Context Theatre

FESTIVAL/REVELATIONS:
Pioneering the idea of theatre as 'art' in the face of censorship and the prevalent commercialism of the West End, the Festival Theatre, Cambridge (1926-1935) and the original Gate Theatre, London (1924-34) brought the European and American avant-garde to British audiences.

Context Theatre presents readings of plays produced by these theatres, setting them in the context of their original production and exploring their legacy in relation to contemporary theatre practice.

Staged at The Cambridge Playroom and The Gate Theatre.

Online Gallery: Images from the exhibition (curated by Zoe Gray)

Background:
The Cambridge Festival Theatre 1926 -1935 was an unprecedented creation of a theatre - both in terms of space and ideology - which brought avant-garde European and American practice to the British public. It recorded its work in a magazine called the Festival Theatre Review, which doubled as a programme and a forum for the presentation of the theatres’ ideological beliefs. Its partner theatre was The Gate Theatre, Covent Garden, which was able to push the boundaries of the avant-garde further due to its being a club theatre, and therefore not overtly subject to censorship.

Fringe theatre today may not directly owe its practice to the Festival or the Gate’s pioneering work, but much of what was hailed as innovation in the second half of the twentieth century had already been attempted at the Festival or the Gate in the early 20’s. Long before Look Back in Anger, the artistic directors of these theatres were attempting to present ordinary people and difficult subjects on the stage.

The late Dame Ninette de Valois had her first dancing troupe at the Festival Theatre, choreographing movement for Greek tragedy and Yeats’ verse plays alike, before founding the Royal Ballet School when the theatre closed.More:

The Critical Stage: approaches to art, performance, text at the Cambridge Festival Theatre 1929 – 1935 (PDF)

FESTIVAL
The Playroom, St. Edward’s Passage, Cambridge
7 pm (talk at 9.15pm) 12 -16 November 2002


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			FESTIVAL/REVELATIONS: Pioneering the idea of theatre as 'art' in the face of censorship and the prevalent commercialism of the West End, the Festival Theatre, Cambridge (1926-1935) and the original Gate Theatre, London (1924-34) brought the European and American avant-garde to British audiences. Context Theatre presents readings of plays produced by these theatres, setting them in the context of their original production and exploring their legacy in relation to contemporary theatre practice. Staged at The Cambridge Playroom and The Gate Theatre. Online Gallery: Images from the exhibition (curated by Zoe Gray) Background: The Cambridge Festival Theatre 1926 -1935 was an unprecedented creation of a theatre - both in terms of space and ideology - which brought avant-garde European and American practice to the British public. It recorded its work in a magazine called the Festival Theatre Review, which doubled as a programme and a forum for the presentation of the theatres’ ideological beliefs. Its partner theatre was The Gate Theatre, Covent Garden, which was able to push the boundaries of the avant-garde further due to its being a club theatre, and therefore not overtly subject to censorship. Fringe theatre today may not directly owe its practice to the Festival or the Gate’s pioneering work, but much of what was hailed as innovation in the second half of the twentieth century had already been attempted at the Festival or the Gate in the early 20’s. Long before Look Back in Anger, the artistic directors of these theatres were attempting to present ordinary people and difficult subjects on the stage. The late Dame Ninette de Valois had her first dancing troupe at the Festival Theatre, choreographing movement for Greek tragedy and Yeats’ verse plays alike, before founding the Royal Ballet School when the theatre closed.More: The Critical Stage: approaches to art, performance, text at the Cambridge Festival Theatre 1929 – 1935 (PDF) FESTIVAL The Playroom, St. Edward’s Passage, Cambridge 7 pm (talk at 9.15pm) 12 -16 November 2002 More on Festival REVELATIONS The Gate Theatre, Notting Hill Gate, London 4 pm + 7 pm 13 - 15 January Symposium: 4pm 13 January 2003 ‘Come to the theatre as to a party, and act there in your imaginations according to the pattern of the play!’ - The Festival Theatre Review (1931) ‘We have striven to tear down the fabric of make-believe and bring the audience more and more onto the stage.’ - The Festival Theatre Review (1931) More on Revelations © Context Theatre MMIV return to top \| previous page