ED Berman

Professor Edward David (ED) Berman MBE (born 8 March 1941 in Lewiston, Maine) is an American-born British playwright, director, producer, actor, activist, author, social entrepreneur and Founder and CEO of the Inter-Action group of charities, awarded an MBE in 1979.

Early life and education

ED Berman was born in Lewiston, Maine on 8 March 1941 to Jack and Ida (née Webber) Berman. He attended Lewiston High School but despite becoming a regional and national debating champion, did not graduate. Instead he accepted the offer of a place at Harvard University at the age of 15, to study Middle Eastern Languages and Literature. He was a resident at Winthrop House and graduated in the Class of 1962.

ED then won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Exeter College,Oxford University in 1962.^[1] ED was unable to finish his doctorate at Oxford in 1965, due to an unprovoked attack whilst researching in Istanbul, Turkey, which left him with a cranial blood clot and given a year to live. Unable to continue this research, ED moved to London.

Theatre career

During the 1960s, ED Berman became a prominent figure in British Alternative Theatre.^[2] In 1967, he became the playwright-in-residence at the Mercury Theatre in Notting Hill.

The Almost-Free Theatre

In 1971 ED Berman set up the The Almost-Free Theatre on Rupert Street, Soho in the West End. The audiences paid what they could afford (at least one penny) to see a range of productions based on a range of social and political themes. The Almost Free also staged numerous individual new plays by Mike Stott, Henry Livings, Michael Stevens, Wolf Mankowitz, Edward Bond and many others. Sir Tom Stoppard developed several of his key one act plays for Berman’s theatres including After Magritte, Dogg's Hamlet, Cahoot's Macbeth and the highly successful Dirty Linen and New-Found-Land.

Dirty Linen and New-found-land

A pair of two 1976 Tom Stoppard plays that are always performed together, produced and directed by Berman.^[3] New-Found-Land interrupts the two parts of Dirty Linen. It is a comedy about the British citizenship process, based on the real-life naturalization of Professor Berman. It was first performed as an Ambiance Lunch-Hour Theatre Club presentation at Interaction's Almost Free Theatre in 1976. Then, opening in June 1976, it played four years at the Arts.

Black Theatre Season

ED Berman programmed Britain’s first season of plays on black issues: Black and White Power Plays at the Ambiance in 1970. The season introduced the work of African-American playwrights like Ed Bullins and LeRoi Jones, alongside work from white playwrights on Black issues such as Israel Horovitz.

Gay Theatre Season

The 1975 season of gay plays was the first to be staged in Britain. The season led to the formation of gay theatre companies, principally Gay Sweatshop, Britain’s first gay and lesbian theatre company, founded by Gerald Chapman.

Dogg’s Troupe

Dogg’s Troupe staged street theatre and community events in hospitals, old people’s homes and other community venues. Berman played the roles of Professor R.L. Dogg and Otto Premiere Check.

TOC (The Other Company)

The Other Company was set up by Ed Berman and the innovative Israeli director Naftali Yavin in 1968.

Inter-Action

In 1968 ED became the founder of Inter-Action, a national charity involved in a range of arts and creativity-based projects.

HMS President (1918)

In 1988 the ship HMS President was purchased by the charity Inter-Action. It provided a base for young start-up entrepreneurs, and audio-visual studios. The purchase of the ship saved her from scrap, and preserved her for future generations. She has since become a London landmark, marked on street maps. Inter-Action also purchased her sister ship, HMS Chrysanthemum. It was hired by Steven Spielberg for the boat chase sequences shot in 1988 in Tilbury Docks for the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. She was then laid up in the River Medway until she was scrapped in 1995.

President was resold in 2001 to David Harper Associates.

Fun Art Bus

In 1972, a Routemaster bus was specially converted to create a small theater on the upper deck, along with a cinema showing short films and slide shows downstairs. This was to bring theatre and arts into the community. The bus was brought back during the Olympic Torch Relay for the London 2012 Olympic Games, in which ED Berman was a torchbearer.

Father Xmas Union

The Father Xmas Union (‘FXU’) was set up in 1969^[4] to stage large-scale social and activist events such as protests against Selfridges and the National Front.

City Farms

ED Berman negotiated with British Rail to take over several tracts (10,000 acres) of land which were unusable for development under modern planning legislation because of their proximity to the railway lines. Inter-Action established the first City Farm in Britain in Kentish Town, north London, in 1971. Originally called the Fun Art Farm it rapidly became a model for city farms which sprang up across the country.

Plays and publications

Below is a selection of plays, publications and albums written or recorded by Berman. Some publications are published under R. L Dogg, Berman's title character from Dogg's Troupe community theatre group.

Bibliography^[5]

Berman, E., & Wintle, J. (1973), The Fun Art Bus: An Inter-Action Project by ED Berman. London: Eyre Methuen. ISBN 413 29790

Berman, E. (1975) Homosexual Acts: A Volume of Gay Plays. London: Hill and Garwood Printing. ISBN 904571 07 6

Biren, A. (1975), Basic Video in Community Work. London: Inter-Action In-Print. ISBN 9780904571059

Berman, E. (1979), 10 of the Best: British Short Plays. London: Inter-Action In-Print and Billing and Sons. ISBN 0 904571 17 3

Berman, E., & J. Zeitlyn (1980), Print: How you can do it yourself, 3rd Edition. London: Inter-Action In-Print. ISBN 0904571246

Berman, E., & L. Dewhurst (1984), Selecting Business Software: A Guide to Success with Microcomputing”. London: Frances Printer. ISBN 0861874889

Berman, E. (1986) Breaks for Young Bands. Introduction by Sting. London: Omnibus Press & Inter-Action In-Print. ISBN 0711909784

Berman, E. (1987), How to Set up a Small Business. London: University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0521310059

Dowmunt, T. (1987), Video with Young People. London: Inter-Action In-Print & Cassell Publishers. ISBN 0304314862

Berman, E. (1989), Healthy Learning Songs: Activities and Projects. London: BBC Books. ISBN 0563343672

Berman, E., C. & Gorney (1989), New Game-Songs. London: Inter-Action and BBC Books. ISBN 0 563 34 371 0

Berman, E. (2001), Game Songs with Prof Dogg's Troupe. London: Inter-Action In-Print and A&C Black. ISBN 0 7136 6207 7

'As Professor R.L. Dogg'

Dogg, R. L., & E. Leyh (1974), Zoo’s Who: Poetry and Colouring Book Volume 1. London: Inter-Action In-Print. ISBN 0 904 571 07 1

Dogg, R.L., & E. Leyh (1974), Zoo’s Who: Poetry and Colouring Book Volume 2. London: Inter-Action In-Print. ISBN 0 904 571 02 5

References