Ensembles and Companies

The first half of the twentieth century marked a period of intense experimentation in terms of how theatre companies were conceived of in Britain. In a challenge to the ‘star’ system that had dominated the nineteenth-century theatre, the model of the ensemble as a tightly-knit, permanent acting group emerged as an ideal. This essay charts the pursuit of this ideal, which it shows to be integrally linked to the developing role of the director in the country. In doing so, it also situates the ensemble within the modernist rejection of mainstream, commercial theatre that was taking place across Europe. The essay examines a selection of prominent examples to demonstrate the continued presence of this model and the varying forms that it took, including Harley Granville Barker’s seasons at the Court Theatre, the Glasgow Repertory Theatre and the early years of Theatre Workshop. The essay also analyses the practice of establishing ‘ensemble seasons’ in lieu of a longstanding ensemble company, most notably John Gielgud’s Queens Theatre season in 1938. Close attention is placed on the sociocultural context within which each example emerged, where the rise of the ensemble is shown to coincide with the wider questioning of individualist politics and the growing interest in collectivism.