Twentieth Century Theatre

7/28/2019 Twentieth Century Theatre

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TWENTIETH CENTURY THEATRE

DRAMA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY CONFLICTING TRENDS

The word that defines the modern stage is eclectic No other era offers such a complex set of confusing trends.

During the Elizabethan period and the Restoration and other periods therewas no doubt considerable diversity in influences from without and in theflow of native theatrical currents.

Drama of the years 1900 and 1962 they must indeed appear simple andorderly. This means that while it is enterely proper to look at the drama of these

60 years as a unit .A clear line can be drawn from the plays which were beingproduced during the reign of Edward Vil on to those now being performedduring the reign of Elizabeth II. Wee must be alert t observe the series of dramatic waves which within the six decades constantly disturbs and at

timesredirected the main currents.

In order to appreciate fully the growth of the theatre from 1900 onwardsthere

are Items to be considered.


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Fundamental is the fact that the twentieth century witnessed the final

culmination of the stage commercialism and , as an answer to thatcommercialization, the rise of repertory playhouses, all ultimately takingtheir

inspiration from the devoted work of Annie Horniman at the AbbeyTheatre inDublin (1903) and at the gaiety of the theatre in Manchester (1907)

Apart from the theatrical activity there were several associatedmovements: TheMusic hall soared into prominence and much of the music hall turnswere notconcerned with drama as such, the fairly regular performances of the

shortsketches incorporated contributed to the popularity of the

one-act play There was also the extension of the dramatic companies


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Amateurs of course have been active on the stage from medieval times.

Yet onlyin the 20 th c they have come to take their work seriously and aided inthe

encouragement of young playwrights. Partly this was due to amateur companies

intent not merely upon amusing themselves but also upon presentingdramas

which for one reason and another had hardly any chance givenprofessional public performances. These companies were adjunct to the theatre clubs which from the

time of the stage society onwards, put on new plays and old for thematine tothe repertory movement as a whole.

In 1919 Nugget Monk thus establish the Norwich Players and created anElizabethan Type stage in Madder Market Theatre, shortly before in1911, ThePeople 's Theatre at New Castle was founded; out of an originally

amateur touring group called pilgrim players


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TWENTIETH CENTURY DRAMA

The significance of these amateur activities was recognized by Geoffrey

Withworth, who in 1919 founded the British Drama League for thepurpose of aiding their efforts and encouraging their more serious endeavors

The Scottish Community Drama Association was established with asimilar

objective for the territories north and border. For the first time since thedays of the mystery pJays amateurs began to make contributions to the stageas a whole.

At the same time other developments operated on the theatre fromwithout. Justbefore 1914 the silent cinema was beginning to make its impact on the

public,and soon luxurious films and picture palaces sprang up all over the

country,rapidly destroying the last remnants of the last Theatre Royal tradition


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20 TH CENTURY

In the Thirties carne the popularity of the SOUND FILMS Dominant until

theywere confronted with the revivary of television. The music halls andfilms wereto a certain extent responsible for the tremendous vogue of reviews

themselvescontributed much to the growth of new styles of musical drama. Manyof themoriginating abroad in New York and elsewhere.

Perhaps at no time has the English theatre shown such a keen eager and

informed interest in current dramatic rnovements outside its ownnational

boundaries. Only in the twentieth century do we encounter a determined effort to

knoweverything about what was going abroad.


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20TH CENTURY

Translation in forieng words

proliferated, while dozens of books and articles were devoted to thecurrentfortunes of the theatre in many countries. Thus playwrights such as

Strinberg,Chejov, Toller carne to mean for English dramatic authors more than

Moliereand Racine had meant for the men of the Restoration we are concernednow, notmerely with the adapting of some particular plays chosen at random,but with attempt to explore fundamental dramatic attitudes.

English intellectuals have been engaged in a continual series of discoveries mostof them arousing immediate excitement and then being tossed aside.


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The stage of the period was deeply coloured by the historical events and bythe

scientific trends which have so markedly altered and disrupted their lives The world wars could not but leave an impress on the theatres. At the same

timethe curious fact must be observed that neither 1914 -1918 or 1939-45 war

madeany such break in dramatic development as we might have expecified Thebombings of the later years for a time caused some of the playhouses toclose, wecan not see any distinction between the dramatic writing before 1914 andimmediately after 1918 or between 1939 and irnmediately after 1945. It is notpossible to speak of pre-war or post-war stage in so far as the stage is

concerned.Realism is the great movement of the 20 th century with all its departures

The plays written in 1955-1962 can be traced back to a combination of forces

to the establishment of scientific priesthood without any God t worship andanironic contrast between washing machines and nuclear bombs

These conflicting influences and conditions make it impossible to speak of any

prevailing modern style on dramatic compostion.


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20TH.C

There is a tendency to draw a distinction between commercial and non

commercial drama with the implication suggested that only in theformer areawas virtue to be found

As regards the achievements of the period as a whole all we can do is todrawthe attention to a few general tendencies.

One of these is the definite establishment of the prose realistic play,sometimesconcerned with the personal realistic conceptions of characterssometimesseeking to present theatrical images of wider social force so often withparticular stress upon ideas.

In saying this however it is necessary to emphasize once more that Realisminthe theatre is a relative term that even now at the time when realisticendeavor have been have bee pursuing its course though many generations thereis anactive debate as what the term implies.


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20TH.C

Through sixty years there have been constant efforts on the parts of manydramatists to plead for and to experiment in plays constructedaccording todifferent patterns. The fantastic, the poetic all coexisted alongside thenaturalisticand realistic and in so far as the poetic is concerned we are forced toadmit thatseveral of the dramas written in this style during recent years havecome closer to genuine success.

There were more imaginative dramas particularly those who have writtentheir dialogue in verse forms have endeavored to look back towards the timethathonored tragedy. But the efforts in this direction have been sporadicanduncertain. With the result that we may regard the cultivation of themiddle rangeof drama as one of the ages characteristics.

The majority of the 20thc. dramas are called nothing but plays occasionallymingling together. The laughable and the serious, but mostly pursuing apathquite distinct from the tragedy's passionate intensity.


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20TH.C

George Bernard Shaw was startling his public by introducing the word"bloody in his dialogue within recent years his success have been takingdelight in exploiting words able to control its natural functions or eager totalk about their bowels. The difference lies not in the dramatists objectivesbut in the nature of their subject matter. The impact of that relativelyinnocuous bloody was far greater than the entire mass of shock effects

PUBLICIn the 1900 the play going public was an extensive one and the theatres in the

provinces were flourishing today (in those days)The metropolis having expanded and now attracting hundreds of visitors fromthe outside. Yet the play going public has materially declined and inspite of the activities of the repertory playhouses there have been a marked falling of interest in the


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20TH C

theatres though out of the provinces. Two things are responsible before

1910 the silent pictures were beginning to attract the public away fromthe stage. During the thirties the sound films carne into their own andwithin the past ten or fifteen years television has swept over thecountry.

The rival attractions have much to do with the difficulties which manytheatre encounter in gathering audiences sufficient to cover their costs.At the same time it may have suggested that the element of revolt withinthe drama of the period has been partly responsible.

From the close of Victoria's reign until now playwrights have shownthemselves interested into the instruction al element. Indeed writingthese instructional elements have been presented not in an implied or suggested way but clearly stated.As a result the quality o entertainmenthas declined. Playgoers now go to the theatre in order to be entertained


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20TH C.

TASTES

Spectators prepares genuinely for tragic effect, to be caught up by an also plot tobe charmed, by dialogue, to have their laughter aroused by comic concepts What motivates them is dullness and sermonizing. The trouble with the stage

during the modern period has been that the cleavage has developed betweenentertainment and instruction, leading to two kinds of performances almost akin tolegitimate and illegitimate productions of the 19 . those which devoid of the deeper significance aim only at the thrill of vacuum laughter. And those which subordinatethe giving of pleasure to an intellectual and often political end. In view of this it is

perhaps not surprising that the audience have declined. The thoughtless entertainment can be obtained more easily and more cheaply from the offering of the cinema and the television. And the more serious plays lack intensity and excitement. The crisis in the theatre during the six decades in question depend upon within as well as from external conditions.


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The thoughtless entertainment can be obtained more easily and more

cheaply from the offering of the cinema and the television. And themore serious plays lack intensity and excitement. The crisis in the theatre during the six

decades in question depend upon within as well as from external conditions. The Realistic Social Drama The perplexing variety of styles and influences make very difficult the

groupingof the numerous playwrights who has made significant contribution tothe stage

During the opening decades of the century the social drama takes thefirst

place. In 1906 John Galsworthy immediately established himself asforc. We


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REALISTIC STAGE CONVENTIONS

Proscenium stage Audience as fourthwall

Change in actingconventionsContinuedimprovement instagecraft: electriclighting, set design,costumes, etc.


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20TH C.

are confronted with a drama which strives o gain social effect from socialsituation rather than from character

JG motto: one law for the rich another for the poor. If a rich man behaves as badly as the poor one on the latter goes to prison

the other does not With great care Galthsworthy avoids condemning the individual

person the :;.invisible social structure becomes the hero of the play and what emerges is

asense of inevitability and waste Some works The Pidgeon (1912) Justice (1910) In STRIFE (1914) he does not make either Antony, director of the company;

or Roberts, leader of the workers, men who govern events. Both no doubt have

ironwills; both are determined to fight to their bitter end and they are no drawn inindividualistic heroic terms. One takes his strength for what is called

capitalistsfaith the other from the faith of the rebels


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20TH.C

For his dramatic tasks Galsworthy possessed certain outstandingqualities . Hehas a profoundly humanitarian outlook upon life, and he strove to thebest of hisability to adopt an objective attitude, he was slow to condemnindividuals andpreferred to balance vices and virtues, In general he was notsentimental in his

approach and only rarely did he rely upon pathos for the effect of hisscenes He had an excellent sense of his dramatic architecture. And though

there is noemphasis upon individuals. He has the power to give a living quality to

the

persons with whom he dealt. He provided for domestic tragedy in which instead of concentrating

uponcharacters resembling the Shakespearean tradition he has to give

dramaticexpression to these invisible forces holding mankind in the grip.


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20TH C.

Characters are ordinary common place men and women even when they arethe best of their kind the stress is upon themes like Strife, Justice Loyalty.

Thestature of man derives rather than from the environment which has shaperather

than from within himself. Galsworthy was indeed at the threshold of a new kind of theatre adapted to

suitthe demands of an age different in outlook and in circumstances from the

ancient

Athenian and Elizabethan Yet he did not succeed in reaching his goal andthatthe prose realistic stage must perforce abandon all hope of reproaching the

rangeof tragedy.

Tragedy bases itself upon emotion and ordinary prose dialogueinevitably failswhen it essays to explore the passions . This is the failure of Galsworthy 's

playsthrough his employment of one particular device. Many silent scenes or episodesin other of his dramas are used, instead of effectively expressing by action

whatcould not be given in words, are in fac confessions of the total inadequacy

of the prose medium. Because he cannot discover words within this medium toconvey emotions.


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Twentieth Century Theatre