Theater History 31
Subscription Theater Democracy and Drama in Britain and Ireland, 1880–1939 Matthew Franks Subscription Theater asks why turn-of-the-century British and Irish citizens spent so much time, money, and effort adding their names to subscription lists. Shining a spotlight on private play-producing clubs, public repertory theaters, amateur drama groups, and theatrical magazines, Matthew Franks locates these subscription theaters in a vast constellation of civic subscription initiatives, ranging from voluntary schools and workers’ hospitals to soldiers’ memorials and Diamond Jubilee funds. Across these enterprises, Franks argues, a diverse cast of subscribers including typists, plumbers, and maids acted as political representatives for their fellow citizens, both inside the theater and far beyond it. Grounded in a rich archive of print materials, a database of over 23,000 stage productions, and plays by such writers as Shaw and Ibsen, this book demonstrates that subscribers have been responsible for how we value audience and repertoire today, offering a new account of the relationship between ephemera, drama, and democracy. Matthew Franks is Assistant Professor of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick. Material Texts
“Matthew Franks convincingly argues that subscription underlay the development of theater audience and repertoire in the modern period. His conclusions are original and make a substantial contribution to both theater history and print culture studies.” —Elizabeth Carolyn Miller, University of California, Davis “Matthew Franks offers valuable knowledge about the wider cultural context—social as well as artistic—of British and Irish Edwardian ‘new’ drama and stagecraft, the regional repertory movement, and the widespread phenomenon of amateur theater. His methodological focus on printed ephemera presents exciting new ways of thinking about documentary evidence in theater history.” —Claire Cochrane, University of Worcester
September Cultural Studies, Literature 296 pages | 6 x 9 | 7 illus. ISBN 978-0-8122-5247-7 | Hardcover $89.95s | £72.00 ISBN 978-0-8122-9741-6 | Ebook $89.95s | £67.00 World Rights
