British Theatre and the Great War, 1914 – 1919 New Perspectives

by Maunder, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9781137401991
• ISBN10: 1137401990
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-08-23
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

British Theatre and the Great War examines how theatre in its various forms adapted itself to the new conditions of 1914-1918. Contributors discuss the roles played by the theatre industry. They draw on a range of source materials to show the different kinds of theatrical provision and performance cultures in operation not only in London but across parts of Britain and also in Australia and at the Front. As well as recovering lost works and highlighting new areas for investigation (regional theatre, prison camp theatre, troop entertainment, the threat from film, suburban theatre) the book offers revisionist analysis of how the conflict and its challenges were represented on stage at the time and the controversies it provoked. The volume offers new models for exploring the topic in an accessible, jargon-free way, and it shows how theatrical entertainment of the time can be seen as the `missing link' in the study of First World War writing.

Author Biography

Andrew Maunder is Reader in Victorian Literature in the School of Humanities at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. He is the author of books including The British Short Story (with Emma Liggins and Ruth Robbins, 2010) and has written widely on First World War literature and culture. He is the co-ordinator of the World War One Theatre Project based at the University of Hertfordshire which revives war-time drama for modern audiences.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Rediscovering the Theatre of the First World War; Andrew Maunder
PART I: MOBILISATION AND PROPAGANDA
2. 'This Unhappy Nation': War on the Stage in 1914; Steve Nicholson
3. Reclaiming Shakespeare. 1914-1918; Anselm Heinrich
4. On the edge of town: Melodrama and Suburban Theatre in Brixton, 1915; Andrew Maunder
PART II: WOMEN AND WAR
5. 'From sex-war to factory floor': Theatrical Depictions of Women's Work during the First World War; Sos Eltis
6. Edith Craig and The Pioneer Players: London's International Art Theatre in a `Khaki-clad and Khaki-minded World'; Katharine Cockin
7. `A Sweet Tribute to Her Memory': War-time Edith Cavell Plays and Films; Veronica Kelly
PART III: POPULAR THEATRE
8. ''The Theatre of the Flappers?: Gender, Spectatorship and the 'womanisation' of Theatre 1914-1918'; Viv Gardner
9. `[N]o more jokes'?: Metropolitan Music Hall and Variety Theatre; Simon Featherstone
10. British Cinema, Regulation and the War Effort ; Emma Hanna
PART IV: ALTERNATIVE SPACES
11. A City's Toys: Theatre in Birmingham 1914-1918; Claire Cochrane
12. Entertaining the Anzacs: Performance for and by Australian and New Zealand troops on leave in London, 1916-1919; Ailsa Grant-Ferguson
13. Lena Ashwell: Touring Concert Parties and Arts Advocacy, 1914-1919; Margaret Leask.
14. Palliative Pantomimes: Entertainment in Prisoner-of-war Camps; Victor Emeljanow
Bibliography
Index