Workers’ Theatre Movement Follow

In a follow-up to his piece on the radical theatre of the 1930s, David Gilchrist examines how the events of 1968 kick-started a new theatre of the people. The 7:84 company took popular forms of culture - from TV to the ceilidh - and utilised them to reach new, working class audiences.

The Workers' Theatre Movement developed out of the confident working class movement of mid-1920s Britain, but was later buried by the changing priorities of the Communist Party. Its radical legacy of performance by, for and about workers is uncovered by David Gilchrist.