DRAMA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY CONFLICTING TRENDS The word that defines the modern stage is eclectic No other

her era offers such a complex set of confusing trends. =, .

During the Elizabethan period and the Restoration and other periods there was no doubt considerable diversity in influences from without and in the flow of native theatrical currents. The drama of the years 1900 and 1962 they must indeed appear simple and orderly. This means that while it is enterely proper to look at the drama of these 60 years as a unit.A clear line can be drawm from the plays which were being producedduring the reign of Edward Vil on to those now being performed during the reign of Elizabeth II. Wee must be alert t observe the series of dramatic waves which within the six decades constantly disturbes and at times redirected the main currents. In order to appreciate fully the growth of the theatre from 1900 onwards there are tems to be considered. Fundamental is the fact that the twentieth century witnessed the final culmination of the stage commercialism and , as an anwer to that commercialization, the rise of repertory playhouses,all ultimtely taking their inspiration from the devoted work of Annie Horniman at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin (1903) and at the Gaeity of the theatre in Manchester (1907) Appart from the theatrical activity there were several associated movements:The Music hall soared into prominence and much of the music hall turns were not concerned with drama as such, the fairly regular performances of the short sketches incorporated into their mltiple bilis contributed to the popularity of the one-act play There was also the extensin of the dramatic companies Amateurs of course have been active on the stage from medieval times. Yet only in the 20th c they have come to take their work seriously and aided in the encouragement of young playwrights.Partly this was due to amateur companies intent not merely upon amusing themselves but also upon presenting dramas which for one reason and another had hardly any chanceiven professional public performances. These companies were adjunct to the theatre clubs which from the time of the stage society onwards, put on new plays and od for the matine to the repertory movement as a whole. In 1919 Nugget Monk thus establish the Norwich Players and created an Elizabethan Type stage in Madder Market Theatre, shortly before in 1911, The People 's Theatre at New Castle was founded; out of an originally amateur touring group called pilgrim players