in Wonderland. Highly experimental, its success was by no means guaranteed or uniform throughout the tour. "They'll lynch us", recalls Sven Stahl. "I still have nightmares about Alice in Wonderland at Barnsley and the miners throwing pennies at John Blanshard." The company were to return, as the Theatre Workshop in 1953, with artistic director Joan Littlewood and take over the theatre. The theatre came under threat with the construction of the Stratford shopping centre in the 1970s, but was saved by a public campaign and protected in June 1972 by English Heritage with a Grade II* listing. Money remained short, and the manager, Gerry Raffles, only managed redecoration and replacements as cash became available. In 2001, following a successful Heritage Lottery Fund bid, all of the theatre's front of house and backstage areas were refurbished as part of the Olympiad's Stratford Cultural Quarter project. In 1990, TRSE scored a massive hit with the premiere of Five Guys Named Moe, which immediately transferred to the West End and won the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. The show has been produced all over the world, including Broadway, and continues to be revived regularly. In 2004, TRSE made history by having the first British Black musical, The Big Life, transfer to London's West End, where it played at the Apollo Theatre. In 2005, the theatre produced a musical version of the cult Jamaican film The Harder They Come – famous for its reggae soundtrack, which also transferred to the West End. This production was written by the film director Perry Henzel and was one of the most successful productions in the theatre's history. In 2018, Nadia Fall became artistic director. Artistic directors Joan Littlewood (1953–1974) The Theatre Royal became famous under the management of Gerry Raffles (1928–1975), who worked with director Joan Littlewood on such productions as A Taste of Honey and Oh, What a Lovely War!. In 1975, her collaborator and partner, Gerry Raffles died of diabetes, and in 1979, a devastated Joan Littlewood moved to France, never to direct again. Notable names to get their break at TRSE include Richard Harris, Murray Melvin, Barbara Windsor, Victor Spinetti, Brian Murphy, Avis Bunnage, Harry H Corbett, Yootha Joyce, composer/lyricist Lionel Bart, and writer Shelagh Delaney. Michael Caine was famously told by Littlewood: "P*ss off to Shaftesbury Avenue. You will only ever be a star. " Ken Hill (1974–1975) The playwright and director Ken