1st Edition

Routledge Revivals: Theatres of the Left 1880-1935 (1985) Workers' Theatre Movements in Britain and America

260 Pages 16 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

260 Pages 16 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

260 Pages 16 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

First published in 1985, this book examines how workers theatre movements intended their performances to be activist — perceiving art as a weapon of struggle and enlightenment — and an emancipatory act. An introductory study relates left-wing theatre groupings to the cultural narratives of contemporary British socialism. The progress of the Workers’ Theatre Movement (1928-1935) is traced from... Read more

Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction: theatre and politics; Part 1 Theatre and socialism in Britain (1880-1935) Part 2 The Workers’ Theatre Movement (1926-1935) Part 3 The Yiddish-speaking WTM Part 4 The debate on naturalism Part 5 Proletkult: a view from the Plebs League Part 6 Some origins of Theatre Workshop Part 7 The political stage in the United States; Index

Biography

Raphael Samuel, Ewan MacColl, Stuart Cosgrove