Unity Theatre Trust

Unity Theatre developed from workers' drama groups in the 1930s. From the beginning Unity saw itself as the people's theatre. Many of its productions sought to dramatise the lives and struggles of ordinary working people. Its aims were to bring theatre to the masses and in doing so help in the struggles for world peace and better social and economic order. Unity was a product of the turbulent 1930s and the rising threat of Fascism. It had strong links with the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Left Book Club Theatre Guild.

By the outbreak of World War II there were 250 branches loosely linked with the Left Book Club Theatre Guild. After the war 50 branches became more closely organised into the Unity Theatre Society Limited which was largely amateur. Local branches of Unity Theatres provided venues for left-wing theatre. However by the 1960s the movement went into decline as the abolition of licensing meant that mainstream theatres could more readily meet the demand for radical productions.

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