This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the
medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a
few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney - a former
member of Ilford's Renegades - tells this tale with a charm and wit that
will have you shouting out for an encore.
Between the two world wars, amateur theatre thrived across the UK, from
Newcastle to Norwich, from Bolton to Birmingham and Bangor, championed
by the likes of George Bernard Shaw, Sybil Thorndike, and J B Priestley.
Often born out of a particular political cause or predicament, many of
these theatres and companies continue to evolve, survive and even
prosper today.
This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and
previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more
than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National
Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and
product of the times in which we live.
Some of the companies Coveney delves into - all taking centre stage in
this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower
Theatre in London; Birmingham's Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in
Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; the Halifax
Thespians; Lincolnshire's Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim
Broadbent's father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World
War II; Crayford's Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, where the careers of
Michael Gambon and Diana Quick were launched; Anglesey's Theatr Fach, a
crucible of Welsh language theatre; and Cornwall's stunning cliff-top
Minack.
