A well-known theatre director admitted to being stupid after being expelled from his company.
Max Stafford Clark, 80, quit London’s Out of Joint theatre after being accused of making inappropriate sexualized comments to three women.
In his new book, Some Letters I Never Sent, he broke his silence on the allegations, saying he was in ‘a position of power and did not exercise it with responsibility.’
Meanwhile he also admitted he often ‘said what I pleased and often exceeded the norms of office banter with members of the opposite sex’.
Max Stafford-Clark, 80, has admitted ‘stupidly’ after he was allegedly ousted from his own company when he told a colleague that if he were younger he would have approached her ‘like a rat up a drainpipe’
Max suggested that Max have a stroke after it had impacted his decision making skills and left him feeling ’emotionally unstable’.
In his latest book, he stated that the claims had ‘collapsed him world’ and said: ‘I don’t claim every provocation or irresponsible comment made by me between 2006 to 2017 was the result of the injuries sustained.
However, it is clear to me that I was prone to provocations at times.
He said that it was not easy to face the past, adding that he’d “pulled open the closet” and discovered few rattling bones.
Gina Abolins, then a 29-year-old production assistant, claimed Mr Stafford-Clark asked her to try on a bikini and encouraged her to have casual sex so she could tell him about it
He said that he was angry and frustrated at himself for his’stupidity’ and “unthinking carelessness”.
Despite this, he said some allegations were ‘silly’, continuing: ‘For example, it was alleged that I had lured a female colleague into my office to read a lewd and pornographic scene from a play.
“The play was actually Cloud 9 by Caryl churchill, and the colleague who hadn’t seen it or read about it was the education manager.
“I regret all my actions that have caused injury or offense, and I sincerely apologize to those who were affected by them,” he said. The punishment was severe, if that is of any consolation. The theatre has been a part of my life for many years and the abrupt end has been very difficult.
Danny Boyle dedicates the foreword of his book to Max’s platform building efforts for women writers, long before they were fashionable and urgent.
Stella was Mr Stafford Clark’s third wife. Kitty is his daughter from the second marriage. After a stroke in 2006, Stafford-Clark has relied on a wheelchair and a walking stick (pictured with Stella).
According to the film director, he wrote: “He also concurrently, as he now acknowledges, abusing language, his position of authority in his relationships with certain women. This revelation has irrevocably damaged his reputation.
Michael Billington, the former theatre critic, said that it was time to forgive. He added: “Your family, especially your incredible wife Stella and your beautiful daughter Kitty have stood faithfully beside you through these difficult years.”
In July 2017, Gina Abolins, then-29, a production assistant, told the theatre company’s board that the director, who uses a wheelchair, said to her: ‘Back in the day, I’d have been up you like a rat up a drainpipe.’
She said that Mr Stafford-Clark wanted her to test on a bikini, and she encouraged her casual sex with him to share his thoughts.
Miss Abolins told The Guardian she felt ‘bullied and objectified’ by the director’s lewd comments and claimed he exerted ‘his power in a crude manner’.
Stella Stafford-Clark was his third wife. He also had a daughter Kitty (from his second marriage). Since 2006, when he had a stroke, he has been using a walking stick and a wheelchair.
The director, who was the longest-serving artistic director of London’s Royal Court theatre, co-founded Out of Joint, a small touring company, with producer Sonia Friedman in 1993 (pictured, one of the plays directed by Stafford-Clark)
To Miss Abolins, he explained that his disability meant that he couldn’t do everything he wanted for her.
She claimed he added: ‘Now I’m a reformed character. My disability means I’m practically a virgin again.’
Mr Stafford-Clark(pictured at the Out Of Joint theatre company) married his third wife Stella in 2010 and has a daughter, Kitty, from his second marriage
Miss Abolins filed a formal complaint against the company. During an investigation, she was granted leave. The director was also suspended. When he announced his retirement Mr Stafford-Clark claimed he was leaving to focus on his ‘freelance career’.
At the time, the theatre company praised him for ‘his fantastic commissions and bold revivals’ on social media, while others hailed his achievements as one of Britain’s most eminent directors.
Miss Abolins, who joined Out of Joint in 2016, said she was left feeling ‘upset, frustrated and a little angry’ when his behaviour was not mentioned in the announcement that he was leaving.
Two women also shared their stories about Mr Stafford-Clark’s experiences. Steffi Holtz, 25, who was an assistant for the director, said she was left ‘in absolute shock’ at an alleged lewd comment. She also said he touched her on the bottom, commenting on her ‘nice a***’.
The Guardian reported that Rachel De-Lahay was a playwright and Mr Stafford-Clark had asked about her losing her virginity. She stated that she was mad at herself for answering such an inappropriate question.
Under Mr Stafford-Clark’s leadership, Out of Joint has championed playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, April De Angelis and Richard Bean, and enjoyed sold-out runs at the National Theatre
The director, who was the longest-serving artistic director of London’s Royal Court theatre, co-founded Out of Joint, a small touring company, with producer Sonia Friedman in 1993.
His career began at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. He also founded the Joint Stock Theatre Company in 1973.
Under Mr Stafford-Clark’s leadership, Out of Joint has championed playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, April De Angelis and Richard Bean, and enjoyed sold-out runs at the National Theatre.