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This book provides an overview of the inception, development and achievements of British socialist and workers theatre a feat which has not been attempted before. It explores the connections between politics and culture (specifically theatre) and between political theory and cultural (theatrical) expression. The book is organized chronologically and uncovers much in labour and theatre history which is in danger of being lost. It can also be seen as a way into different moments in its subjects story (e.g. post-Ibsen naturalism; agitprop theatre; fringe theatre of the 1970s) and the relationship of such forms to specific political events and ideas at specific points in history. Robert Leach taught at Birmingham and Edinburgh Universities and was also a freelance theatre director. He has published more than a dozen books on theatre subjects, including Theatre Workshop: Joan Littlewood and the Making of Modern British Theatre and An Illustrated History of British Theatre and Performance both of which were shortlisted for Theatre Book of the Year.

"Partners of the Imagination is the first in-depth study of the work of John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy, partners in writing and cultural and political campaigns. Beginning in the 1950s, Arden and D'Arcy created a series of hugely admired plays performed at Britain's major theatres. Political activists, they worked tirelessly in the peace movement and the Northern Ireland 'Troubles', during which D'Arcy was gaoled. She is also a veteran of the Greenham Common Women's Peace camp. Their later work included Booker-listed novels, prize-winning stories, essays and radio plays, and D'Arcy founded and ran a Woman's Pirate Radio station. Raymond Williams described Arden as 'the most genuinely innovative' of the playwrights of his generation, and Chambers and Prior claimed that 'The Non-Stop Connolly Show', D'Arcy and Arden's six-play epic, 'has fair claim to being one of the finest pieces of post-war drama in the English language'. This study explores the connections between art and life, and between the responsibilities of the writer and the citizen. Importantly, it also evaluates the range of literary works (plays, poetry, novels, essays, polemics) created by these writers, both as literature and drama, and as controversialist activity in its own right. This work is a landmark examination of two hugely respected radical writers"--

Cover -- Contents -- List of Figures, Tables and Boxes -- Preface -- 1 Introduction: Ideology in British Politics -- Political ideas and ideologies -- Ideas, power and interests -- Ideology as dogmatism: the 'end of ideology' -- Ideological conflict and consensus -- Contemporary approaches towards the study of ideologies -- Studying ideology: the issue of bias -- Elements of ideologies -- Classifying ideologies: left and right -- Levels of ideology -- Power, influence and indoctrination -- Ideology and pragmatism in British politics -- Moderation and consensus in British politics -- The British political tradition -- Political ideology in Britain? -- Further reading -- 2 Liberalism -- Introduction -- Liberalism: Key concepts and values -- Early influences on liberalism in Britain -- The Whig tradition -- Radicals -- Classical economics and utilitarianism -- Victorian liberalism -- Liberalism, capitalism and democracy -- The New Liberalism -- The decline of the Liberal Party and the triumph of liberalism? The 1920s to the 1960s -- Liberal revival and the Liberal Democrats -- From The Orange Book to coalition with the Conservatives -- The future of liberalism? -- Further reading -- 3 Conservatism -- Introduction -- What is conservatism? Key values and concepts -- The Tory tradition -- Reaction and reform -- Classical liberalism, neo- liberalism and the free market -- Neo-conservatism -- Tensions within Thatcherism -- Ideology and pragmatism -- The legacy of Thatcherism -- The legacy of Thatcherism: from Major to Howard -- Cameron's conservatism in opposition -- The Conservatives in government: the coalition -- Further reading -- 4 Socialism, Social Democracy and Labour -- Introduction -- Socialism, liberalism and conservatism -- Socialism: key concepts and values -- Evolutionary and revolutionary socialism -- State socialism and its critics.