The Censorship Of British Drama 1900 1968

This work explores the portrayal of a range of topics in relation to censorship, including the First World War, race, contemporary and historical international conflicts, sexual freedom and morality, class, the monarchy and religion.

This is the second part of Steve Nicholson's three-volume analysis of British theatre censorship from 1900 until 1968. It covers the period from 1933 to 1952, and focuses on theatre censorship during the period before the outbreak of World War II, during the war itself and in the immediate post-war period.

The 1960s was a significant decade in social and political spheres in Britain, especially in the theatre. As certainties shifted and social divisions widened, a new generation of theatre makers arrived, ready to sweep away yesterday’s conventions and challenge the establishment. Focusing on plays we know, plays we have forgotten, and plays which were silenced forever, this book demonstrates the extent to which censorship shaped the theatre voices of the decade. The concluding part of Steve Nicholson’s four-volume analysis of British theatre censorship from 1900 until 1968, previously undocumented material from the Lord Chamberlain’s Correspondence Archives in the British Library and the Royal archives at Windsor are examined to describe the political and cultural implications of a powerful elite exerting pressure in an attempt to preserve the veneer of a polite, unquestioning society.

Using previously unpublished material from the National Archives, this book provides a thoroughgoing account of the introduction and abolition of theatre censorship in England, from Sir Robert Walpole's Licensing Act of 1737 to the successful campaign to abolish theatre censorship in 1968. It concludes with an exploration of possible new forms of covert censorship.

This is the second part of Steve Nicholson's three-volume analysis of British theatre censorship from 1900 until 1968. It covers the period from 1933 to 1952, and focuses on theatre censorship during the period before the outbreak of World War II, during the war itself and in the immediate post-war period.

This work explores the portrayal of a range of topics in relation to censorship, including the First World War, race, contemporary and historical international conflicts, sexual freedom and morality, class, the monarchy and religion.