Political Theatre

The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre | 1996 | 700+ words | Copyright

Political Theatre, conscious use of the theatre to make political statements. It probably began when actors made political propaganda in factories during the Russian Revolution. With notable exceptions (such as Nazi Germany) it supported the left, and it played a dominant role in East European theatre. Brecht and Piscator made use of it. In the USA in the 1930s it was manifested in the work of the Living Newspaper, which like other examples of political theatre used documentary theatre techniques; and of the socially conscious Group Theatre, especially the plays of Clifford Odets. Theatre Workshop was often political, and most of the Fringe playwrights are ideologically committed. Rare examples from the commercial theatre include Walter Greenwood's Love on the Dole (1935) and Priestley's They Came to a City (1943).

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Political Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Political Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-PoliticalTheatre.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Political Theatre." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-PoliticalTheatre.html

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