Margaret Gibson's Letters to Her Mother 1931-40

In memory of Carola Hicks 1941-2010 On 11 December 1935 a young woman seeking to establish herself in the acting profession firmly demonstrated her growing independence in a letter written back home to Scotland from her lodgings near Victoria Station in London: But my darling mother what can we do but make the best of life? And you mustn't regret my entrance into the wicked world. I would so much rather be a person who knows what life is really like, & preserves integrity, than one who has lived always in a narrow circle, & remained, if you wish, unspotted of life. I don't want to be a case of arrested development. I want to see much & learn much. If sometimes I am sad, then again I am merry; which is so much better than being half-boned with life ... I want to be a big person--not essentially as an actress, but as a person at least, and I've got to suffer & struggle & work hard if I am to grow. This passage is from from one of the the lively, frank and detailed letters sent by Margaret Gibson (1910-82) to her mother, also Margaret, from 1931 to 1940. The letters were most kindly lent to me to study by her daughter, the late Carola Hicks, who explained to me in a personal communication that her mother escaped from small town Irvine to take up a career on the stage, starting at Plymouth Rep. She wrote frequently (in theory weekly) to her mother, Mrs Gibson, a widowed teacher working in Irvine, who had been very reluctant to see her go, but supported her financially for quite a long time. There are 118 letters in the sequence, most of them closely written on several sides of notepaper, and one can only give a selective account here of the contents, concentrating on matters of theatrical interest. Family news and gossip is of course also exchanged as Margaret describes her activities away from the stage, for example idyllic walks with friends by the sea at Cawsand and in the Devon and later the Northamptonshire countryside, playing golf and swimming, helping out at her mother's sister Jane Lowe's cafe in Tavistock, singing lessons, attendance at films and concerts, life in London during the Silver Jubilee celebrations for George V and early boyfriends (including suitors among the naval community in Plymouth), before meeting her future husband David Brown at Northampton Rep in 1936. Margaret Gibson's life in the theatre is reflected by comments running as a thread throughout the letters covering most of the events and situations which could arise for repertory actors during a career on the stage. These included establishing oneself in a company, taking on lead roles, the mechanics of learning lines (sometimes at very short notice), playing parts associated with well-known performers, newspaper notices, fan recognition, opinions of fellow actors professionally and personally, acting with one's own partner, differences with directors, favourite roles and dislike of some plays and parts, the commercial risk in putting on art plays (frustrating for the actors), negotiating pay, auditions versus being head-hunted, arranging publicity photographs, trying for parts in the West End or films, radio broadcasts, contact with established stars, touring to variable audiences and performance spaces, finding digs and locating or making stage costumes as required. Plymouth Rep Although not in the cast, Margaret Gibson was a member of the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Players Club when they created a local sensation by winning the British Drama League Cup in 1928 (after coming first in the regional Scottish Final) with their production of James Barrie's The Old Lady Shows Her Medals and then going on to triumph in the equivalent Little Theatre competition in New York, receiving a message of congratulation from the author. Margaret continued her involvement in amateur theatre when staying with her aunt Jane in August 1929, appearing with the Tavistock Village Drama Society in scenes from G. …

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