ABSTRACT
This chapter revises understandings of private and amateur theatricals in Britain by shifting attention away from the best-known case studies of the eighteenth century to analyse examples from the early twentieth century. These include theatricals performed at Chatsworth House, West Dean Park, Plas Newydd and by the Canterbury Old Stagers. This chapter considers how the intimate venues used for amateur theatricals required new approaches to stage make-up, lighting and styles of acting, adopting methods that were deemed to be more natural than those used in the public theatres. It exposes networks of elite ‘professional’ amateurs, who gained a celebrity status for their theatrical endeavours and could use this position to leverage careers in the theatre industry. These elite amateur theatrical networks provide new insights into the gentrification of the British stage in the early twentieth century. Finally, this chapter considers the relationship between private theatricals, their immediate audiences and the wider public. It reveals the increasing importance of media exposure for private theatricals to maintain class hierarchies and shows the possibility for theatricals to open discussion about Edwardian Britain’s most pressing political issues under the guise of country house parties. In doing so, this chapter highlights the role that women could take in contemporary politics at a time when they were formally denied access.
