The Cambridge Companion to British Theatre of the First World War
The Cambridge Companion to British Theatre of the First World War
This is the first comprehensive guide to British theatre's engagement with the First World War over the last century, from 1900 to the Armistice Day centenary in 2018. Considering theatre as both an industry and literary-cultural artform, it provides a contextual grounding in the prelude to the conflict and coverage of post-war plays as well as wartime performances. Lively chapters from leading scholars explore diverse genres and practices, from Shakespeare to melodrama, while focusing on topics including regionality, national identity, propaganda, commemoration, gender, censorship and international influences. Presenting original scholarship in an accessible and engaging manner, this Companion establishes theatre as a vital means of understanding wartime experiences, and a central feature in commemoration and remembrance.
- Provides equal consideration to the canonical and the popular, thus holding a broad appeal both within and beyond First World War theatre studies
- Illuminates theatre's role in shaping attitudes towards the war over the century since its end, encompassing drama outside of the capital and incorporating explorations of international influences and transmission
- Contains original scholarship and topics and themes which have not previously received scholarly treatment while also providing a wealth of rich introductory material
Reviews & endorsements
'This kaleidoscopic volume offers a welcome re-evaluation of the ways in which the First World War changed theatre-making and play-going in Britain. There will be much here for students to explore and more seasoned researchers to discover, from how the theatre supported, resisted, and dealt with the many challenges of the conflict to how theatre has continued to respond to the war in the century that has followed.' Brad Kent, Université Laval
'Helen Brooks' and Michael Hammond's Companion to Theatre of the First World War is a significant milestone in critical scholarship on British theatre and the First World War. The Companion brings together fifteen expert scholars who range widely over the topic, and collectively remind us of the importance of remembering 'ordinary' people's lives during wartime. The essays in the Companion offer original and thoughtful approaches to a period of European history all too often subject to kneejerk patriotism and pompous memorialisation. The Companion to Theatre of the First World War is about more than the Great War: it is a guide to the foundations of twentieth-century popular modernity.' Kate Newey, University of Exeter
Product details
October 2023Paperback
9781108722766
300 pages
228 × 153 × 15 mm
0.438kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction: British theatre and the first world war Helen E. M. Brooks
- Part I. Mobilising for War:
- 1. Foreshadowing the war: future war and invasion plays, 1900–1914 Ailise Bulfin
- 2. Mobilising the nation: the comic revue in wartime Robert Dean
- Part II. Theatre During the War:
- 3. Challenging times: making theatre during the war Claire Cochrane
- 4. Everyone's a playgoer now!: theatregoing and theatregoers 1914–1918 Viv Gardner
- 5. Theatre in the war zone Emma Hanna
- 6. The classics at war Ailsa Grant Ferguson
- 7. War on the popular stage: 'spy' plays and the one act domestic comedy Maggie B. Gale
- 8. Cinema and theatre in the great war Michael Hammond
- 9. American invasions Philippa Burt
- 10. European theatre on the British stage 1914–1918 Eva Krivanec
- 11. Resistance and objection Anselm Heinrich
- Part III: The Memory of War:
- 12. Reflecting on the war Rebecca D'Monté
- 13. Re-imagining the war Helen E. M. Brooks
- 14. Commemorating the war Rebecca Benzie
- Chronology of events and productions
- Further reading
- Index.
