Theatre in the Chocolate Factory
Performance at Cadbury's Bournville, 1900–1935

Unearthing artistic creativity at the heart of British industrialism, Catherine Hindson tells the story of Bournville's employee theatre.

Catherine Hindson (Author)

9781009271844, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 April 2025

264 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.4 cm, 0.387 kg

'[A] captivating history of performance events housed within the Cadbury chocolate factory at Bournville.… in taking seriously the consequence of Cadbury Bournville's theatrical endeavors, Hindson reminds readers that deep readings of workers' cultural lives are vital to our historical understandings of working-class individuals and that with concerted effort we can reconstruct and rehabilitate these highly impactful performance initiatives to better and more fully understand working-class humanity.' Mary McAvoy, Labor: Studies in Working-Class History

Providing a new way of thinking about industrialism and its history through the lens of one of Britain's most recognisable heritage brands, Catherine Hindson explores the creativity that was at the heart of Cadbury's operation in the early twentieth century. Guided by Quaker Capitalism, employees at Bournville took part in recreational and educational activities, enabling imagination to flourish. Amidst this pattern of work and play arose the vibrant phenomenon that was factory theatre, with performances and productions involving tens of thousands of employees as performers and spectators. Home-grown Bournville casts and audiences were supplemented by performers, civic leaders, playwrights, academics, town planners, and celebrities, interweaving industrialists with the city's theatrical and visual arts as well as national entertainment cultures. This interdisciplinary study uncovers the stories of Bournville's theatre and the employees who made it, considering ground-breaking approaches to mental and physical health and education.

Part I. Factory Theatre: 1. Staging Bournville's spirit: Cadbury's industrial performances
2. Theatre in the Bournville factory: performance at work
Part II. Theatre in the Factory Garden
3. Marketing fresh air: outdoor performance at Bournville's factory in the garden
4. Serious play: John Drinkwater's masques at Bournville
Part III. Theatre, Education, and Worker Wellbeing: 5. Keeping on the right lines: making theatre in Bournville's recreational societies
6. Dramatic methods of teaching: theatre and education at Bournville.

Subject Areas: Theatre studies [AN]