Cambridge

Cambridge, site of the second oldest university in England, has a long theatrical history. The first mention of liturgical drama dates from 1350 in connection with the staging of The Children of Israel. By the 16th century the acting of plays in Latin was firmly established as part of the students' curriculum, as is evident from the production of Kirchmayer's Pammachius at Christ's College in 1545. Elizabeth I, on her only visit to Cambridge in 1564, was entertained by a performance of Plautus' Aulularia in the chapel of King's College, which was also the setting for the first performance in England of a Latin translation of Guarini's famous pastoral II pastor fido. In 1613 Trinity men performed Bonarelli's Filli di Sciro in Latin. The visit of James I in 1615 was made memorable by the performance, among other plays, of Ruggle's Ignoramus.

All this activity was of course amateur and in Latin, but there appear to have been occasional visits by professional companies. The Chamberlain's (or King's) Men are believed to have played Hamlet in Cambridge in 1603, but non-academic acting was not encouraged, and as the Commonwealth approached even college productions grew fewer in number. The last recorded play before the closing of the theatres in 1642 was Cowley's The Guardian. In the 18th century regular visits from the professional company on the Norwich circuit were well received, though no acting was allowed within the university precincts. There was, however, a commodious wooden theatre at Stourbridge, and another at Barnwell which was eventually taken over by Terence Gray to become the Festival Theatre. The founding in 1855 of the Amateur Dramatic Club (ADC) made the theatre again an integral part of undergraduate life. It is still active, as is the Footlights Club, founded in 1883 and well known for its annual revue.

In 1907 a group of undergraduates put on a production of Marlowe's Dr Faustus with sufficient success to warrant the founding of the Marlowe Society a year later, with Rupert Brooke, who had played Mephistopheles, as its first president. An outstanding feature of its work has been its fine speaking of verse, and under the guidance of George Rylands (1902– ), who directed many of its productions as well as those of the ADC, it has recorded for the British Council all the plays of Shakespeare. Women's parts were played by men until the production of Antony and Cleopatra in 1934, and a tradition of anonymity was maintained until the mid-1960s. Like the ADC, the Marlowe Society has given a number of fine actors to the professional stage, and a group of outstanding directors including Peter Hall and John Barton. In 1928 the Cambridge Mummers were founded with both men and women members.

The Theatre Royal was adapted in 1882 from the old St Andrew's Hall and demolished in 1896 to make way for the New Theatre, which became a cinema in the early 1930s. In 1936 the economist John Maynard Keynes built the Arts Theatre at his own expense. Under his direction and that of his wife, the Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova, it did much to stimulate theatrical life in Cambridge. After Keynes's death in 1946 it went through a difficult period, but the skill and devotion of George Rylands, his successor, finally saved it. Run by a Trust, it houses not only the productions of the Footlights Club and the Marlowe Society but also visiting professional companies, including the touring Cambridge Theatre Company, financed by the Arts Council and the City of Cambridge. An important theatrical event in Cambridge is the triennial production of a Greek play in the original which began in 1882 with Sophocles' Ajax. After 1950 productions were directed by George Rylands. Since the Second World War many colleges have built their own small theatres, and the number of university productions has increased enormously. A Chair of Drama was established in 1974, though there is as yet no department of drama.