Mountview in 1965-1975: The growth of the Theatre School in Crouch End
The late 1960s and early 1970s were a formative time for Mountview Theatre School. In 1969, the school launched its first full-time drama courses, marking a major step forward in its journey. Just a couple of years later, in 1971, a second performance space was added — the Judi Dench Theatre — giving students more room to rehearse, perform and experiment, and quickly becoming a much-loved part of the school.
Those early years were full of energy, creativity and the occasional bit of chaos, as founding Club member Pat Marsh recalls in this story from the 1970s:
“Macbeth was the first Shakespeare we did. People helping backstage were coached in Celtic battle cries, with which we livened up the proceedings periodically. It was the days when there was an open walkway from the dressing rooms in the basement of the house to the stage, and no space to wait offstage, so a critically important call system operated.
One night I was doing calls and lost Banquo. Hysterically, I rushed from one dressing room to another, to the canteen and finally to the only lavatory, pounding on the door and shouting, “Come out Banquo – I know you’re in there – come out – you’re on now!” The lock clicked and a total stranger came out, tore past me and was never seen again.
I had no time to worry about him, but as I ran backstage to look again, a rug detached itself from those hung up to make the open walkway a bit more sheltered from the night, turned itself around, and proved to be the missing Thane, who’d apparently been standing there all the time. How much Mountview has changed since those days.”
