Questors, Jesters & Renegades: The story of Britains amateur theatre by Michael Coveney

19 in stock

233mm x 155mm x 11mm

Pages: 216

About the Author Michael Coveney was editor of Plays and Players and chief theatre critic, successively, on the Financial Times, the Observer, and the Daily Mail. His other books include a history of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, and critical biographies of Mike Leigh, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ken Campbell and Maggie Smith. Product Description 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 GÇô a former member of Ilfords 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 GÇô all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birminghams Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; the Halifax Thespians; Lincolnshires Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbents father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; Crayfords Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, where the careers of Michael Gambon and Diana Quick were launched; Angleseys Theatr Fach, a crucible of Welsh language theatre; and Cornwalls stunning cliff-top Minack. Review GǣA fascinating book on am-dram.Gǥ GÇòThe ObserverGǣ[Michael Coveneys] approach is serious and respectful. He has travelled to unearth histories of many of Britains long-established amateur groups and venues GǪ Coveney is not of the school that looks to am-dram for what he encapsulates as the hilarity of mishap GǪ Rather, he makes the case for its worthiness, the closeness of much of its work to that of at least the lower ranks of the professional, and its role as a seedbed of talent.Gǥ GÇòThe SpectatorGǣMichael Coveneys book not only charts the development of the amateur scene, (mainly in England), but also celebrates the joy of amateur theatre, warts and all GǪ a lively celebration of a quite British phenomenon.Gǥ GÇòBritish Theatre GuideGǣA wide-ranging, insightful and very funny book that charts our fascination with theatre.Gǥ GÇòCamden New JournalGǣRichly entertaining and informative ... What comes across vividly is that the amateur movement has made a huge contribution to the nations story and even to the idea of a National Theatre.Gǥ GÇòCountry LifeGǣAn irresistible snoop into the world where so many of us were first tempted into the footlights. Michael Coveney is a trail-blazing theatrical critic; no one could tell this story better.Gǥ GÇòCelia ImrieGǣI particularly admire its readiness to face the patronage and belittlement of amdram and find compelling arguments to persuade sceptical readers to think again ... [it] is continuously well-researched and propelled by argument, but never preachy.Gǥ GÇòIrving Wardle, writer and theatre criticGǣThe book will also fill a vital gap in the theatrical bookshelves and relate the amateur movement to professional theatre and the wider society.Gǥ GÇòMichael Billington, Guardian theatre criticGǣThe subject is fascinating and under-investigated: to the best of my belief this is the first attempt to provide an account of it. Michael Coveney, one of our most widely experien