Recovering First World War Theatre A Nationwide Community Project

First World War Theatre

Performers in Front of a Tank
Performers in Front of a Tank

This was a nationwide community project researching long lost war plays written and performed during the Great War. It was a development from a successful pilot project in 2016 and was funded by the University of Kent, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project leader was Dr Helen Brooks*, University lecturer and theatre historian.

Societies were invited to ask if any members with an interest in the First World War and theatrical and cultural history would like to take part, and three members from our Society took part in the project.

A WW1 'Theatre'
A WW1 'Theatre'
Applying Makeup
Applying Makeup

This exciting research-based project took place between March and December 2017 and traced playwrights using genealogy tools, typing-up 100-year-old play manuscripts and researching performance histories of plays. Much of the work was undertaken online at home or in local libraries.

For more information about discovering First World War Theatre go to: www.greatwartheatre.org.uk/ or www.gatewaysfww.org.uk/

*Dr Helen Brooks is currently writing a book on war-themed theatre made during and immediately after the First World War. Previously she has published widely in the ways that theatre and performance responded to and engaged with the experience of war both during and immediately after the conflict.