by Phoebe Geary
Unequivocally, World War One’s literary legacy has moulded the modern western canon more so than any other historical conflict. After all, it was the war that inspired the jolting poetry of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, and it was the war that produced an array of modern classics, most notably All Quiet on the Western Front and A Testament of Youth. Yet, with the exception of Sheriff’s Journey’s End, a critical vacuum has formed around the largely forgotten theatre of World War One despite the plethora of plays the event has inspired.
My scholarship aimed to address this. Over five research-intensive weeks, my goal was to rediscover these overlooked plays, recover critical and theatrical responses to them, and understand why certain narratives have been majorly ignored or overshadowed.
My first two weeks of research focused on the plays of Miles Malleson, a writer best known for his comedic film performances than has war plays, ‘D’ Company and Black ‘Ell. At the Cadbury Research Library, I had the incredible opportunity to handle first and second edition pamphlets of the plays – these were incredibly delicate pieces of work that included fascinating prefaces. In particular, the preface to the second edition was of great significance: it contained Hansard extracts detailing parliament’s debate over the confiscation of Malleson’s plays under the Defence Against the Realms Act (D.O.R.A).
Finding material relating to these two plays could be incredibly difficult (they’ve been so starkly neglected by most WW1 academia!) and so I had to think outside the box to find more unconventional resources. One of the most memorable documents I encountered relating to the theatrical production of Black ‘Ell was the play’s revival in times of public protest against war. For example, it was fascinating to see Two’s Company’s productions of the play re-emerge under the Blair government in response to the Iraq War, highlighting the enduring relevance of the play’s message. As the Tricia Thorns (director) and Graham Cowley (producer) explained, ‘There are so many echoes here of these plays written more than a lifetime earlier that there seemed no better way of expressing our own feelings about the war than to do these plays’.
Following the narrative of the ‘maimed hero’ outlined within Malleson’s work, I devoted the next two weeks of research to The Silver Tassie by Sean O’Casey. The Cadbury Research Library holds a large file dedicated to this play and related ephemera, including programmes, letters, artistic sketches and many, many, reviews (these alone took me about a week to get through!) What was great about this collection was that it included photographs from actual productions of the play. It was surreal to see the immersive staging and set design of the Augustus John trench scene that so many critics had referenced in their reviews. Learning more about the theatrical background of the play was also incredibly intriguing – several of the reviews referenced the Abbey Theatre’s rejection of the play, highlighting the contested legacy of 1916 in Irish memory.
The final week of my scholarship was dedicated to itemising and collating these documents into two cohesive, accessible student resources for the final year modules Remembering World War One and After the Deluge. This was one of the most rewarding aspects of the scholarship – seeing my hard work finally come together and materialise itself left me genuinely proud of the work I had produced over the summer. This scholarship has really boosted by confidence in my own academic potential and confirmed my desire to undertake a master’s degree to further my studies.
Overall, I really recommend this scholarship to anyone considering a career in academia – it is an excellent opportunity to build your skill set and participate in a large-scale research project. The scholarship also challenges students to become independent problem-solvers, and for this I am very grateful.