Informed by his own words and enhanced by contributions of people he worked with, this is the story of how Philip Hedley CBE came to run Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal Stratford East, save it from closure and develop a repertoire, which - amongst other things - led to the development of Black and Asian theatre in the UK.

Philip Hedley was one of the most persuasive and relentless campaigners for proper and regular funding for the arts. Theatre critic Michael Billington describes him as being "the shop-steward of British theatre, always agitating, not just for Stratford East, but for a better deal for playhouses and artists throughout the land".

Hedley was an inveterate writer, unafraid to criticise the hand that fed him and which fed his peers, through letters and articles, leading at times to quite public battles with authority figures, as in the case of his feuds with Lord Gowrie and Lord Palumbo over Arts Council funding policies.

Working within one of the most racially diverse boroughs of the country - Newham in East London - Hedley created work that genuinely connected with the local community. He championed the importance of colour-blind casting - a radical idea at the time - and, through visionary and varied artistic programming, forged a unique identity for a theatre that many artists to this day call their home – a building and a culture that put inclusion, openness and local people at its heart.

Over the course of his time in theatre, Hedley religiously chronicled his experiences, though his death in 2024 meant that he never finished this book-to-be. His many collaborators, friends and admirers came to the rescue, however, and this book is a result of their combined efforts.

Most of the words in this book are Hedley's - some are completed writings for his book; others are retrospective interviews with him; and some are re-edited material by Hedley, such as his introductions to playscripts, interviews with journalists or his letters to the press. And then there are the contributions from some of the many actors, writers and directors and theatre people of all kinds he worked with at the Theatre Royal, who so freely and lovingly gave their time to celebrate this icon of British theatre.

Some of the most celebrated theatre-makers of today owe their careers to the opportunities created by Philip Hedley - Indhu Rubasingham, Clint Dyer, Michael Buffong, Matthew Xia, Roy Williams, Kerry Michael and Meera Syal all speak in this book about the profound effect Hedley had on where they are now.

Philip Hedley (1938 - 2024) was Artistic Director of the Theatre Royal Stratford East for 25 years from 1979 to 2004. Upon his departure, the Theatre Royal named him Director Emeritus. He was a founding student of E15 Acting School and later in his career taught and staged productions there and at LAMDA, RADA, Rose Bruford and Drama Centre (UK), the Vancouver Playhouse Drama School (Canada) and the National Institute for Drama in Sydney (Australia). He ran Lincoln Theatre Royal for three years from 1968 to 1971, during which time he directed and/or produced over 50 productions. He went on to be director of the Midlands Arts Theatre Company, followed by two years as Assistant Director to Joan Littlewood and Assistant Administrator to her partner, Gerry Raffles, at Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Jonathan Martin was principal of Drama Centre, London between 2010 and 2018. He was Associate Director at the Theatre Royal, between 1984 and 1987, and directed both pantomimes and new work while there. He is currently studying for a PhD at the Film University, Babelsberg, Germany.