Overview

Sir John Selby Clements (1910 - 1989) was a distinguished British actor-manager, director and writer, who worked in theatre, television and film. He was educated at St Paul's School and St John's College Cambridge, making his first stage appearance at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in 1930 in Out of the Blue. Throughout the 1930s he gained acting experience as he toured with Ben Greet's Company.

In December 1935 he founded Intimate Theatre in Palmer's Green in North London, where he ran weekly Rep until 1941. During the war he worked with E.N.S.A and afterwards worked with the Old Vic Company whilst they were resident at the New Theatre. Throughout his career he featured and directed many films including J B Priestley's They Came to a City (1944) and The Four Feathers (1939).

In 1955 he was appointed Advisor on Drama to Associated Rediffusion Ltd and onto the Board of Directors of the Saville Theatre. In 1965 he was appointed Director of the Chichester Festival and was knighted in 1968.

What the collection holds

This is a collection of 16 items, purchased by the Theatre Collection in 1998. 

It includes volumes of press cuttings that relate to the career of John Clements and his second wife, the actress Kay Hammond. There is also a collection of documents relating to specific productions he was involved in, including Man and Superman at the New Theatre (1951), The Rivals at the Saville Theatre (1955) and The Rape of the Belt at the Piccadilly Theatre (1957).

The online catalogue for this collection can be viewed here: 
JC - John Clements Archive