The Forgotten Pioneers: The Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent (1962 - 1971)

The subject of this thesis is the history of the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent under its director, Peter Cheeseman. Considering the scope of available resources in the Victoria Theatre Collection and the importance of the work taking place under Cheeseman’s direction, the absence of the Victoria Theatre from British theatre history needs to be addressed. The thesis has three main aims to achieve. Primarily, it will offer a first exploration of the initial nine years of the theatre under Cheeseman, focusing on this period to ensure that the material is covered in sufficient depth. The analysis will draw on largely untouched archival resources and new interview material to provide a history of this ground-breaking theatre from its opening in 1962, up to its first verbatim documentary production in 1971. In this period, Cheeseman developed many of the artistic approaches that influenced him and the direction of the company for the rest of his long tenure. Secondly, I will draw on the archive to offer a close thematic examination of the company to provide an understanding of the range of work undertaken in Stoke-on-Trent, and thereby offering a corrective to the tendency for such history as there is on the Vic to focus on its contribution to the documentary form, however significant. As part of this examination, I will be adding to the range of primary resources available to future scholars, through a range of original interviews with key members of the company. The thesis will conclude by examining the documentary form, which has played a significant role in the theatre’s history, and will offer a casebook study of the company’s sixth documentary, Hands Up - For You the War is Ended! (1971), of which there has been limited previous critical analysis. Lastly, the thesis will demonstrate the significance of the work that was taking place in theatres outside London during this period and will, therefore, contribute to the body of theatre historiography on regional theatres in the period.