Agitprop and Workers’ Theatre

1. Ian Saville Agitprop and Workers’ Theatre

2. Definitions: • From Lenin (What is to be Done?) and Plekhanov • Agitation:1 idea to many – using emotional material to get people active • Propaganda:Propagates an ideology – many ideas to a smaller number.Explaining the world in the light of ideas. • Term “Agitprop” coined by Soviet CC in 1920s • Art as a weapon • Negative term?

3. History of Agitprop • Developed in: • Russia • Germany • USA • Britain • Korea, France, Japan etc. etc

4. Russia • Poster Art - Mayakovsky • Meyerhold • Blue Blouse Movement • Literacy programmes – living newspapers • Agit Trains (see video) • Mass spectacles (see video) • Changes in the 1930s –Socialist Realism Agitational poster by Mayakovsky

7. Germany • The political background – 1918 uprisings and near revolution. • The theatrical background –Antecedents in 19th CenturyExpressionist theatre: Buchner, Wedekind, Kaiser, Toller, early Brecht. • Piscator – Red Revel Revue 1924. • Growth of Workers’ Theatre Troupes in Weimar Republic – “The Red Megaphones”. See Film. • Importance of professional theatre workers. Brecht, Piscator, Wolf etc. Brecht’s work with amateur groups in exile – Fear and Misery, How much is your Iron etc.

8. Britain • Pre WW1 – Actresses’ Franchise League • 1926 Founding of Hackney Labour Dramatic Group (later Hackney People’s Players, then Hackney group of the Workers’ Theatre Movement) – group stages adaptation of Tressell’s Ragged Trousered Philanthropists • 1929 – 1933 Growth of Workers’ Theatre Movement. WTM affiliated to the International Union of Revolutionary Theatres. • 1931 – Ewan MacColl forms Manchester Red Megaphones, tours shows to demonstrations in Manchester and Salford.

9. Red Megaphones performing to a Mayday demonstration in Preston, 1932

10. Britain 2 • Weaknesses of British WTM –Artistic – Esp. lack of professionals(only Andre Van Gyseghem and a very few others)Political – Relationship to Labour Party • Participated in International Olympiad, Moscow 1933 – by then political and artistic line was changing

12. USA • Great Depression from 1929 • Agitprop from the immigrant communities – Proletbuehne • Michael Gold’s Strike • Langston Hughes • Eugene O’Neill • Group Theatre – Odets, Theatre Union • 1935 – Federal Theater Project (part of FDR’s Works Progress Administration) starts presenting Living Newspapers • Involvement of Hallie Flanagan as director 1935-9 • Politics changes after 1946 Living Newspaper One Third of a Nation by Arthur Arent, presented by FTP

13. AgitProp characteristics 1: • Politics is the purpose of theatre, not its subject. Theatre is used as a means of organising. • Theatre designed to appeal to the masses. • But not “bringing art to the masses” as with ILP Theatre Guild or Volksbuhne • Context: not in purpose-built theatres, but on the street, in meetings, at demonstrations

14. AgitProp Characteristics 2 • A propertyless theatre for the propertyless class – theatre must be portable and easy to stage (nevertheless Piscator incorporated technical innovations.) • Anti-naturalistic • Mass SpeakingSlogansEnd with demands • Meerut

15. Meerut, by Charlie Mann.

16. Agitprop Characteristics 3 • Use of popular theatre forms: Cartoon styleparodiesmusiccomedyBut some forms of popular culture could be frowned upon. (Music hall, Jazz) • Action among the audience:Red Revel Revue,Blue BlouseStrike!Waiting for Lefty etc.Scottsboro Ltd

17. The influence of Agitprop • Britain:Unity TheatreTheatre Workshop (Ewan MacColl and Joan Littlewood)Radical Theatre of the 1960s and 1970s: 7:84 Cast Red Ladder Broadside Socialist Magic? Modern West End: Billy Elliot

18. Influences 2 • Via Brecht / Piscator etc. – much modern theatre • African, S. American Theatre, theatre in middle east. • Advertising?

19. Conclusions • Agitprop – positive or negative? Is it still useful? • Theatre is assigned a role outside of art • Incidentally: theatre creates a sense of community