Anarchist and Socialist Theatres of the 1960s

Abstract

The 1960s were a time of change, marked by often anarchistic ideas of progressive entertainment, such as Joan Littlewood’s Fun Palace, the ‘Kirbymoorside 63’ event created by Margaretta D’Arcy and John Arden, and Arnold Wesker’s Centre 42, with its various festivals. Ewan MacColl created his influential radio ballads, as well as still writing plays and mounting The Festival of Fools for several years running, and Albert Hunt made his cowboy Western-style political drama, John Ford’s Cuban Missile Crisis. At Stoke-on-Trent’s Victoria Theatre, Peter Cheeseman mounted a series of documentary dramas, most notably Fight for Shelton Bar, in which the theatre joined the fight for the survival of the local steelworks. The most notable socialist company of the 1960s was undoubtedly CAST (Cartoon Archetypal Slogan Theatre) of Roland Muldoon and Claire Burnley. They invented the character of Muggins, a put-upon, funny, original worker who featured in many of their hilarious, fast-paced, political shows, including Harold Muggins Is a Martyr, created with John Arden and Margaretta D’Arcy. D’Arcy and Arden’s The Ballygombeen Bequest and The Non-Stop Connolly Show were the finest socialist dramas of this period.