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‘Are there any more recruits?’ - British theatre and the recruitment drive, 1914–1915

Brooks, Helen E.M. (2020) ‘Are there any more recruits?’ - British theatre and the recruitment drive, 1914–1915. First World War Studies, 10 (2-3). pp. 207-224. ISSN 1947-5020. (doi:10.1080/19475020.2020.1774913) (KAR id:82318)

Abstract

This paper argues that British theatre-makers played an important role in recruiting men to the armed forces in 1914 and 1915. It identifies a progression from the use of extra-dramatic interventions in the first weeks of the war, to the blurring of boundaries between stage and auditorium, drawing on plays such as In Time of War, A Call to Arms and England Expects. It ends with an examination of the messages promulgated in these recruiting dramas. Examining a range of plays addressing both men’s reluctance to enlist, and women’s reluctance to let their men enlist, the paper argues that recruiting plays offered a far more sophisticated response to the experience of enlisting than has previously been recognized.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/19475020.2020.1774913
Uncontrolled keywords: Theatre, drama, recruitment, enlistment, Britain, women, 1914, mobilization, atrocities
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Arts and Humanities > School of Arts
Depositing User: Helen Brooks
Date Deposited: 31 Jul 2020 09:27 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Dec 2022 00:29 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/82318 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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