Theatre and identity

: the social roles of provincial theatres and touring drama companies in the British Isles, c. 1850-1914

Abstract

This study examines the social role of provincial theatres and touring drama companies in the British Isles in the second half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. As a social history of theatre, each chapter in this study focuses not only on individual theatrical elements but on how these elements connect with the broader political, social and economic context. The chapters explore the social context of building a new theatre in provincial communities (Chapter One), the composition of provincial theatre audiences (Chapter Two), the formation of a common theatre culture by touring drama companies (Chapter Three), the contents of West End hits and the formation of ‘national’ identity (Chapter Four) and the social roles of touring drama companies with Irish and Scottish dramas (Chapter Five).

From these examinations, the study concludes that theatregoing was, in terms of social class, age and gender, a popular cultural habit which was a fundamental part of people’s lives. In addition, the examinations also reveal that, by accommodating touring drama companies with different genres of dramas, provincial theatres, which represented the local middle-class townsmen’s pride, were places in which multiple different senses of identity could be exhibited at the same time. In the wider context, the study points out that the existence of cross-class audiences and the spread of repertoires with topics shared nationwide helped to form a ‘national’ culture. However, Scottish dramas, which were favoured among the working class, and Irish dramas also became widespread in the same period via touring networks. This means that, in terms of themes of dramas, nationalities and social classes of audiences, diverse types of culture were formed during the period. From these arguments, the study concludes that the U.K. experienced a period of standardisation and, at the same time, of diversity in the second half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.

Date of Award	24 Oct 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of St Andrews
Supervisor	James John Nott (Supervisor)