ABSTRACT
Private theatre clubs offered a loophole in the censorship laws, for they were treated as homes, not places of entertainment. But the cast was too large for the New Watergate's stage and Field consulted with lawyers about the practicality of turning the Comedy Theatre into a club. This was the first time that anybody had tried to do so with a West End theatre. In 1952, Equity, the British actors' union, produced a report which accused The Group of possessing a 'horizontal' monopoly over British theatre. It owned half the theatres in the West End and more than half of the three main touring circuits. Beaumont's war record, having been exempt from military service, was outstanding. In six years, he produced fifty-nine shows in the West End and sent out more than a hundred on tour. The West End was withering with an autumnal spirit.
