The Cambridge companion to British theatre since 1945 / edited by Jen Harvie, Dan Rebellato.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Harvie, Jen, editor.

Rebellato, Dan, 1968- editor.

Series:

Cambridge companions to theatre and performance

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Theater--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Theater.

Theater--Great Britain--History--21st century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xl, 283 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2024.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Playwrights : collectivity and collaboration / Dan Rebellato

Directors : organisation, authorship, and social production / Tom Cornford

Actors : a history of service / Aoife Monks

West End and commercial theatre : crisis, change, and continuity / Rachel Clements

Subsidised theatre : strength, elitism, metropolitanism, racism / Jen Harvie

The fringe : the rise and fall of radical alternative theatre / Dan Rebellato with Jen Harvie

Audiences : ownership, interaction, agency / Helen Freshwater

Black British theatre : blackouts and spotlights / Vanessa Damilola Macaulay

Queer theatre : reclaiming histories, historicising, and hope / Sarah Jane Mullan

Government, policy and censorship in post-war British theatre / Louise Owen

Buildings and the political economy of theatre financing in Britain / Michael McKinnie

Regions and nations : the myth of levelling up / Trish Reid.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 14 Mar 2024).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781108377850 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.