The Censorship of British Drama 1900-1968 Volume 2

Steve Nicholson

Description

This is the second volume in a new paperback edition of Steve Nicholson’s well-reviewed four-volume analysis of British theatre censorship from 1900-1968, based on previously undocumented material in the Lord Chamberlain's Correspondence Archives in the British Library and the Royal Archives at Windsor. It covers the period from 1933 to 1952, and focuses on theatre censorship during the period before the outbreak of the Second World War, during the war itself, and in the immediate post-war period. The focus is primarily on political and moral censorship. The book documents and analyses the control exercised by the Lord Chamberlain. It also reviews the pressures exerted on him and on the theatre by the government, the monarch, the Church, foreign embassies and by influential public figures and organisations.

This new edition includes a contextualising timeline for those readers who are unfamiliar with the period, and a new preface.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47788/SGLU9228

Acknowledgements

Introduction: 'The Most Dispensable of All the Fetters'

Section One: 1933-1939

1  'Verboten': The Nazis Onstage

2  'Prudes on the Prowl': The Moral Gaze

3  'The Author Will Probably Deny It...': Naming the Homosexual

4  'These Communist Effusions': Testing Tolerance in Politics and Religion

Section Two: 1939-1945

5  'Everybody Bombs Babies Now': Politics in Wartime

6  'Lubricating the War Machine': The Nude in Wartime

7  'Beastly Practices': Sexual Taboos in Wartime

Section Three: 1945-1952

8  'Two Ways To Get Rid Of The Censor'

9  'This Infernal Business of Sex'

10  'But Perverts Must Go Somewhere in the Evening'

11  'The Crazy but Satisfactory Ethics of the English'

Afterword: 'Congenial Work'

Notes on Archive Referencing and Authors' Names

Notes

Select Bibliography

Index

Sujets

• 1939-1945
• Political Science
• Theater
• Reino Unido
• Theatre
• Censorship
• Lord Chamberlain's Office
• Interwar period
• General officer
• 20th century
• World War II
• United Kingdom
• Politics
• Great Britain
• General
• Performance
• Seconde Guerre mondiale
• Royaume-Uni
• Media

Informations

• Publié par: University of Exeter Press
• Date de parution: 02 mars 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780859899048
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 12 Mo

Extrait

The Censorship of British Drama 1900–1968

Volume Two: 1933–1952

The Censorship of British Drama 1900–1968 is based on a systematic exploration of the Lord Chamberlain’s correspondence archives, which contain files for every play submitted for a public performance licence in Great Britain. In three volumes, it examines both plays that were banned, and the far greater number that were significantly cut or altered. Steve Nicholson also makes substantial use of the Royal Archives at Windsor to provide new insight into the debates that went on within and beyond the Lord Chamberlain’s Office. This second volume focuses primarily on political and moral censorship, documenting and analysing the control exercised by the Lord Chamberlain. It also reviews the pressures exerted on him and on the theatre by the government, the monarch, the Church, foreign embassies and by influential public figures and organisations. Among the topics covered are: the ban on criticising the Nazis or portraying Hitler; restrictions on anti-war drama; controlling nudity and strip shows in wartime reviews; comedians and innuendo; youth violence and the shock of realism on the postwar stage; the perceived threat to society from ‘sexual perversion’; the campaigns of the Public Morality Council. Volume Three will cover the period 1953–1968, beginning at the dawn of the Conservative fifties, and will examine how censorship affected the work of Genet, Beckett and the controversial new wave of British playwrights.

Exeter Performance Studies

Exeter Performance Studiesaims to publish the best new scholarship from a variety of sources, presenting established authors alongside innovative work from new scholars. The list explores critically the relationship between theatre and history, relating performance studies to broader politi- cal, social and cultural contexts. It also includes titles which offer access to previously unavailable material.

Series editors: Peter Thomson, Professor of Drama at the University of Exe- ter; Graham Ley, Reader in Drama and Theory at the University of Exeter; Steve Nicholson, Reader in Twentieth-Century Drama at the University of Sheffield.

From Mimesis to Interculturalism:Readings of Theatrical Theory Before and After ‘Modernism’ Graham Ley (1999)

British Theatre and the Red Peril:The Portrayal of Communism 1917–1945 Steve Nicholson (1999)

On Actors and Acting Peter Thomson (2000)

Grand-Guignol:The French Theatre of Horror Richard J. Hand and Michael Wilson (2002)

The Censorship of British Drama 1900–1968:Volume One 1900–1932 Steve Nicholson (2003)

Freedom’s Pioneer:John McGrath’s Work in Theatre, Film and Television edited by David Bradby and Susanna Capon (2005)

John McGrath—Plays for England selected and introduced by Nadine Holdsworth (2005)

Also published by University of Exeter Press

Extraordinary Actors:Essays on Popular Performers Studies in honour of Peter Thomson edited by Jane Milling and Martin Banham (2004)

The Censorship of British Drama 1900–1968

Volume Two: 1933–1952

Steve Nicholson

For Katya and Vikka Thanks for finding such good uses for all the drafts.

First published in 2005 by University of Exeter Press Reed Hall, Streatham Drive Exeter EX4 4QR UK www.exeterpress.co.uk

© Steve Nicholson 2005

The right of Steve Nicholson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Acts 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 0 85989 697 8

Typeset in 10.5pt Aldine by JCS Publishing Services

Printed in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham

Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction: ‘The Most Dispensable of All the Fetters’

SECTION ONE: 1933–1939

1 ‘Verboten’: The Nazis Onstage 2 ‘Prudes on the Prowl’: The Moral Gaze 3 ‘The Author Will Probably Deny It . . .’: Naming the Homosexual 4 ‘These Communist Effusions’: Testing Tolerance in Politics and Religion

SECTION TWO: 1939–1945

5 ‘Everybody Bombs Babies Now’: Politics in Wartime 6 ‘Lubricating the War Machine’: The Nude in Wartime 7 ‘Beastly Practices’: Sexual Taboos in Wartime

SECTION THREE: 1945–1952

8 ‘Two Ways To Get Rid Of The Censor’ 9 ‘This Infernal Business of Sex’

10 ‘But Perverts Must GoSomewherein the Evening’ 11 ‘The Crazy but Satisfactory Ethics of the English’

Afterword: ‘Congenial Work’

vii 1

9 55

96

119

165 200 232

277 301 320 355

377

VI

THECENSORSHIPOFBRITISHDRAMA

Notes on Archive Referencing and Authors’ Names Notes Select Bibliography Index

382 385 411 415

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the following for their support, assistance and contri- butions to the research and the writing of this book: The Arts and Humanities Research Board, whose funding was crucial in allowing me the time to complete this book; the Society for Theatre Research and the Uni- versity of Huddersfield, both of whom also made generous g rants to assist the process of research; Kathryn Johnson, Curator of Modern Drama at the British Library, and an expert at navigating the Lord Chamberlain’s archives; staff in the Manuscript Room of the British Library and the Study Room of the Theatre Museum; Queen Elizabeth II for granting me per- mission to read and make use of material in the Royal Archive at Windsor; staff in the Royal Archive, especially the Registrar, Miss Pamela Clark; Peter Ettridge, Nick Taylor and Clare Walters for transcribing and checking material; University of Exeter Press and its Editorial Board, especially Anna Henderson, Simon Baker, Peter Thomson and Graham Ley; and to all who have continued to offer their support—financial, emotional, intellectual, or any combination of the above. Especially Heather.