Download here [5] - University of Kent

11 November 2014
Well Remembered Voices
Summary
A one-day public event exploring how theatre responded to the events of 1914-1918,
and a rare opportunity to see performances of wartime plays. The event is co-run by the
Marlowe Theatre, Gateways to the First World War, and the School of Arts,
University of Kent, and in collaboration with the University of Kent Special Collections.
Plenty is known about the poetry, literature, art, and cinema of the First World War.
Yet when we think about the theatre we often turn to post-war plays such as Journey’s
End and Oh What a Lovely War! As the first of a series of events at the Marlowe marking
the centenary of the First World War, Well Remembered Voices examines how the war
impacted on the theatre, and considers what the drama written and performed during
the war can tell us about attitudes towards, and experiences of the war. Including
discussion of J.M. Barrie’s thoughtful 1918 play A Well Remembered Voice and talks from
leading academics, and culminating in an evening performance of a selection of one-act
First World War plays offering different perspectives on the war, the event will
highlight the importance of this long neglected period of theatre history to
understanding cultural responses to the First World War.
Structure
The morning session focuses of the theatrical context of the First World War,
considering repertoire, audiences, and the impact of the war on the theatre. In light of
this context, in the afternoon we focus on the plays produced during the war and their
relevance today.
Morning
9.30-10
Registration
10-10.30
Introductory Talk: an overview of the varied
ways in which theatre and drama responded to,
and were shaped by, the war between 1914 and
1918. Topics covered will include popular
genres and plays; conditions shaping the drama
such as censorship; attitudes towards actors;
and changing audiences.
10.30-11.30
Hands-on with WW1 Theatrical Sources: an
opportunity to get ‘stuck in’ examining
playbills, programmes, manuscripts, and more.
Jane Gallagher from the University of Kent’s
Special Collections will introduce participants
to the materials available at Kent, and Dr Helen
Brooks will talk about other archives and digital
resources.
11.30-11.45
Break and Refreshments
Dr Helen Brooks / Co-Investigator - Gateways to the First World War (an AHRC centre for public
engagement with the First World War)
School of Arts, University of Kent, CT2 7UG, [email protected], 01227
82 7142
11.45-1
Spectatorship and the First World War:
Professor Viv Gardner from the University of
Manchester will talk about how the war
changed audiences and spectatorship.
Lunch
1-2
Afternoon
2-3.30
Three WW1 Plays: a seminar discussion
around a selection of WW1 plays (available to
download in advance), the themes they tackle,
and their contemporary reception. What is the
relevance of such plays today and in relation to
commemorative activities?
3.30-3.45
Refreshments
3.45-5pm
Re-staging WW1 drama: Dr Andrew Maunder,
Reader at the University of Hertfordshire will
talk about plays of the First World War and his
experience in re-staging a number of these ‘lost’
plays, considering the light they shed on
wartime experience.
7pm
Rehearsed Readings of selected one-act plays
offering different perspectives on/attitudes
toward the war
Evening