Activism in the 80s
Culture and Activism
Overview
In 1928, the Workers Theatre Movement (WTM) was established, marking the birth of organized political theatre in Britain, following an earlier attempt two years prior. Although it lasted for a decade, the WTM paved the way for the emergence of subsequent companies such as Unity Theatre (1936) and Theatre Workshop (1945), fostering opportunities for more overtly political writers, directors, and actors.
By 1980, Britain entered a dynamic and tumultuous period marked by political upheaval, social change, and the rise of cultural activism. The conservative government, led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, introduced a series of economic policies that reshaped the country's social fabric. The privatization of industries, public service cuts, and growing inequality fuelled protests and demonstrations.
Within a year of her election, public subsidies for theatre were cut, signalling a shift towards encouraging private sector investment in the arts. While this model could be embraced by large organisations like the Royal Shakespeare Company, it had the adverse effect of pushing down wages within the subsidised sector.
British theatre, always a mirror of its times, responded by using the stage as a potent tool for activism. Artists and activists utilized their creative platforms to challenge the status quo, amplify marginalized voices, and advocate for social and political change.
Lindsay Duncan (Lady Nijo), Gwen Taylor (Marlene), Selina Cadell (Pope Joan) in TOP GIRLS by Caryl Churchill at the Royal Court Theatre, London SW1 01/09/1982 set design: Peter Hartwell costumes: Pam Tait lighting: Robin Myerscough-Walker director: Max Stafford-Clark (Photo: Donald Cooper / Alamy Stock Photo)
Throughout this era, British theatre underwent a significant transformation, with influential figures and theatre companies leading the charge in placing activism at the forefront. Distinguished playwrights like Caryl Churchill, Howard Brenton, Edward Bond, and David Hare played pivotal roles in creating plays that fearlessly addressed pressing social and political issues. Their ground-breaking works found prominent platforms not only in the burgeoning fringe and subsidised theatres but also in prestigious institutions such as the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Royal Court.
The theatre of the 1980s in Britain was shaped by a several factors. On one hand, funding cuts and evolving audience tastes led to a surge in commercial productions and blockbuster musicals, epitomized by the success of Andrew Lloyd Webber's creations. Simultaneously, it was a politically charged era marked by Margaret Thatcher's divisive leadership, the global AIDS crisis, growing inequality, and other pressing issues.
In response, the theatre community pushed back, challenging the status quo. Activist and socially conscious productions emerged, addressing issues ranging from apartheid and feminism to LGBTQ rights and workers’ struggles. This period left an indelible mark on future theatre makers and audiences, demonstrating the power of theatre as a vehicle for change and social engagement.
Timeline
Female Playwrights
Bryony Lavery
Bryony Lavery's plays from the 1980s reflect often explored the human condition in the face of social and political challenges. She has written for companies such as Monstrous Regiment and Gay Sweatshop. Plays include Hot Time (1980), Calamity (1983), Origin of the Species (1984), Witchcraze (1985) and The Two Marias (1988). Her play Frozen (1998) delved into the psychological aftermath of a child's disappearance and won the TMA best play award, the Eileen Anderson Central Television award was produced at Birmingham Rep, then the National Theatre, then on Broadway where it was nominated for four Tony awards.
Jane Cox (Quiet Jane), Mary McCusker (Madame Moustache), Gillian Hanna (Calamity Jane) in CALAMITY by Bryony Lavery at the Tricycle Theatre, London NW6 25/01/1984 (Donald Cooper / Alamy Stock Photo)
Caryl Churchill
Caryl Churchill is perhaps the most influential female playwright of her generation and her works have had a profound impact on the world of contemporary theatre. One of her most iconic works is Top Girls (1982), a feminist play that explores the role of women in society and the challenges they face. This play received critical acclaim and solidified Churchill's reputation as a feminist and avant-garde playwright.
Her early works, such as Owners (1972), Vinegar Tom (1976), Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (1976) and Cloud Nine (1979) challenged conventional narrative structures and offered audiences a fresh perspective on socio-political issues.
Caryl Churchill's contributions to theatre have earned her numerous awards, including four OBIEs, the Sustained Achievement Award in theatre in 2001, the Olivier Award for Best Play of 1987, the Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy and more.
Miriam Margolyes (Maud), Antony Sher (Clive), Julie Covington (Edward), William Hoyland (Harry Bagley) in CLOUD NINE by Carl Churchill at the Royal Court Theatre, London SW1 29/03/1979 (Donald Cooper / Alamy Stock Photo)
Gillian Slovo
Gillian Slovo is a prolific South African-born British playwright and novelist. She was born in 1952, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Slovo's early life was heavily influenced by her parents, Ruth First and Joe Slovo, both prominent anti-apartheid activists. In 1963, her family was forced into exile, settling in the United Kingdom.
Plays include Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom (2004), The Riots (2011) and Grenfell: in the words of survivors (2023).
Her memoir Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country (1997) is a moving account of her childhood in South Africa and her relationship with her parents.
Courtesy of Gillian Slovo
Pam Gems
Pam Gems was a prominent British playwright whose work spanned several decades. Born in Hampshire, she moved to London in the 70s where she found her voice in the fringe theatre scene. Her first commercial success was Dusa, Fish, Stas, and Vi (1976) that transferred from the Edinburgh fringe to the West End, marking the first feminist play to do so.
In 1978, the Royal Shakespeare company produced her play Piaf, depicting the life of the legendary French singer Edith Piaf; a tremendous success, earning critical acclaim and marking a long association with the RSC that included Camille (1984) and The Blue Angel (1991), her work often focusing on the lives of extraordinary women from different historical periods.
1983 - ''Piaf'' by the Royal Shakespeare company (ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo)
Sarah Daniels
Sarah Daniels is a British playwright known for her unflinching exploration of social and feminist issues in her work. Throughout her career, Daniels has consistently addressed issues such as domestic violence, sexual exploitation, and the female experience in works such as Ripen Our Darkness (1981), Neaptide (1986) and The Cut Girls (1988).
One of her notable plays, Masterpieces (1983) examines issues of sexual harassment, gender, and power dynamics in the art world. The play's confrontational themes and uncompromising approach made it a seminal work of feminist theatre and Daniels' writing has earned her numerous awards and accolades.
Timberlake Wertenbaker
Timberlake Wertenbaker is a British-American playwright notable for her exploration of historical events and their relevance to contemporary society. Wertenbaker's most renowned work is Our Country's Good (1988), which explores the lives of convicts in a British penal colony in Australia in the late 18th century that tells the extraordinary true story of a group of convicts and a young officer who rehearse and perform a play.
Another notable play, The Love of the Nightingale (1988), is a reimagining of the Greek myth of Philomela and Tereus, focusing on issues of violence, power, and female resilience. Her works have received acclaim for their depth and intellectual engagement, earning her awards such as the Olivier Award and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award.
KEITH MAYHEW / Alamy Stock Photo
Venues
Arts Admin
Arts Admin, a London-based organization, emerged as a hub for experimental theatre and performance art in the 1980s. This venue fostered an environment that encouraged artists to push boundaries and challenge conventional norms. They worked with many companies and artists including Hesitate and Demonstrate, Bobby Baker and DV8.
In 1987, as part of a relationship with the Market Theatre of Johannesburg, they brought over the Vusisizwe Players’ production of You Strike the Woman, You Strike the Rock, one of the first shows to be brought over from South Africa following the end of the cultural boycott.
You Strike the Woman, You Strike the Rock by Vusisizwe Players © the artist (courtesy of Arts Admin)
The Market Theatre - South Africa
Established in 1976 by Mannie Manim and the late Barney Simon in Johannesburg, the Market Theatre emerged from the transformed remains of Johannesburg's Indian Fruit Market, originally built in 1913. Over time, it gained international recognition as South Africa's "Theatre of the Struggle." This renowned theatre actively confronted the apartheid regime, operating with the belief that culture had the power to drive social change while giving a voice to the marginalized.
Soho Poly Theatre
The Soho Poly Theatre was founded in 1968 in London's vibrant Soho district serving as a platform for experimental and thought-provoking drama. The theatre’s intimate setting and welcoming atmosphere made it a hub for giving voice to underrepresented playwrights and actors. It played a pivotal role in defining the fringe theatre movement, presenting work by renowned British writers including David Edgar, Howard Brenton and Caryl Churchill.
Drill Hall
The Drill Hall, located in central London, was a significant theatre and arts space during the 1980s, celebrated for its radical productions and support for work that was unusual, unexpected, and artistically daring. It had a particular focus on supporting and encouraging Lesbian, Gay and Queer artists, music theatre and new writing.
Women’s Festival, Drill Hall 1977 (courtesy of Unfinished Histories)
Half Moon Theatre
Half Moon Theatre was formed in an old synagogue in East London in 1972 taking its name from Half Moon Passage that ran alongside. It had a reputation for producing ground-breaking work that explored controversial issues and raised awareness about social and political issues, both at home and globally.
By the late 80s, it had moved to a building on White Horse Road that provided a permanent base for Half Moon Young People’s Theatre that had grown up alongside the main company and created shows to tour schools.
Exterior of the Half Moon theatre (Alie Street entrance), with posters for the touring exhibition Factory (unknown photographer)
ICA: The Institute of Contemporary Arts
The ICA in London was founded in 1947 by a group of artists and poets and has always been a pioneering institution for contemporary art and culture. During the 1980s, it maintained its role as a critical venue for avant-garde exhibitions and events, offering a safe place for artists looking to go beyond the mainstream. In 1976, the ICA exhibited A South African Colouring Book by South African born artist Gavin Jantjes consistent of a set of set of anti-apartheid screen prints.
Miriam Margolyes (Mercedes Mordecai), Julie Walters (Irene Goodnight) in FLAMING BODIES 1979 (Donald Cooper / Alamy Stock Photo)
Oval House
The Oval House Theatre, founded in 1961, produced ground-breaking experimental and socially engaged theatre in London, supporting young people, marginalised creatives, and experimental theatre companies. Initially housed in a former hostel, it quickly became a platform for artists to explore radical ideas and challenge societal norms, making it a hub for the counterculture movement of its era.
The Theatre stood as a beacon of activism and advocacy for gay, lesbian and women’s theatre throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. The theatre’s move to a new venue in Brixton in 2022 (now called Brixton House) allowed it to continue its legacy of nurturing emerging artists and championing social causes.
Companies
Theatre of Black Women
Theatre of Black Women was founded in 1982 as a response to the limited opportunities for Black actors and the marginalization of Black communities. They sought to use theatre to promote positive and empowering images of Black women by exploring their experiences.
Their work, marked by a poetic and symbolic style, delved into themes such as mixed-race identity, internalized racism, and Black lesbian experiences. They conducted workshops for young women and engaged in collaborations with writers. Despite their significant contributions, their scripts remain largely unpublished.
Pyeyucca by Bernardine Evaristo with Patricia Hilaire. Theatre Of Black Women. Design: Ingrid Pollard. (Courtesy of Unfinished Histories)
Talawa
Founded in 1986, Talawa responded to the limited creative opportunities for Black actors and the marginalization of Black communities in cultural processes. Today, it stands as the UK's premier Black theatre company, boasting over 80 productions, including works by renowned writers such as Derek Walcott and Roy Williams.
Many distinguished actors have collaborated with Talawa, and the company's impact extends far beyond the stage, with its writers, directors, and personnel contributing to all aspects of British theatre, marking Talawa as a significant force in contemporary British theatre and UK cultural life.
O Babylon! at the Riverside Studios 1988. Featuring Sharon D Clark in her first professional role. (Courtesy of Talawa)
7:84 Theatre Company
With its roots in Scotland, the 7:84 Theatre Company (a reference to the statistic that 7% of the population owned 84% of the wealth) was committed to depicting working class life and history to working class audiences. The company split in two in 1973 to form 7:84 (England) and 7:84 (Scotland), although the English group folded in 1984 following funding cuts.
The company’s first production was The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black, Black Oil (1973) by co-founder John McGrath’s. The play used satire and music to depict the exploitation of Scotland's natural resources and the impact on working-class communities. It was revived and toured extensively in the 1980s.
7:84 Company in Bowmore, Islay, touring with 'The Cheviot' in 1973. Photo by Barry Jones. (Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo)
Belt and Braces Roadshow Theatre Company
Belt and Braces was founded 1973 as a socialist theatre company producing politically aware entertainment from a working-class viewpoint. It toured work to anywhere - venues, clubs, outdoor spaces, schools – they could engage with a working-class audience. Productions include Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1979-80), England Expects (1976) and The Mother.
Anderton's Archipelago by Jeni Barnett, Jim Bywater and Gavin Richards. Belt & Braces. (l-r) Jeni Barnett, Jim Bywater and Gavin Richards. 1979-80. (Courtesy of Unfinished Histories)
Gay Sweatshop was founded in 1974 and was a ground-breaking British theatre company that championed LGBT voices and stories. They staged influential productions like As Time Goes By (1978) and Dear Love of Comrades (1979) tackling issues of sexuality and oppression. In the mid-1980s, the company faced personal tragedies, including the murder of Drew Griffiths in 1984 and the death of Gerald Chapman from an AIDS-related disease in 1987.
Despite financial challenges and the oppressive political climate under Margaret Thatcher, they continued to produce thought-provoking shows including This Island’s Mine (1987) contributing to the queer arts scene. In 1997, due to a lack of funding, the company closed, leaving a legacy of LGBT theatre and activism.
(Posters courtesy of Unfinished Histories)
Gay Sweatshop, 1977
Gay Sweatshop, 1986
Gay Sweatshop, 1991
Monstrous Regiment
In 1975, a group of young professional performers founded Monstrous Regiment, driven by a shared vision of creating political theatre that placed women at the forefront and tackled the complexities of the female experience. They formed a performers' collective that embraced equal pay and gender ratios, defying the gender disparities in the theatre industry.
Over the years, Monstrous Regiment produced a rich body of work, focusing on women's experiences, from history to everyday life. They toured extensively, from clubs to large theatres and international festivals, receiving positive press and support from women across the UK. By 1993, they had produced 30 major shows.
Scum by Chris Bond and Claire Luckham (with Monstrous Regiment). Monstrous Regiment. Photo includes: Chris Bowler, Gillian Hanna, Helen Glavin, Ian Blower.1976. Photo: Roger Perry. (Photo courtesy of Unfinished Histories)
The Women's Playhouse Trust
The Women's Playhouse Trust (WPT) started in 1981 to establish feminist perspectives in the theatre profession, advocating for increased job opportunities and improved working conditions for women in all facets of theatre.
Over the years, the WPT played a crucial role in enhancing female participation in late 20th-century British Theatre. The trust had four founding members, but with Jules Wright as the sole remaining founder from 1988 onwards, the WPT transitioned into The Wapping Project, a dynamic platform for avant-garde, subversive approaches to feminist agenda through site-specific exhibitions and performances.
Alan Rickman and Harriet Walter in The Lucky Chance by Aphra Behn, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1984, directed by Jules Wright.
The Women’s Theatre Group
The Women’s Theatre Group (1973-1990), later renamed The Sphinx (1991-present), was set up to provide opportunities for women in various aspects of theatre, including directing, stage management, and writing, while producing works related to the fight for equal rights. They commissioned numerous writers, including Timberlake Wertenbaker and Bryony Lavery.
Sphinx Theatre's policy was to put women centre stage, with a focus on new writing and addressing the cultural disenfranchisement of women. They promoted colour-blind casting and offered opportunities for women in all areas of theatre.
(Posters courtesy of Unfinished Histories)
The Women’s Theatre Group
The Women’s Theatre Group
The Women’s Theatre Group
Hesitate and Demonstrate
Hesitate and Demonstrate was founded in 1975 and developed a distinctive street theatre style that incorporated everyday objects in unusual settings. Their performances prioritized visual imagery over text, with minimal spoken words often drawn from books and films. They are recognized as one of the first non-verbal theatre companies, known for their dense network of atmospheric images, reminiscent of Surrealist paintings.
As the company evolved, it incorporated sound and lighting as integral elements, using sound to create atmosphere and reveal character thoughts, often collaborating with sound designer John Darling.
Hesitate and Demonstrate street performance. Sally Cranfield, Janet Goddard, Geraldine Pilgrim. September 1978. Photo: Mike Bennet. (Courtesy of Unfinished Histories)
Joint Stock Theatre Company
Joint Stock Theatre Company was established in 1974. The company's distinctive collaborative, author-led devising process approach resulted in incisive plays about class relations, social change, and specific communities or historical periods.
Under the direction of Max Stafford-Clark, Joint Stock produced ground-breaking works like Caryl Churchill’s Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (1976), which explored the English Civil War and its echoes in contemporary politics.
Joint Stock disbanded in 1989, partially due to funding cuts from the Arts Council of Great Britain. Some of its methods and ethos were continued by Out of Joint from 1993 onwards, albeit with a shift towards a more traditional new writing focus.
A MAD WORLD, MY MASTERS by Barrie Keeffe design: Hayden Griffin lighting: Rory Dempster directors: William Gaskill & Max Stafford-Clark l-r: Tony Rohr, David Rintoul, Gillian Barge, Robert Hamilton, Jane Wood, Simon Callow Joint Stock Theatre Company / The Young Vic 1977 (Donald Cooper / Alamy Stock Photo)
Culture and the Anti-Apartheid Movement
The UK was fortunate that in the African National Congress (ANC) office in Islington, North London there were writers Mongane Wally Serote and Mandla Langa heading up the culture team. They helped to make a lot of South African culture happen in London and they led on the artistic and strategic impetus for the Zabalaza festival in 1990.
British musicians and bands used their art to condemn apartheid and show solidarity with the oppressed in South Africa. Reggae artists like Steel Pulse and UB40 produced songs with powerful anti-apartheid messages, while rock legends like Queen and The Eurythmics participated in the iconic Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in 1988.
Visual artists played a crucial role in the anti-apartheid movement. Art exhibitions featuring works that depicted the brutality of apartheid and the resilience of its victims were organized across the UK. Artists like Peter Kennard used their talent to create thought-provoking images that conveyed the urgency of the anti-apartheid cause.
Donald Cooper / Alamy Stock Photo
British theatre and performance artists brought the stories of South Africans to the stage, raising awareness about the human cost of apartheid. Productions like The Island by Athol Fugard explored the lives of anti-apartheid activists and the struggle for justice in South Africa.
Writers and poets used their pens to denounce apartheid. Poetry readings and literary events served as platforms for writers to express solidarity with the anti-apartheid movement.
Allstar Picture Library Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
Filmmakers and documentarians brought apartheid's atrocities to the big screen. Films like Cry Freedom (1987) and A World Apart (1988) shed light on the stories of activists, helping international audiences understand the struggle against apartheid.
1988 Wembley Mandela Concert
On 11th June 1988, over 2,000 people got together at Wembley Stadium for a concert. The concert was broadcast on TV, reaching out to a whopping 600 million viewers across the globe in over 60 countries. The event featured a host of famous artists, including Sting, Whitney Houston, and Stevie Wonder, who all came together to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela.
“To honour a great man, the man who was the leader of South Africa's oppressed black people. He is a symbol of their fight against the cruel and unjust system of apartheid.”
– Harry Belafonte: concert host, 11 June 1988.
Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid activist and politician, was born in 1918 in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. In 1948, after the National Party gained power in South Africa, the all-white government began enforcing pre-existing policies of racial segregation – known as South Africa’s Apartheid. Mandela, a black South African, began campaigning against Apartheid in 1952, the same year he qualified as a lawyer.
As part of the call for Nelson Mandela's freedom, the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) organised two concerts at Wembley Stadium in London - one in 1988 and another in 1990. The 1988 concert also acted as a 70th birthday tribute for Mandela.
Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo
The concert had a significant impact on the British public's awareness of Nelson Mandela. According to statistics, a staggering 77% of the population became familiar with his name and his cause, and an impressive 70% of those individuals believed that he deserved to be released.
Nelson Mandela spent his entire life fighting against apartheid and working to bring peace and unity to South Africa. Mandela's unwavering commitment to promoting reconciliation between different groups of people has left behind a powerful legacy that still resonates today.
In 1990, after serving 27 years as a political prisoner, Mandela was finally released.
“Our march to freedom is irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way.” - Nelson Mandela, 11 February 1990.
Written by Amber Lowen
The 1990 Zabalaza Festival
The year 1990 marked a pivotal moment in South African history as apartheid was gradually dismantled, and the nation moved toward a more inclusive and democratic future. Amidst this significant transformation, the Zabalaza Festival emerged as an artistic manifestation of hope and celebration, with the array of forms it proffered reflecting the spirit of unity, freedom, and creativity that had long been suppressed by the apartheid regime.
The Zabalaza Festival, meaning 'struggle' in isiZulu, was a cultural and political event that took place in multiple locations across South Africa: cultural for its showcasing of South African creative talent across music, art, and poetry in the midst of the impending liberation of the indigenous population, and political for its role in galvanizing a people which had resisted colonial efforts to extinguish its identity for three centuries. Not only had this attempt at cultural erasure failed, but it had inadvertently succeeded in enhancing a sense of self so fortified it transcended the bounds of South Africa itself and echoed across the world.
Image sourced from the International Institute of Social History (Copyright unknown. See https://hdl.handle.net/10622/1B865762-F4DA-4F0D-9F13-D9550C0BC499)
As with support for the anti-apartheid movement, the Zabalaza Festival was observed by UK creatives, whose activism had comprised one of the epicentres of the cause amongst the international community. While the 1988 concert held at Wembley Stadium in honour of Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday had showcased the support of Britain and America's established popular musicians, including performances by Stevie Wonder, Sting, and The Special's Jerry Dammers with "Free Nelson Mandela," the driving force behind the UK's realization of the Zabalaza Festival was the South African diaspora itself.
With the largest population of South African artists outside their country of origin, committees were set up beginning in 1988 to strategize the realization of Zabalaza in the UK and attended by representatives from the ANC's Regional Cultural Committee. Meeting with organizations such as Greater London Arts and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, figures such as the ANC's Mongane Wally Serote, who had relocated to London from Johannesburg in 1986, successfully lobbied for the festival to take place with the support of Britain's artistic establishment.
With Serote as chair, the UK branch of the Zabalaza Festival went ahead with contributions from renowned poet Benjamin Zephaniah, novelist Don Mattera, performance poet Mzwakhe Mbuli, and many more. At the time, Mandla Langa, South African writer and recipient of the 2009 Commonwealth Writers Prize, said of the diaspora's talent: "there are many, many young people with talent who have never had the chance to show the world that they are worth their weight in gold, the same gold that will have a different meaning when our country is finally free."
And now, thirty-three years on, that talent has come into its own. While writers such as Pulane Mlilo Mpondo and CA Davids are telling the stories of black South Africans through an ever-enriching literary canon, Johannesburg-born musician Tyla is dominating the TikTok feeds of today's youth and transporting the amapiano genre - a subgenre of house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid-2010s - to the rest of the world.
Looking back, the Zabalaza Festival can be understood as a manifestation of what Mandela envisaged his 'Rainbow Nation' to encapsulate in the same year, expressed in a microcosm. Yet here, that 'rainbow' might be interpreted not as symbolizing the gradual integration of a society segregated according to the constructs of European pseudo-science, but as a symbol of the greatest realization of Pan Africanism seen in the 20th century. Zabalaza was the African diaspora affording itself respite from a preoccupation with the need to make peace with a white population. Instead, it sought freedom in the celebration of black South Africans beyond the white gaze, mirrored across the diaspora.
Written by Orla Maí Noonan
