,889 but I'm also general dog's body! I just about do everything! 21 00:01:19,750 --> 00:01:23,269 A lot of the people who go to the Shaw plays at Shaw's Corner, 22 00:01:23,279 --> 00:01:26,769 they go because they love Shaw's Corner, they love Shaw but they 23 00:01:26,779 --> 00:01:29,290 don't really know about the Shaw society. And I think this year 24 00:01:29,300 --> 00:01:33,709 we gained a lot of support and we seem to have come alive since 25 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:34,069 then. 26 00:01:36,069 --> 00:01:38,160 GENERIC: Just, it's an exciting place to be because you're 27 00:01:38,169 --> 00:01:38,920 living it! 28 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,000 It's living history from my understanding, it hasn't changed 29 00:01:43,010 --> 00:01:48,389 at all since he passed. And so to actually be acting in the 30 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:52,169 place that the plays were written, I think that's- that's 31 00:01:52,180 --> 00:01:54,860 fantastic. And something that, that you don't get to do very 32 00:01:54,870 --> 00:01:55,339 often. 33 00:01:58,449 --> 00:02:03,529 EVELYN ELLIS: The Shaw Society was founded in 1941 which was 34 00:02:03,540 --> 00:02:08,889 Shaw's 86th birthday was a gentleman called Dr Fritz 35 00:02:08,899 --> 00:02:13,119 Lowenstein. And it was his idea to start a Shaw Society. It was 36 00:02:13,130 --> 00:02:16,630 put together really just to keep his memory going. 37 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,240 I mean, he was still writing plays in his eighties and in his 38 00:02:19,250 --> 00:02:22,350 nineties and he was a bit suspicious about this idea. He 39 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:24,820 didn't want to be [Sic: idolized] and he didn't- 40 00:02:24,830 --> 00:02:28,119 It didn't strike him as being a great idea, but he sanctioned it 41 00:02:28,130 --> 00:02:31,600 and he wrote us a very funny letter. This is what Shaw said. 42 00:02:33,539 --> 00:02:37,259 The Browning Society was a terror to Browning. Shelley was 43 00:02:37,270 --> 00:02:41,050 dead. Shakespeare was dead. I shall soon be dead. We all 44 00:02:41,059 --> 00:02:44,639 provided a rallying point for the cooperation and education of 45 00:02:44,649 --> 00:02:47,800 kindred spirits and a forum for their irreconcilable 46 00:02:47,809 --> 00:02:48,880 controversies. 47 00:02:49,059 --> 00:02:51,479 So he says, so go ahead. But don't bother me about it. 48 00:02:51,490 --> 00:02:54,759 I'm old, deaf and dotty. In short, a has been. 49 00:02:55,820 --> 00:02:58,970 He knew that anybody who followed him is not going to be 50 00:02:58,979 --> 00:03:02,330 straightforward. Everybody is very individual and there's a 51 00:03:02,339 --> 00:03:05,139 lot of discussion goes on shall we say! 52 00:03:05,139 --> 00:03:09,119 When I first joined, they were very political. It was very much 53 00:03:09,130 --> 00:03:14,740 based on the Fabian society and politics. 54 00:03:14,750 --> 00:03:18,706 And then bit by bit, we got a lot of theatre directors. So 55 00:03:18,706 --> 00:03:21,179 we're working more towards the theatre side. 56 00:03:21,309 --> 00:03:23,520 And now with these young actors, of course, now it's suddenly 57 00:03:23,529 --> 00:03:27,419 becoming performance based. And so that's even more exciting. 58 00:03:27,429 --> 00:03:30,169 It's adaptable, the Shaw Society, I think. And it's 59 00:03:30,179 --> 00:03:34,089 benefiting from new influx of completely new people coming 60 00:03:34,130 --> 00:03:34,883 in. [ 61 00:03:34,883 --> 00:03:36,979 GENERIC: Sound of theatrical performance] I remember the 62 00:03:37,190 --> 00:03:40,440 evening when I sat here at your feet and read you those poems 63 00:03:40,449 --> 00:03:41,169 for the first time. 64 00:03:41,169 --> 00:03:44,479 I Shouldn't have let you. I see that now. 65 00:03:44,479 --> 00:03:47,550 EVELYN ELLIS: Today we're doing a very short play called How He 66 00:03:47,559 --> 00:03:50,389 lied to her husband. The characters don't actually have 67 00:03:50,399 --> 00:03:54,860 names. There's her and him and her husband. [ 68 00:03:54,860 --> 00:03:56,199 GENERIC: Sound of theatrical performance] You'll soon find 69 00:03:56,210 --> 00:03:59,360 out how much less than nothing she is. If you don't think a 70 00:03:59,369 --> 00:04:02,630 woman can't do any harm because she's only a scandal- 71 00:04:02,649 --> 00:04:04,478 JOE SARGEANT: My name's Joe Sargeant and I'm an actor. [ 72 00:04:04,478 --> 00:04:05,479 GENERIC: Sound of theatrical performance] If I were going to 73 00:04:05,490 --> 00:04:08,500 the stake with you, I should still be so happy with you that 74 00:04:08,509 --> 00:04:11,005 I could hardly feel your danger more than my own. 75 00:04:11,005 --> 00:04:14,684 JOE SARGEANT: Very early this year I performed the orderly in 76 00:04:14,695 --> 00:04:18,654 a play called Press Cuttings. And it's the most farcical 77 00:04:18,665 --> 00:04:21,674 character in something that's already very silly. I don't get 78 00:04:21,684 --> 00:04:24,875 much opportunity to play the, the the clown. So I think that's 79 00:04:24,885 --> 00:04:26,234 probably my favourite part yeah. 80 00:04:29,660 --> 00:04:32,549 EVELYN ELLIS: There's no division between the ages. We 81 00:04:32,559 --> 00:04:35,839 seem to mingle very well. I think probably because the young 82 00:04:35,850 --> 00:04:39,000 people who come into the Shaw Society they've already learnt 83 00:04:39,010 --> 00:04:41,480 to think for themselves. And therefore I think they seem to 84 00:04:41,489 --> 00:04:46,100 respect maturity just as much as youth and it just satisfies a 85 00:04:46,109 --> 00:04:47,399 need that they've got. 86 00:04:49,970 --> 00:04:54,549 We've now got about 30 young actors who've joined just for 87 00:04:54,559 --> 00:04:57,592 the pleasure of reading Shaw aloud. [ 88 00:04:57,592 --> 00:04:58,390 GENERIC: Sound of theatrical performance] Song before 89 00:04:58,399 --> 00:04:59,209 sunrise. 90 00:04:59,369 --> 00:05:02,950 Nothing would do me then. But I must reel off a set of songs to 91 00:05:02,959 --> 00:05:03,920 sunrise. 92 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:07,779 EVELYN ELLIS: If we didn't have Shaw's Corner there, we wouldn't 93 00:05:07,790 --> 00:05:09,179 really have an anchor. 94 00:05:09,230 --> 00:05:12,339 We get so much information feeding back and there's so much 95 00:05:12,350 --> 00:05:14,029 studying going on there as well. 96 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:18,250 A lot of the expertise that we have about Shaw comes through 97 00:05:18,260 --> 00:05:21,140 Shaw's Corner and through the National Trust and Sue Morgan, 98 00:05:21,149 --> 00:05:24,309 who's the curator there at the moment is very much part of the 99 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:25,679 Shaw Society as well. 100 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:29,700 We look on her as being our guardian angel. 101 00:05:33,429 --> 00:05:37,809 When Shaw comes out of copyright in 2020 I think that'll make a 102 00:05:37,820 --> 00:05:40,489 lot of opportunities for Shaw plays to be put on. 103 00:05:41,019 --> 00:05:45,570 It'll be much freer and less expensive. The more that they 104 00:05:45,579 --> 00:05:49,220 can put Shaw across, the better it'll be for Shaw's Corner. I'm 105 00:05:49,230 --> 00:05:49,769 sure. 106 00:05:49,820 --> 00:05:51,850 I think there's a lot of enthusiasm. There's a lot of 107 00:05:51,859 --> 00:05:54,250 people waiting for that day to dawn. 108 00:06:01,700 --> 00:06:03,579 JAMES GRASBY: Thanks for listening to this week's mini 109 00:06:03,609 --> 00:06:07,279 episode. Our next full episode will be available in a couple of 110 00:06:07,290 --> 00:06:10,730 weeks, but there'll be another mini episode available next week 111 00:06:10,790 --> 00:06:14,070 where we'll be meeting up with theatre producer Michael Friend 112 00:06:14,140 --> 00:06:17,369 to hear about his love affair with Shaw's plays. 113 00:06:18,260 --> 00:06:21,250 So until then from me, James Grasby, goodbye.