British Theatre between the Wars, 1918–1939
British Theatre between the Wars, 1918–1939
£43.99
GBPHistories of British theatre between 1918 and 1939 have tended to marginalize the commercial and mainstream in favour of the literary or the politically motivated. This volume brings together a collection of essays that reflect both a far more complex theatre world than this strategy has allowed for, and scholarship on mainstream and alternative theatres in the 1920s and 1930s. Combining the popular with the commercial, the book includes accounts of the craze for thriller and detective plays and musical comedy and revue, alongside analyses of historical pageantry and the development of politicized productions of Shakespeare. With assessments of the representation of gender and sexuality in the theatre, this volume not only unveils hitherto neglected theatre practices but also places them in the context of a society undergoing rapid social and cultural change. It will appeal to advanced undergraduates and postgraduates and scholars interested in twentieth-century British theatre.
- Reveals a theatre culture more complex and contradictory than previous histories have allowed for
- Initiates a long-overdue reassessment of mid-twentieth century British theatre cultures
Reviews & endorsements
'… an excellent, assured, and suggestive collection of essays.' Contemporary Theatre Review
'This anthology offers a diversity of approaches to the rich mix of the period's theatre making. I feel certain that it will, in addition, inspire readers to pull some hitherto neglected plays from their bookshelves and rediscover the richness of British drama between the wars.' Theatre Research International
'… excellent collection … Each chapter offers an admirable overview supported by extracts from contemporary writings, either critical or dramatic, familiar or lost in time. The result is a vivid account not only of the drama on stage, but of the perceptions and preoccupations of the audience for which these dramas were written.' Modern Language Review
Product details
November 2007Paperback
9780521044509
272 pages
228 × 152 × 18 mm
0.413kg
7 b/w illus.
Available
Table of Contents
- List of illustrations
- Notes on contributors
- Introduction Maggie B. Gale
- 1. Theatre and society: the Edwardian legacy, the First World War and the inter-war years Clive Barker
- 2. Body parts: the success of the thriller in the inter-war years John Stokes
- 3. When men were men and women were women John Deeney
- 4. Girl crazy: musicals and revue between the wars James Ross Moore
- 5. Errant nymphs: women and the inter-war theatre Maggie B. Gale
- 6. Blood on the bright young things: Shakespeare in the 1930s Tony Howard
- 7. The religion of socialism or a pleasant Sunday afternoon?: The ILP Arts Guild Ros Merkin
- 8. Delving the levels of memory and dressing up in the past Mick Wallis
- 9. The ghosts of war: stage ghosts and time slips as a response to war Clive Barker
- Index.
