Glasgow Unity Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Glasgow Unity Theatre was a theatre group that was formed in 1941, in Glasgow
. The Unity theatre movement developed from workers' drama groups in the 1930s, seeing itself as using theatre to highlight the issues of the working class being produced by and for working class audiences. The movement had strong links with the Communist Party of Great Britain
and the Left Book Club
Theatre Guild.
The theatre in Glasgow was formed as an amalgamation of the Workers' Theatre Group, the Clarion Players, the Transport Players and the Glasgow Jewish Institute players. The company toured in a converted truck, performing in halls and theatres.
In the Summer of 1946, the company presented Robert McLeish's The Gorbals Story at the Queen's theatre, Gallowgate. During the next three years, it achieved unparalleled critical and popular success. It was performed over six hundred times in towns and villages in Scotland and England. It was seen by over one hundred thousand people in the first six months alone. The high point of its success came with its appearance at the Garrick Theatre in London in 1948.
The Gorbals story was not only successful financially but it was also a highly important play, which strongly influenced the development of Scottish theatre. This amateur production was successful and was later made into a film and released by New World Pictures in 1950. The company eventually folded in 1951 with financial problems arising from an attempt to turn fully professional.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. The Unity theatre movement developed from workers' drama groups in the 1930s, seeing itself as using theatre to highlight the issues of the working class being produced by and for working class audiences. The movement had strong links with the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
and the Left Book Club
Left Book Club
The Left Book Club, founded in 1936, was a key left-wing institution of the late 1930s and 1940s in the United Kingdom set up by Stafford Cripps, Victor Gollancz and John Strachey to revitalise and educate the British Left. The Club's aim was to "help in the struggle For world peace and against...
Theatre Guild.
The theatre in Glasgow was formed as an amalgamation of the Workers' Theatre Group, the Clarion Players, the Transport Players and the Glasgow Jewish Institute players. The company toured in a converted truck, performing in halls and theatres.
In the Summer of 1946, the company presented Robert McLeish's The Gorbals Story at the Queen's theatre, Gallowgate. During the next three years, it achieved unparalleled critical and popular success. It was performed over six hundred times in towns and villages in Scotland and England. It was seen by over one hundred thousand people in the first six months alone. The high point of its success came with its appearance at the Garrick Theatre in London in 1948.
The Gorbals story was not only successful financially but it was also a highly important play, which strongly influenced the development of Scottish theatre. This amateur production was successful and was later made into a film and released by New World Pictures in 1950. The company eventually folded in 1951 with financial problems arising from an attempt to turn fully professional.
Productions
- Ena Lamont Stewart Men Should WeepMen Should WeepMen Should Weep is a play by Ena Lamont Stewart, written in 1947. It is set in Glasgow during the 1930s depression with all the action taking place in the household of the Morrison family...
- Roddy McMillanRoddy McMillanRoddy McMillan was a Scottish actor and playwright, possibly most famous for his comedy role as Para Handy for BBC Scotland television. He also played the lead role in Edward Boyd's private eye series, The View from Daniel Pike.The Glasgow-born McMillan's earliest theatre work began in the...
All in Good Faith - Robert McLeish The Gorbals Story
- George Munro Gold in his Boots
- Benedick Scott The Lambs of God