Theatre of the People: Donald Wolfits Shakespearean Productions 1937-1953

(Hardback)

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Throughout World War II, audiences in the United Kingdom craved entertainment, even during the countrys darkest days. During this period, actor-manager Donald Wolfit and his theatre troupe toured Great Britain and Europeoften at great risk. After the war, Wolfit broadened his tour, bringing his brand of Shakespearean theatre to North American audiences. Wolfit believed that theatre should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their socioeconomic origins. It was this quality above all that accounted for his huge popularity throughout the fifteen years of his operation. In Theatre of the People: Donald Wolfits Shakespearean Productions 19371953, Laurence Raw looks at this tenacious personality whose determination to serve the nation by performing Shakespeare inspired audiences and fellow actors. Drawing on a series of hitherto unpublished materialsincluding letters and interviewsthis part biography and part social history creates a vivid picture of what life was like for the touring actor during WWII and beyond. Recreating twelve of Wolfits touring dates throughout Great Britain and North America, this volume also demonstrates theatres importance as a source of mass entertainment and education, as well as a propaganda tool. Despite Wolfits popular appeal at the time, he was doomed to remain on the periphery of the theatrical establishment. This book contends that Wolfit deserves to be recognized for his efforts in maintaining public morale during times of stress. Theatre of the People will appeal not only to those interested in drama but also to students and scholars of history and popular entertainment in the 1940s and 1950s.

Reviews

This scholarly but accessible book is one for theatre historians or anyone studying performances of the past. . . .Raw focuses on a major Shakespeare production featuring Wolfit in each chapter. So, for example, in 1945 we find the actor at Grand Theatre Leeds playing Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Raws detailed account of the production includes how it came about, the context in which the show was staged and a great deal of information about the concept of the show including its set, direction and interpretation. . . .Among the other twelve productions discussed Raw includes Wolfits Hamlet at Malvern Festival Theatre in 1937 and his Macbeth at Dudley Hippodrome in 1950. For a scrupulously written analysis of Wolfits Shakespeare achievements youre unlikely to do better. * The Stage *
I am so very pleased and gratified that you have drawn, in your biography, a portrait of my father which is so true to the best of the man I remember and recognising his very real contribution to the British theatre, whilst at the same time not glossing over his undoubted flaws. I particularly appreciate the wide context in which you have set his work as a touring actor manager, and was most interested in all the references you quote. -- Harriet Graham, daughter of Sir Donald Wolfit

Author Bio

Laurence Raw teaches at Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey. He is the author of Adapting Henry James to the Screen (Scarecrow, 2006), Adapting Nathaniel Hawthorne to the Screen (Scarecrow, 2008), and The Ridley Scott Encyclopedia (Scarecrow, 2009).