This book rediscovers and re-evaluates the work of the Welsh dramatist J. O. Francis (1882–1954) and his contribution to the development of Welsh drama in the twentieth century. More than a prize-winning dramatist, whose plays were performed all over the world, Francis can also be described as one of the founding fathers of modern Welsh drama, whose work has helped establish theatrical realism on the Welsh stage. His creative non-fiction for the popular press and for radio gives a unique perspective on how Wales was seen through the eyes of a perceptive London-Welsh observer. Using much previously unpublished material, this volume is an excellent introduction to one of Wales’s foremost dramatists, and is innovative in the way that it creates a picture of the amateur dramatic scene of south Wales (1920–40) based on sound statistical analysis of available evidence. It situates Francis’s work in its cultural context and brings this exciting period in Welsh cultural history to life in its introduction to a new audience.

This study of British amateur theatre in the inter-war period examines five different but interwoven examples of the belief, common in theatrical and educational circles at the time, that amateur drama had a purpose beyond recreation. Amateur theatre was at the height of its popularity as a cultural practice between the wars, so that by 1939 more British people had practical experience of putting on plays than at any time before or since. Providing an original account of the use of drama in adult education projects in deprived areas, and of amateur theatre in government-funded centres for the unemployed in the 1930s, it discusses repertoires, participation by working- class people and pioneering techniques of play-making. Amateur drama festivals and competitions were intended to raise standards and educate audiences. This book assesses their effect on play-making, and the use of innovative one-act plays to express contentious material, as well as looking at the Left Book Club Theatre Guild as an attempt to align the amateur theatre movement with anti-fascist and anti-war movements. A chapter on the Second World War rectifies the neglect of amateur theatre in war-time cultural studies, arguing that it was present and important in every aspect of war-time life. Don Watson builds on current scholarship and makes use of archival sources, local newspapers, unpublished scripts and the records of organizations not usually associated with the theatre. His work explores the range and diversity of amateur drama between the wars and the contributions it made to British theatre.

The first cultural history of English Welsh duality - an identification with two constituent nations at once - that explores how 'Welshness' was imagined, performed, and mobilised in England during and between the two world wars.

This book rediscovers and re-evaluates the work of the Welsh dramatist J. O. Francis (1882–1954) and his contribution to the development of Welsh drama in the twentieth century. More than a prize-winning dramatist, whose plays were performed all over the world, Francis can also be described as one of the founding fathers of modern Welsh drama, whose work has helped establish theatrical realism on the Welsh stage. His creative non-fiction for the popular press and for radio gives a unique perspective on how Wales was seen through the eyes of a perceptive London-Welsh observer. Using much previously unpublished material, this volume is an excellent introduction to one of Wales’s foremost dramatists, and is innovative in the way that it creates a picture of the amateur dramatic scene of south Wales (1920–40) based on sound statistical analysis of available evidence. It situates Francis’s work in its cultural context and brings this exciting period in Welsh cultural history to life in its introduction to a new audience.

The Routledge Companion to Twentieth Century British Theatre and Performance provides a broad range of perspectives on the multiple models and examples of theatre, artists, enthusiasts, enablers, and audiences that emerged over this formative 100-year period. This first volume covers the first half of the century, constructing an equitable and inclusive history that is more representative of the nation's lived experience than the traditional narratives of British theatre. Its approach is intra-national – weaving together the theatres and communities of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The essays are organised thematically arranged into sections that address nation, power, and identity; fixity and mobility; bodies in performance; the materiality of theatre and communities of theatre. This approach highlights the synergies, convergences, and divergences of the theatre landscape in Britain during this period, giving a sense of the sheer variety of performance that was taking place at any given moment in time. This is a fascinating and indispensable resource for undergraduate and graduate students, postgraduate researchers, and scholars across theatre and performance studies, cultural studies, and twentieth-century history.

This pioneering study introduces readers to key themes from animal studies, as a frame within which it examines the representation of animals and animality in the work of a range of authors. In this new approach to animal studies, the concept of a relational universe that has emerged in recent natural and physical science is argued as being central. With fresh readings of Welsh literary and non-literary publications, including the Welsh press and Welsh-language manuals, the book explores relationships among animals and between humans and animals, to approach subjects such as intelligence, sensibility and knowledge from an animal perspective. The possibility of redrawing and reclaiming a history of rural and industrial Wales is suggested according to an animal history and agenda. This innovative contribution to Welsh and animal studies illuminates fascinating and controversial subjects, including animal domestication, captivity, communication, biopsychology, human exceptionalism, zoos and farming.

This is the first comparative study of the distinctive literatures and cultures that have developed in Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland since political devolution in the late 1990s, especially surrounding Brexit. The book argues that in conceptualising their cultures as 'national', each nation is caught up in a creative tension between emulating forms of cultural production found in the others to assert common aspirations, and downplaying those connections in order to forge a sense of cultural distinctiveness. The author explores the resulting dilemmas, with chapters analysing the growth of the creative industries; the relationship between UK City of Culture and its forerunner, the European Capital of Culture; national book prizes in Britain and Europe; British variations on Nordic Noir TV; and the Brexit novel. With regard to separate cultural precursors and responses in each nation, Brexit itself is debated as a factor that has widened their differences, placing the future of the UK in question.