The silent revolution

Whilst Tynan's profile as Literary Manager has remained low with theatre historians, his impact on the theatre industry itself has been extraordinary. No one could have anticipated either the scale or the extent of the changes that have taken place since the 1960s, and no one could have foreseen that professional literary management would be so rapidly embraced. Two other flagship theatres followed suit first, the Royal Court employing a Literary Manager in 1979, and the Royal Shakespeare Company employing Colin Chambers in 1981. The 1980s and 1990s saw a steady proliferation of appointments of both full-time and part-time literary managers, and it is unlikely that numbers have peaked, the current pattern indicating that theatres in the regions are embarking on ambitious and progressive experiments in literary management and dramaturgy. As I write there are now nine full-time Literary Managers in London, and sixteen working part-time; there are eleven on full-time and four on part-time contracts in the regions. In five years the numbers of full-time posts have doubled, and the haphazard, fixed-period recruitment pattern of the 1990s has changed as more funding has become available and theatre companies have opted for longer-term investment in literary development. Most subsidised and fringe theatres both in London and in the Regions have freelance readers or literary advisers where they cannot afford other arrangements.