British Theatre and Performance 1900-1950
British theatre from 1900 to 1950 has been subject to radical re-evaluation with plays from the period setting theatres alight and gaining critical acclaim once again; this book explains why, presenting a comprehensive survey of the theatre and how it shaped the work that followed.

Rebecca D'Monte examines how the emphasis upon the working class, 'angry' drama from the 1950s has led to the neglect of much of the century's earlier drama, positioning the book as part of the current debate about the relationship between war and culture, the middlebrow, and historiography.

In a comprehensive survey of the period, the book considers:

- the Edwardian theatre;

- the theatre of the First World War, including propaganda and musicals;

-the interwar years, the rise of commercial theatre and influence of Modernism;

- the theatre of the Second World War and post-war period.

Essays from leading scholars Penny Farfan, Steve Nicholson and Claire Cochrane give further critical perspectives on the period's theatre and demonstrate its relevance to the drama of today.

For anyone studying 20th-century British Drama this will prove one of the foundational texts.
1119222463
British Theatre and Performance 1900-1950
British theatre from 1900 to 1950 has been subject to radical re-evaluation with plays from the period setting theatres alight and gaining critical acclaim once again; this book explains why, presenting a comprehensive survey of the theatre and how it shaped the work that followed.

Rebecca D'Monte examines how the emphasis upon the working class, 'angry' drama from the 1950s has led to the neglect of much of the century's earlier drama, positioning the book as part of the current debate about the relationship between war and culture, the middlebrow, and historiography.

In a comprehensive survey of the period, the book considers:

- the Edwardian theatre;

- the theatre of the First World War, including propaganda and musicals;

-the interwar years, the rise of commercial theatre and influence of Modernism;

- the theatre of the Second World War and post-war period.

Essays from leading scholars Penny Farfan, Steve Nicholson and Claire Cochrane give further critical perspectives on the period's theatre and demonstrate its relevance to the drama of today.

For anyone studying 20th-century British Drama this will prove one of the foundational texts.
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British Theatre and Performance 1900-1950

British Theatre and Performance 1900-1950

by Rebecca D'Monte
British Theatre and Performance 1900-1950

British Theatre and Performance 1900-1950

by Rebecca D'Monte

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Overview

British theatre from 1900 to 1950 has been subject to radical re-evaluation with plays from the period setting theatres alight and gaining critical acclaim once again; this book explains why, presenting a comprehensive survey of the theatre and how it shaped the work that followed.

Rebecca D'Monte examines how the emphasis upon the working class, 'angry' drama from the 1950s has led to the neglect of much of the century's earlier drama, positioning the book as part of the current debate about the relationship between war and culture, the middlebrow, and historiography.

In a comprehensive survey of the period, the book considers:

- the Edwardian theatre;

- the theatre of the First World War, including propaganda and musicals;

-the interwar years, the rise of commercial theatre and influence of Modernism;

- the theatre of the Second World War and post-war period.

Essays from leading scholars Penny Farfan, Steve Nicholson and Claire Cochrane give further critical perspectives on the period's theatre and demonstrate its relevance to the drama of today.

For anyone studying 20th-century British Drama this will prove one of the foundational texts.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781408166017
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date: 02/26/2015
Series: Critical Companions
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 352
File size: 4 MB

About the Author

Rebecca D'Monte is Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. Her publications include Cool Britannia? British Political Drama in the 1990s, co-edited with Graham Saunders.
Rebecca D'Monte is Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Her publications include Cool Britannia? British Political Drama in the 1990s, co-edited with Graham Saunders.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements viii

Introduction 1

1 The Edwardian Theatre 11

Introduction 11

The Edwardian theatre 12

Popular genres 17

New theatrical forms 28

Censorship and the rise of the new theatres 32

Social drama 34

Suffrage drama 45

Regional and repertory theatre 48

Conclusion 55

2 First World War Theatre 59

Introduction 59

Theatre during the war 60

Propaganda and censorship 62

Popular genres 63

Patriotic plays 70

Anti-war plays 75

Theatre and the services 78

Women and war 84

Staging social change 85

Shakespeare and war 88

Conclusion 91

3 Interwar Theatre 95

Introduction 95

Interwar entertainment 97

'Little', amateur and regional theatres 98

Experiments in drama 104

The rise of commercial theatre 111

Dramatising the first world war 117

Shirting social and sexual mores 131

Images of England 141

Conclusion 146

4 Second World War Theatre and After 149

Introduction 149

Wartime conditions 150

Troop entertainment 153

CEMA 158

Touring theatre 161

Community theatre and theatre in education 165

Repertory and regional theatre 167

Popular genres 171

Responses to war 174

The Holocaust and nuclear war 177

Political plays 181

Reinscribing national identity 184

Radio and television 187

Refugee theatre 189

Post-war Britain 191

Post-war theatre 192

Conclusion 197

5 'Producing the Scene': The Evolution of the Director in British Theatre 1900-50 by Claire Cochrane 199

Origins and obstacles 201

The director in the regions 203

Directing women 207

The Oxbridge factor 210

6 'Masculine Women and Effeminate Men': Gender and Sexuality on the Modernist Stage by Penny Farfan 213

7 Staging Hitler, Not Staging Hitler by Steve Nicholson 223

Introduction 223

1933-4 224

1935-7 226

1938-9 228

Conclusion 241

Chronology 247

Notes 261

Bibliography 295

Notes on Contributors 317

Index 319

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