Summary
Hornby discusses a collection of "free" theatres, not free of charge but liberated from excessive commercial pressures and, equally important, from censorship. The theatres were generally small by the standards of the day, allowing for a quieter, simpler style of acting and more realism in setting. The Group Theatre, a 1930's offshoot of the Guild, and a commitment to new play, most notably those of Clifford Odets.
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Extract
'Somewhere Else First'
IN LATE NINETEENTH-CENTURY EUROPE, there sprang up a collection of "free" theatres, not free of charge but liberated from excessive commercial pressures and, equally important, from censorship. Starting in 1887 with the Théâtre Libre in Paris, the movement quickly spread to Berlin (the Freie Bühne, 1888), and London (the Independent Theatre, 1892), and then eventually to Moscow (the Moscow Art Theatre, 1898), Dublin (the Abbey Players, 1904), Stockholm (the Intimate Theatre, 1907), and New York (the Washington Square Players and the Provincetown Players, both in 1915). Most of these companies did not last long (although the Moscow Art Theatre and the Abbey Players continue to this day), but their influence has been enormous. Our off- and off-off Broadway are their successors, as are the regional theatre companies now in every major American city.
The theatres were generally small by the standards of the day, allowing for a quieter, simpler style of acting and more realism in settings. (André Antoine shocked Parisians at the Theatre Libre by hanging actu...See the full content of this document
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