The Cambridge Companion to British Theatre since 1945

The definitive guide to post-war British theatre's huge variety and expansion, exploring the diverse contexts that shaped it.

Jen Harvie (Edited by), Dan Rebellato (Edited by)

9781108421805, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 March 2024

326 pages
23.4 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.62 kg

'This is a valuable Companion to the contexts of British theatre, ranging from considerations of labour, through matters economic and civic, to theatre's relations with the State. Contributors to the volume commendably criss-cross seventy five years of British theatre. Doing so, they excavate past connections to present, persistent and pressing questions of equality, diversity, and inclusivity. A welcome addition to studies that renews our understanding of how material conditions contour theatre's (still unequal) landscape.' Elaine Aston, Lancaster University

British theatre underwent a vast transformation and expansion in the decades after World War II. This Companion explores the historical, political, and social contexts and conditions that not only allowed it to expand but, crucially, shaped it. Resisting a critical tendency to focus on plays alone, the collection expands understanding of British theatre by illuminating contexts such as funding, unionisation, devolution, immigration, and changes to legislation. Divided into four parts, it guides readers through changing attitudes to theatre-making (acting, directing, writing), theatre sectors (West End, subsidised, Fringe), theatre communities (audiences, Black theatre, queer theatre), and theatre's relationship to the state (government, infrastructure, nationhood). Supplemented by a valuable Chronology and Guide to Further Reading, it presents up-to-date approaches informed by critical race theory, queer studies, audience studies, and archival research to demonstrate important new ways of conceptualising post-war British theatre's history, practices and potential futures.

Introduction: Jen Harvie and Dan Rebellato
Part I. Theatre Makers: 1. Playwrights: collectivity and collaboration Dan Rebellato
2. Directors: organisation, authorship and social production Tom Cornford
3. Actors: a history of service Aoife Monks
Part II: Theatre Sectors: 4. West end and commercial theatre: crisis, change and continuity Rachel Clements
5. Subsidised theatre: strength, elitism, metropolitanism, racism Jen Harvie
6. The fringe: the rise and fall of radical alternative theatre Dan Rebellato and Jen Harvie
Part III. Theatre Communities: 7. Audiences: ownership, interaction, agency Helen Freshwater
8. Black British theatre: blackouts and spotlights Vanessa Damilola Macaulay
9. Queer theatre: reclaiming histories, historicising, and hope Sarah Jane Mullan
Part IV. Theatre and State: 10. Government, policy and censorship in post-war British theatre Louise Owen
11. Buildings and the political economy of theatre financing in Britain Michael Mckinnie
12. Regions and nations: the myth of levelling up Trish Reid
Acknowledgments.

Subject Areas: Theatre studies [AN]