Bille Brown Materials

Bille Brown,January 11, 1952-January 13, 2013

The cultural legacy of one of the finest actors, directors, and playwrights of the British stage, Bille Brown, lives on in the Sojourner Truth Library's Special Collections. A t-shirt and annotated playscript tell the story of how Brown’s life and work impacted the SUNY New Paltz community.

Descriptions

A worn-out, short-sleeved t-shirt dating back to the 1980s represents qualities ranging from pride, participation or simple appreciation for a good performance. This royal blue t-shirt reveals a casual fit to its subject and is made up of cotton fibers. The thin white tag which depicts these details is extremely fragile and shows almost no readable print. The text on the shirt states: "The Department of Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz Presents The American Premiere of The Swan Down Gloves." The character detailed under the writing most likely represents one of the main characters of the show known as Mazda, the Master of Shadows. 

Aladdin, by Bille Brown, is a “working manuscript,” residing in the Sojourner Truth Special Collections. It contains two parts within a sturdy binding folder. The working manuscript of Aladdin is approximately 83 pages. Its content is in the classic play format, with Brown’s handwritten notes in the margins. Notably, the first page of Aladdin says it was written on November 19, 2004. However, this date is scratched out by Brown and written over it are the words: “JANUARY PERFORMANCE DRAFT,” meaning that although the printed text was written in November, the play became a working manuscript and was edited into January of the next year for performance purposes.  

In addition to these annotations, one also sees Brown’s editing notes for Aladdin, such as certain lines and words being changed or switched or extended. The play, in this manuscript, even includes pantomime stage directions for the actors, such as “ad lib till AUDIENCE reply sufficiently.” The volume includes the 2004 Old Vic Christmas Issue detailing that year’s Classic Family Panto, which was, of course, Aladdin. In this publication, there lies information and articles about the 2004 production of Aladdin at the Old Vic Theatre, containing direct quotes from Brown, Ian McKellen, and even an anecdote as to how Elton John became involved with the score of the production. 

Provenance

The t-shirt and manuscript come from the Sojourner Truth Library’s Special Collections, an archival collection of original materials from SUNY New Paltz’s history as well as rare books and manuscripts. The t-shirt was produced by a local apparel company for cast and crew members involved in the production. It was likely donated by an individual involved years later. The manuscript was donated to the university by Bille Brown himself. 

Narrative

These two objects leave traces of a phenomenal person within SUNY New Paltz history. Bille Brown, an Australian native, brought not only his talent to the college, but his friendliness, dedication and passion for the theatre arts department and the people of the university. Although Brown came to be affiliated with New Paltz under unusual circumstances, several members of the faculty still can recall his vibrant personality. "He had a distinct presence and was very dramatic," says Susan Kraat. "He always had a scarf on, and was just ... larger than life," she recalled. 

Brown became acquainted with the college through a connection with the current Assistant to the Dean of Fine & Performing Arts, David Cavallaro. Cavallaro unexpectedly ran into Brown back when he himself was an undergraduate theatre student at the college. Cavallaro then told his acting instructor that his roommate had someone staying with him that stated he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Almost immediately, Brown was invited by Cavallaro’s acting instructor to speak to their acting class. Soon enough, then College President Alice Chandler granted Brown a position as Artist-in-Residence at New Paltz, and he became one of SUNY New Paltz’s own. 

One of Brown's first major contributions to SUNY New Paltz can be traced to the very shirt that emerged from a university production of his own play, The Swan Down Gloves. 

First debuted in London in December of 1981 at the Aldwych Theatre, The Swan Down Gloves is a spoof on William Shakespeare’s early life and includes several comedic characteristics that parallel Shakespeare’s plays. It was also a new type of performance composed of pantomime and European comedia dell’arte influences, distinguishing it from popular musicals that were more common in American playhouses. During Brown’s residency at New Paltz in the 1980s, Frank Kraat, an associate professor at the time, was gifted a copy of the play from Brown. Kraat later decided to feature it as a main stage production in McKenna Theatre. 

The show was performed from March 26-29 and April 2-5, 1987, with the help of Brown and the play’s original composer and lyricist, Nigel Hess. Hess was largely involved with the orchestra and the musical components of the play, working with the student actors in preparation alongside Brown. In celebration of this performance, shirts were made with a whimsical design that nods to the comedic nature of the play. 

The New Paltz Oracle described the performance as: “A frolicking, rollicking romp through the joyous and sometimes bawdy realm of fable and fairy tale where boys play girls and vice versa, rats read Nietzsche and fairies guzzle gin." This “bawdy realm” includes the simple plot of characters: Kit (a glove maker) and his brother Will set out on a journey to deliver a pair of special gloves to the court of London. The characters encounter many obstacles and throughout the show the audience becomes acquainted with vibrant characters such as Mazda, the Master of Shadows, Lumina, The Lady of Light and Lady Alice, the sex kitten. The characters’ experiences throughout the show seem of greater importance than the actual storyline, as a review by John Barber states: “The script…gives classical actors every chance for outrageous burlesque of panto people and conventions." Despite the huge undertaking, the performance was viewed in high regard, earning much praise from its audience. 

This production is just one of the examples of the rich contributions that Brown made to the New Paltz campus. However, what makes this production particularly extraordinary is the fact that the theatre department at SUNY New Paltz was the first group to stage an American version of the London production, thus paving the way for future international productions.

Aladdin: A Working Manuscript

Though Bille Brown continued to perform with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he remained involved in the New Paltz community many years after this production and his residency, travelling between the Hudson Valley, New York City, and London. SUNY New Paltz, as a result, received another object – Brown's manuscript of his own, updated version of an old tale, Aladdin. 

Aladdin, like The Swan Down Gloves, is a traditional English pantomime. Pantomimes, usually performed around Christmas time, are defined as “theatrical performances played in the language of action.” They usually provide audiences with a spin on old fairy tales. With heavy emphasis on audience participation, pantomimes border on slapstick, valuing heightened bodily expression during the depiction of emotions, events, and dialog. Children are welcome at pantomimes as participants and audience members just as much as adults, thanks to the tradition of double-entendres throughout such productions. Shakespearean cross-dressing is also a trait of the pantomime play. Dominant lady-wives are often depicted by older men, and princely male characters are played by youthful women.  

Brown’s Aladdin followed this tradition with its all-star cast, with Ian McKellen playing Widow Twankey (Aladdin’s mother), and Dim Sum, a male Chinese character, being played by Maureen Lipman. One can see these names written in the margins of the working manuscript of Aladdin, alongside their respective characters. In the original playbill printed for the show, which was performed during December and January from 2004-2006, McKellen commissioned Brown, whom he had met at the 2004 Sydney Theatre Festival, to write a pantomime adaptation of Aladdin. Described as “a true pantomime buff,” Brown managed to take The Arabian Nights and transform it into a familiar British staple for audiences in the Old Vic Theatre.  

Similar to his work on The Swan Down Gloves, Brown’s editing notes illustrate a desire to maintain the pantomime ritual through the addition of certain words and actions to increase audience participation. He does so, for example, by changing the line from “Are you having us on?” to “Are they having us on?,” in relation to the audience. Soon after this alteration follows the line, “Oh yes they are! (Routine with Audience and DIM).” McKellen, on his website, also recalled notes during rehearsals that fell in line with the manuscripts vision, recalling “At Aladdin rehearsals, Bille gave me a very helpful acting note to this effect: ‘The audience loves Twankey because she loves Aladdin her son. So, you must find the mother inside yourself Ian.’” His attunement to this style of comedy continued to reign, finding its way back to New Paltz decades after his initial arrival.

"Just larger than Life"

Brown’s passing in 2013 left a resounding grief in the global theatre scene, but for a small Hudson Valley town like New Paltz, the impact was just as strong. His performances, interviews, screenplays, and life history remain documented online, preserving his legacy and memory, and for New Paltz, these memories live on in the faculty he interacted with, the students he’d impacted, and the objects he’s left behind for those curious to dive into the strange, wondrous world of Bille Brown. 

“In a darkening world, do not give way to fear. Believe in laughter, believe in life, and true love will appear.”