Nadine Holdsworth

This book is the first major study of amateur theatre, offering new perspectives on its place in the cultural and social life of communities. Historically informed, it traces how amateur theatre has impacted national repertoires, contributed to diverse creative economies, and responded to changing patterns of labour. Based on extensive archival and ethnographic research, it traces the importance of amateur theatre to crafting places and the ways in which it sustains the creativity of amateur theatre over a lifetime. It asks: how does amateur theatre-making contribute to the twenty-first century amateur turn?

Homelessness in Performance, Art and Society investigates the contemporary context of homelessness in England and how performance and the arts can engage with this complex issue to advocate for, value and foster the lives, creative identities and artistic ambitions of people who are or have been affected by homelessness. The book offers critically informed analysis of the artists, theatre-makers, social enterprises, investigative journalists, cultural, heritage and charitable organisations drawing on socially committed arts practice. It highlights, documents and investigates artistic interventions that provoke new ways of perceiving homelessness and examines projects offering those who have experienced homelessness an opportunity to showcase their stories, heritage, creativity and cultural leadership. Capturing the breadth of socially committed arts practice in England, this book engages with arts and homelessness through a consideration of autobiographical performance, photography and graphic novel projects, performance installations and festivals, as well as digital and embodied memorialising outputs and events. Homelessness in Performance, Art and Society is ideal for students and scholars of applied theatre, socially engaged theatre, and broader humanities studies that interrogate the intersections between homelessness and the arts, as well as artists and community activists with an interest in this field.

Homelessness in Performance, Art and Society investigates the contemporary context of homelessness in England and how performance and the arts can engage with this complex issue to advocate for, value and foster the lives, creative identities and artistic ambitions of people who are or have been affected by homelessness. The book offers critically informed analysis of the artists, theatre-makers, social enterprises, investigative journalists, cultural, heritage and charitable organisations drawing on socially committed arts practice. It highlights, documents and investigates artistic interventions that provoke new ways of perceiving homelessness and examines projects offering those who have experienced homelessness an opportunity to showcase their stories, heritage, creativity and cultural leadership. Capturing the breadth of socially committed arts practice in England, this book engages with arts and homelessness through a consideration of autobiographical performance, photography and graphic novel projects, performance installations and festivals, as well as digital and embodied memorialising outputs and events. Homelessness in Performance, Art and Society is ideal for students and scholars of applied theatre, socially engaged theatre, and broader humanities studies that interrogate the intersections between homelessness and the arts, as well as artists and community activists with an interest in this field.

Focusing on contemporary English theatre, this book asks a series of questions: How has theatre contributed to understandings of the North-South divide? What have theatrical treatments of riots offered to wider debates about their causes and consequences? Has theatre been able to intervene in the social unease around Gypsy and Traveller communities? How has theatre challenged white privilege and the persistent denigration of black citizens? In approaching these questions, this book argues that the nation is blighted by a number of internal rifts that pit people against each other in ways that cast particular groups as threats to the nation, as unruly or demeaned citizens – as ‘social abjects’. It interrogates how those divisions are generated and circulated in public discourse and how theatre offers up counter-hegemonic and resistant practices that question and challenge negative stigmatization, but also how theatre can contribute to the recirculation of problematic cultural imaginaries.

This book uses original archival material to consider the theatrical and cultural innovations of Joan Littlewood and her company, 'Theatre Workshop'. Littlewood had a huge impact on the way theatre was generated, rehearsed and presented during the twentieth century. Now reissued, Joan Littlewood is the first book to combine: an overview of Littlewood's career in relation to the wider social, political and cultural contextan exploration of Littlewood's theatrical influences, approach to actor's training, belief in the creative ensemble, attitude to text, rehearsal methods and use of improvisationa detailed case study of the origins, research, creative process and thinking behind Littlewood's most famous production, Oh What a Lovely War, and an assessment of its impacta series of practical exercises designed to capture and illustrate the key approaches Littlewood used in the rehearsal room. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performace Practitioners offer unbeatable value for today's student.

This book uses original archival material to consider the theatrical and cultural innovations of Joan Littlewood and her company, 'Theatre Workshop'. Littlewood had a huge impact on the way theatre was generated, rehearsed and presented during the twentieth century. Now reissued, Joan Littlewood is the first book to combine: an overview of Littlewood's career in relation to the wider social, political and cultural contextan exploration of Littlewood's theatrical influences, approach to actor's training, belief in the creative ensemble, attitude to text, rehearsal methods and use of improvisationa detailed case study of the origins, research, creative process and thinking behind Littlewood's most famous production, Oh What a Lovely War, and an assessment of its impacta series of practical exercises designed to capture and illustrate the key approaches Littlewood used in the rehearsal room. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performace Practitioners offer unbeatable value for today's student.

Joan Littlewood was one of the most visionary and influential theatre directors of the twentieth century. Drawing on extensive archival research and detailed performance histories, and paying close attention to wider political and cultural forces, this innovative study presents a fresh examination of Littlewood's treatment of the politics of war, Renaissance plays, marginalised communities and popular culture in productions such as Oh What a Lovely War, A Taste of Honey and Richard II. This book offers a sustained examination of Littlewood's paratheatrical activity that centred on her ambitious plans for the Fun Palace, a multifaceted cultural centre, and her numerous playground projects for young people. Alert to critical thinking on ethics, citizenship, cultural politics, class and space, Joan Littlewood's Theatre will deepen and extend knowledge and understanding of the innovative theatrical, cultural and community-based practices generated by Littlewood throughout her career.

Joan Littlewood was one of the most visionary and influential theatre directors of the twentieth century. Drawing on extensive archival research and detailed performance histories, and paying close attention to wider political and cultural forces, this innovative study presents a fresh examination of Littlewood's treatment of the politics of war, Renaissance plays, marginalised communities and popular culture in productions such as Oh What a Lovely War, A Taste of Honey and Richard II. This book offers a sustained examination of Littlewood's paratheatrical activity that centred on her ambitious plans for the Fun Palace, a multifaceted cultural centre, and her numerous playground projects for young people. Alert to critical thinking on ethics, citizenship, cultural politics, class and space, Joan Littlewood's Theatre will deepen and extend knowledge and understanding of the innovative theatrical, cultural and community-based practices generated by Littlewood throughout her career.

How has theatre engaged with the nation-state and helped to formulate national identities? What impact have migration and globalisation had on the relationship between theatre and nation? Theatre& Nation explores how theatre institutions, playwrights, theatre-makers and performance artists engage with the nation, nationalism and national identity in their work. The book argues that theatrical representations of the nation are constantly in flux and that the way theatre engages with the nation changes according to different geographical, political, economic, social and cultural circumstances. Foreword by Nicholas Hytner.