Good Nights Out: A History of Popular British Theatre 1940-2015

by Aleks Sierz

Overview

London's West End is a global success story, staging phenomenal hit shows that have delighted millions of spectators and generated billions of pounds in revenue. In Good Nights Out, Aleks Sierz provides a thematic survey of such popular theatre shows that were enormous commercial successes over the past 75 years. He argues that these outstanding hits have a lot to say about the collective cultural, social and political attitudes and aspirations of the country, and about how our national identity - and theatre's role in creating it - has evolved over the decades.

The book spans a range of work from almost forgotten plays, such as R. F. Delderfield's Worm's Eye View and Hugh Hastings's Seagulls Over Sorrento, to well-known mega-hits, such as The Mousetrap and The Phantom of the Opera. Such popular work has tended to be undervalued by some critics and commentators mainly because it has not been thought to be a suitable subject for inclusion in the canon of English Literature. By contrast, Sierz demonstrates that genres such as the British musical, light comedy, sex farce or murder mystery are worth appreciating not only for their intrinsic theatrical qualities, but also as examples of the dream life of the British people. The book challenges the idea that mega-hits are merely escapist entertainments and instead shows how they contribute to the creation of powerful myths about our national life. The analysis of such shows also points towards the possibility of creating an alternative history of postwar British theatre.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350046221
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	12/12/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	609 KB

About the Author

Aleks Sierz FRSA is a well-known author, broadcaster, journalist and theatre critic whose books include In-Yer-Face Theatre (2001), Rewriting the Nation (Methuen Drama, 2011) and Modern British Playwriting: The 1990s (Methuen Drama, 2012).
Aleks Sierz is the theatre critic of Tribune and a freelance theatre reviewer. He is a lecturer in modern British theatre whose seminal study, In-Yer-Face Theatre, defined a new generation of writers and their work. In 2006 Methuen Drama published his guide, The Theatre of Martin Crimp, which was followed up by 2012's Modern British Playwriting: the 1990s. Sierz's journalism has featured in the Sunday Times, the Daily Telegraph and the Independent. He is a widely read, highly regarded critic of modern British theatre.

Aleks Sierz FRSA is Visiting Professor at Rose Bruford College, London, UK, and author of In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today (Faber, 2001), John Osborne's Look Back in Anger (Continuum, 2008), Rewriting the Nation: British Theatre Today (Methuen Drama, 2011) and Modern British Playwriting: The 1990s (Methuen Drama 2012). He also
works as a journalist, broadcaster, lecturer and theatre critic.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

A Note on Sources

Introduction

Chapter One
War: Comic, Tragic and Nostalgic
While the Sun Shines (1943)
Worm's Eye View (1945)
Seagulls Over Sorrento (1950)
Reluctant Heroes (1950)
War Horse (2007)

Chapter Two
Crime: Classical, Farcical and Postmodern
The Mousetrap (1952)
Simple Spymen (1958)
Sleuth (1970)
The Business of Murder (1981)

Chapter Three
Sex: Comic, Episodic and Ironic
There's a Girl in My Soup (1966)
Pyjama Tops (1969)
Oh! Calcutta! (1969)
No Sex, Please - We're British (1971)

Chapter Four
Family: Traditional, Redemptive and Fractured
'Sailor, Beware!' (1955)
Spring and Port Wine (1965)
The Man Most Likely To (1968)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2012)

Chapter Five
Class: Musical, Parodic and Political
Charlie Girl (1965)
Daisy Pulls It Off (1983)
Blood Brothers (1983)
Billy Elliot the Musical (2005)

Chapter Six
History: Gothic, Edwardian and Pastiche
The Phantom of the Opera (1986)
The Woman in Black (1987)
The 39 Steps (2006)
One Man, Two Guvnors (2011)

Chapter Seven
Fantasy: Whimsy, Camp and Sci-fi
Salad Days (1954)
The Rocky Horror Show (1973)
Return to the Forbidden Planet (1989)
Matilda the Musical (2010)

Conclusion - Dream Life of the British People

Appendix 1: List of new shows from 1940 until the end of 2015 with more than 1,000 performances (by run length)

Appendix 2: List of new shows from 1940 until the end of 2015 with more than 1,000 performances (by date)

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

"The book is doing important work in bringing these plays and productions back into view as significant contributions to an expanded notion of what a history of British theatre might look like at one end of the commercial subsidized spectrum … Works as an introductory text that goes some way to changing the aperture on British commercial theatre." - New Theatre Quarterly

“A well-researched, worthwhile and enjoyable read.” —Theatre Notebook

“'The great British public just wants to have fun, to enjoy a good night out,' declares Sierz (visiting professor, Rose Bruford College, London, UK) in his fascinating and important study of British popular theater between 1940 and 2015. Subverting the common perception of British theater as a locus for erudite, serious drama in favor of theater that 'people actually want to see,' Sierz focuses on 'mega-hits'-'superlatively successful' shows with more than 1,000 performances that captured the popular imagination and allowed Britons to dream about who they are, how they feel, and what they might become as a society. Sierz organizes his study thematically, examining shows about matters that have preoccupied the British-war, crime, sex, family, class, history, and fantasy-and looking at how they evolved on stage over 75 years. He cites significant crossover shows, such as War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which were both mega-hits and critically acclaimed works of art and profiles others heretofore absent from published histories—for example, Worm's Eye View, Pyjama Tops, and Daisy Pulls It Off. His analysis of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, which opened in 1952 and is still running (26,000-plus performances), is revelatory. Excellent appendixes and notes. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.” —CHOICE

“In a terrific new book, Good Nights Out, the critic Aleks Sierz flies the flag for a strand of work he feels has been consistently undervalued despite – or rather because of – its box office success.” —The Telegraph

“This is that rare thing: an absolutely necessary theatre book. Aleks Sierz examines popular theatre seriously but not solemnly, sets it in its historical context and, above all, understands its social significance. An indispensable addition to the bookshelf.” —Michael Billington OBE, The Guardian

“[Sierz's] discussion throughout the book is clear and lively … A hugely enjoyable read, one that never talks down to the reader, but which has depth and knowledge to provide an informative context for the relationship between mega-hits and audience tastes.” —British Theatre

“Aleks Sierz has written a fascinating and highly entertaining book about the shows that packed them in. He brings back to life entire genres that appealed to vast numbers of people but have been more or less forgotten by theatre historians. He asks why these blockbuster successes spoke so vividly to their audiences, and what they say about the world that formed them. It's a book for anyone who has ever worried that they're enjoying themselves too much in the theatre, as well as for those who want to know how central the theatre has been in the formation of popular taste.” —Sir Nicholas Hytner, Director, UK

“An absolute pleasure to read ... I cannot recommend this book enough. I would urge everyone who has the slightest interest in Britain's theatrical history to purchase this book and luxuriate in the wealth of talent, some of which has been long forgotten, that has graced the stages of the West End from the 1940s up to 2015.” —Musical Theatre Review

From the Publisher