Questors, Jesters and Renegades - by Michael Coveney (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This is the vital story of the amateur theatre as it developed from the medieval guilds to the modern theatre of Ayckbourn and Pinter, with a few mishaps and missed cues along the way. Michael Coveney - a former member of Ilford's Renegades - tells this tale with a charm and wit that will have you shouting out for an encore.

Between the two world wars, amateur theatre thrived across the UK, from Newcastle to Norwich, from Bolton to Birmingham and Bangor, championed by the likes of George Bernard Shaw, Sybil Thorndike, and J B Priestley. Often born out of a particular political cause or predicament, many of these theatres and companies continue to evolve, survive and even prosper today.

This is the first account of its kind, packed with anecdote and previously unheard stories, and it shows how amateur theatre is more than a popular pastime: it has been endemic to the birth of the National Theatre, as well as a seedbed of talent and a fascinating barometer and product of the times in which we live.

Some of the companies Coveney delves into - all taking centre stage in this entertaining and lively book - include the Questors and Tower Theatre in London; Birmingham's Crescent Theatre; The Little Theatre in Bolton, where Ian McKellen was a schoolboy participant; the Halifax Thespians; Lincolnshire's Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent's father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; Crayford's Geoffrey Whitworth Theatre, where the careers of Michael Gambon and Diana Quick were launched; Anglesey's Theatr Fach, a crucible of Welsh language theatre; and Cornwall's stunning cliff-top Minack.

Review Quotes

[Michael Coveney's] approach is serious and respectful. He has travelled to unearth histories of many of Britain's long-established amateur groups and venues ... Coveney is not of the school that looks to am-dram for what he encapsulates as 'the hilarity of mishap' ... Rather, he makes the case for its worthiness, the closeness of much of its work to that of at least the lower ranks of the professional, and its role as a seedbed of talent.
The Spectator

A fascinating book on am-dram.
The Observer

Michael Coveney's book not only charts the development of the amateur scene, (mainly in England), but also celebrates the joy of amateur theatre, warts and all ... a lively celebration of a quite British phenomenon.
British Theatre Guide

About the Author

Michael Coveney was editor of Plays and Players and chief theatre critic, successively, on the Financial Times, the Observer, and the Daily Mail. His other books include a history of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, and critical biographies of Mike Leigh, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ken Campbell and Maggie Smith.