The Scottish National Players: in the nature of an experiment 1913-1934

Marshalsay, Karen Anne (1991) The Scottish National Players: in the nature of an experiment 1913-1934. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis tries to provide a historical examination of the Scottish National Players, from the first proposals in 1913 until the disbandment of the Scottish National Theatre Society in 1934. The SNP aimed to produce plays of Scottish life and character; to encourage the public's taste for good drama of any kind; and to found a National Theatre. The golden years of the Players were the early and mid twenties, but by the end of the decade their ideals were crumbling away and they faced increasing dissatisfaction from the public and the press. They did not successfully fulfil any of their stated aims, but their attempts were far from being worthless.
The influence of the Abbey Theatre, Dublin upon the SNP is detailed in the first chapter, along with the Player's own statements that they set out to create a similar venture in Glasgow. The Players' debt to the Glasgow Repertory Theatre is discussed.

In chapters two to five a detailed history of the Players has been given. This concentrates on the policies, organisation, achievements, people involved, and actual productions, rather than being a literary critique of the plays themselves.

Chapter six discusses the main achievement of the Scottish National Players, that they provided a training for the theatre profession which could not at that time be obtained anywhere else in Scotland. The SNP's contribution to the setting up of the BBC in Scotland is also discussed.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR; G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Theatre Film and TV Studies
• Supervisor's Name: Supervisor, not known
• Date of Award: 1991
• Depositing User: Elaine Ballantyne
• Unique ID: glathesis:1991-3488
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 26 Jun 2012
• Last Modified: 10 Dec 2012 14:07
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/3488