Women's Amateur Theatre in Rural Britain is the first book-length study of the National Federation of Women's Institutes' amateur drama groups, which served as an umbrella organisation for women's amateur drama.
This work addresses a key historical gap by covering the activities, lives, and labour of women in rural England, Wales, and Scotland. It challenges gender-based assumptions about the value of women's amateur theatre, highlighting the need for leisure opportunities and social connections in rural villages. The rapid expansion of women's amateur drama groups is assessed in conjunction with major developments of the period, including the effect of post-1918 reconstruction efforts in rural regions, the revaluation of informal adult education schemes, the law's influences and restrictions on amateur performances, and the impact of the Second World War on the ability of the Women's Institutes to carve out a space for all-women's drama groups that empowered women through education and skill-building programmes to aid in personal and community development.
The broad scope of this research will appeal to undergraduates, postgraduates, scholars, and non-specialists interested in cultural history and the lives of rural women after the First World War.
| ISBN: | 9781032291307 |
| Publication date: | 6th May 2025 |
| Author: | Bonnie White |
| Publisher: | Routledge an imprint of Taylor & Francis |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 238 pages |
| Series: | Routledge Research in Gender and History |
| Genres: |
Social and cultural history Gender studies: women and girls European history Theatre studies Regional / International studies |
Women's Amateur Theatre in Rural Britain is the first book-length study of the National Federation of Women's Institutes' amateur drama groups, which served as an umbrella organisation for women's amateur drama.
This work addresses a key historical gap by covering the activities, lives, and labour of women in rural England, Wales, and Scotland. It challenges gender-based assumptions about the value of women's amateur theatre, highlighting the need for leisure opportunities and social connections in rural villages. The rapid expansion of women's amateur drama groups is assessed in conjunction with major developments of the period, including the effect of post-1918 reconstruction efforts in rural regions, the revaluation of informal adult education schemes, the law's influences and restrictions on amateur performances, and the impact of the Second World War on the ability of the Women's Institutes to carve out a space for all-women's drama groups that empowered women through education and skill-building programmes to aid in personal and community development.
The broad scope of this research will appeal to undergraduates, postgraduates, scholars, and non-specialists interested in cultural history and the lives of rural women after the First World War.
Women's Amateur Theatre in Rural Britain, 1919-1945 features in the following genres: Social and cultural history, Gender studies: women and girls, European history, Theatre studies, Regional / International studies
Women's Amateur Theatre in Rural Britain, 1919-1945 is available in Paperback
Women's Amateur Theatre in Rural Britain, 1919-1945 was written by Bonnie White and published by Routledge an imprint of Taylor & Francis
Women's Amateur Theatre in Rural Britain, 1919-1945 has 238 pages
Yes it is part of Routledge Research in Gender and History series
£43.19