Helen Brooks, School of Arts
During the First World War just under 3000 new plays were written and licensed for performance across England, Scotland and Wales. Over a quarter of these dealt with the war. Most of these plays have been long forgotten. However by reading, researching and re-staging them we can gain unique new insights into life during the Great War.
Great War Theatre is a collaborative research project in which academics and members of the public are working together to uncover the forgotten history of theatre and performance during the First World War. By doing this we aim to open up and generate new insights into the Great War and British theatre history.
The Great War Theatre project began in 2016 and is still ongoing, with new findings being submitted to the database every week. Since 2016 over 230 volunteers from across the UK have been trained as volunteer researchers on the project. Together the team has identified just under 3000 plays licensed during the Great War and we now we are now focussing on the war-themed plays to see where they were performed and how they represent the conflict. To do this we are researching these plays, and the men and women who wrote them, using online newspapers, genealogy websites, local archives, and scripts at the British Library.
Email GreatWarTheatre@kent.ac.uk
Tweet @GreatWarTheatre
Great War Theatre Project
School of Arts
Jarman Building
University of Kent
