Frequently Asked Questions

When and why was the Society formed?
What has the Society achieved?
More questions coming soon...

When and why was the Society formed?
It was formed at a public meeting in the bomb-damaged Old Vic on 15 June 1948 by a bunch of luminaries from both the profession and the fledgling world of theatre research, summoned by the editors of Theatre Notebook, which from its foundation in 1945 had been devoted to this new field: in 1948 there was only one British University theatre department, at Bristol. No less a reporter than George Devine wrote about the new society in Theatre Notebook for January 1949, commenting that 'There is no limit to its possible scope and practical usefulness except that which may be imposed by the indifference of the very people in whose interests it has been founded,' namely the theatre community.

What has the Society achieved?
The Society's achievements during its first sixty years include the setting up of the umbrella organisation, the International Federation for Theatre Research; the insertion into the act, which abolished the censorship powers of the Lord Chamberlain's Office, of a clause that ensured that the good Lord's more positive function, as a repository of the script for every play given public performance, be continued by the British Library; and the creation, after a twelve-year campaign, of a dedicated Theatre Museum on its own site. More recently it has campaigned to save that Museum, and its failure to date is due in part to that indifference against which George Devine so presciently warned when he said 'There is no limit to its possible scope and practical usefulness except that which may be imposed by the indifference of the very people in whose interests it has been founded,' meaning the theatre community. More coming soon...