Questors, Jesters and Renegades: The Story of Britain's Amateur Theatre

by Michael Coveney

Shortlisted for the Theatre Book Prize 2021This 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. 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 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; Lincolnshire's Broadbent Theatre, co-founded by Jim Broadbent's father and other conscientious objectors at the end of World War II; and Cornwall's stunning cliff-top Minack.

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2020

About the author

Michael Coveney is one of Britain's most respected theater critics and has written about theatre for over three decades, as editor of Plays and Players, and as staff critic on the Financial Times, Observer and Daily Mail. His books include a history of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre and biographies of Maggie Smith, Mike Leigh and Andrew Lloyd Webber. He regularly contributes to the Independent, Guardian, Observer, New Statesman, Prospect and BBC Radio's Front Row. He lives in England.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit this is probably a biased review. As it features a subject in which I'm particularly fascinated it was always going to score highly. It's a fairly comprehensive history of non professional drama in the UK and it was an intriguing read if only because every time I turned a page I seemed to come across the name of someone I knew (including myself) and had worked with down the years. Coveney originally hailed from Ilford so covers events at both the Renegades and Kenneth More Theatre (old stamping ground). He also devotes an extensive section to Tower Theatre (current stamping ground) and gives healthy mentions to the RSC Dream of 2016 and that venue of venues the Minack in Cornwall. Thus reading the book prompts many personal reminiscences and anecdotes to come flooding back. Coveney's style can be a little tortuous but he certainly knows his subject pretty much inside out. Ironic to be finishing reading it just as a nationwide cessation of am dram activity takes place. The earlier incarnations of the Plague failed to halt the playhouses; hopefully that situation will pertain.