Edward Bond, a significant British playwright of the 20th century, was born on the 18th of July, 1934 and passed away on the 3rd of March, 2024. Brazen battles against censorship on British theatre stages were primarily waged at London’s Royal Court theatre during the mid-1960s, and Bond’s plays were crucial to both this narrative and this fight.
Bond’s journey began when he submitted plays to English Stage Company, initiated recently by George Devine, at the Royal Court in 1958. This led to him being invited to be a part of the theatre’s Writers’ Group. His inaugural performed play, The Pope’s Wedding, premiered without any set decoration on December 9th, 1962. Devine subsequently commissioned a new play from Bond, which he delivered in September 1964.
In 1965, this play, titled “Saved”, found its audience amongst the members of the English Stage Society in a private viewing. This occurred after the lord chamberlain, who served as the official censor, insisted on specific parts of the text being cut. This play was infamous for its explicit sexual dialogue and behaviours and its controversial scene where a baby is violently killed in its pram.
Such displays rattled the bindings of British middle-class decency in the then-present theatre scene which were already being courageously pulled and tested by the works of David Rudkin and Joe Orton. The play’s content caused such a scandal that resulted in a visit from the police, theatre-goers being dragged to court for a supposed minor infraction of the club licensing laws and high-profile witnesses, such as Laurence Olivier, rallying in defence of the play.
Finally, the lord chamberlain’s censorious command over the nation’s entertainment – held since 1737 – was relinquished. Consequently, the modern theatre could legitimately explore themes of violence, sex, political satire, and nudity.
However, Bond’s following play, Early Morning, was outrightly banned. This play plunged into surreal fantasy, picturing Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale as lesbian lovers, two Siamese twin princes, and instances of cannibalism in heaven. Again, it triggered the vice squad’s intrusion, resulting in cancelled performances and a confidential dress rehearsal organised for the critics in April 1968.
The Theatres Bill, which was progressing in the House of Commons, finally became law in September. This released plays from the jurisdiction of the lord chamberlain, who had been overseeing and censoring national entertainment since 1737. As a result, contemporary theatre could now genuinely address topics of violence, sex, political satire, and nudity.
William Gaskill, who succeeded Devine as artistic director of the Royal Court, launched a Bond season in 1969, garnering recognition both domestically and internationally, including during tours to Belgrade and Eastern Europe. Bond’s ‘Saved’ received 14 performances in West Germany and was lauded in the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Czechoslovakia and the US.
Over the following decade, Bond created numerous esteemed plays. These included his 1971 ‘Lear,’ a relentless, grandiose reinterpretation of Shakespeare, featuring a memorable finale with Harry Andrews climbing a massive wall that filled the stage. His plays ‘Bingo’ (1973) and ‘The Fool’ (1975), provided grim insights into the lives of English writers – Shakespeare and John Clare, who were struggling with societal expectations, eventually ending their lives and descending into insanity, respectively. Bond’s ‘The Woman’ (1978), which opened on the National’s new Olivier stage, was a stunning, wide-ranging examination of Greek mythology and misogyny.
Born in Holloway, north London, Bond was one of four siblings. His parents, who used to be farm workers in East Anglia, had migrated to London in search of employment. During World War II, Bond was sent away for safety, first to Cornwall and then to his grandparents’ place near Ely, Cambridgeshire. He ended his formal education at age 15, an experience he described as formative, as afterwards “no one takes you seriously.” Post schooling, he worked as a paint-mixer, insurance clerk and soldier during his national service in 1953. While stationed in Vienna, he began writing short stories.
Following the successful performance of ‘Saved’, he made the choice to exclusively work in theatre. A house was purchased on the outskirts of the small town of Wilbraham, near Cambridge, which he shared with his German-speaking wife, Elisabeth Pablé, a writer. They tied the knot in 1971 and in the early nineties, they teamed up to concoct a fresh interpretation of Wedekind’s Lulu, using recently found notes and manuscripts.
Bond’s subsequent works took on a heightened prophetic air, which some saw as pretentious. As noted by Richard Eyre and Nicholas Wright in their 2000 narrative ‘Changing Stages’, Bond transitioned from posing questions to providing answers.
Potential conflicts often arose during interviews, in particular with directors such as Sam Mendes. Bond had a particular disdain for Mendes’ 1991 reboot of his 1973 comedic piece – ‘The Sea’; a captivating piece set in an Edwardian seaside town depicting madness and dehumanisation.
Bond garnered a reputation as a distant sage, his late theatrical narratives which delved into capitalism’s failures and the brutalities of the government, were often performed more by amateur troupes than renowned companies within the UK.
The late Bond was a stylish, aloof individual who came off as daunting but could be surprisingly self-deprecating and cryptic when the mood struck. He wasn’t afraid to criticise theatre’s elite, including Trevor Nunn, who he claimed turned the National Theatre into a spectacle akin to a Technicolor sewer.
With his poetic nature, Bond impacted at least two generations of theatre professionals. It is likely his lesser-known later works, which focused on a post-apocalyptic world, will be up for scrutiny. A minimum of 10 of his earlier plays have secured their place within British literature and are due for revival. His work remains popular and regularly performed in France and Germany.
His wife, Elisabeth, passed away in 2017.