First up there was the Brechts, the Ewan MacColls and the agitprop alternatives way back in the day before multi-channel telly and X-Box, when working class centres theatre drew huge crowds and nationwide tours. Now live spectacle seems to revolve around musicals, lady boys and War Horses. So, what happened to the politics?
Back in the late 70s and early 80s when alternative theatre flourished with groups like 7:84, North West Spanner, Welfare State and CAST (Cartoon Archetypical Slogan Theatre) playing to new audiences in new venues, Mike Harris was carving out a career in script writing.
Sony Award winner Mike has since gone on to create over a hundred scripts for radio, stage and TV, including soaps and serials, adaptations, one-off dramas, theatre in education, youth and children's theatre, and large scale community plays. Now he's giving his personal view of What Happened to Political Theatre?
Mike, who now lectures on scriptwriting, will be exploring the relationship (if any) between his own work in the late '70s to the present, and 'The Great Tradition' of committed political theatre in this country which took a recognisably modern form in the 1920s and '30s.
Can political theatre ever be exhumed? This free talk might be a good starting point...
What Happened To Political Theatre?
Wednesday 10th September 2pm free
Working Class Movement Library
51 The Crescent, Salford M5 4WX
Phone 0161 736 3601 or see www.wcml.org.uk for further details