The London Stage in the 20th Century

By Robert Tanitch

This ambitious work is an encyclopaedic view of the plays, players and performers of London’s West End throughout the last century. No other city anywhere on earth came close to rivalling London in terms of the volume and quality of its theatrical productions between 1900 and 2000.

‘Mr Tanitch’s widespread knowledge and enthusiasm give this book an extraordinary luster. . . . I defy you to even think about putting it down.’
Amateur Stage, November 2007

‘If, like me, you are an ardent theatre-goer, you could spend happy hours scouring this vast and magnificent book.’

Francis Beckett,

The New Statesman

The 20th was the century that established the city’s reputation and this volume charts in fine detail the productions that saw this rise to dominance. Poignantly, as the passing years also ushered in the age of the new media it also became the century that witnessed the dimming of the appeal of theatre and theatre life.

Robert Tanitch’s widespread knowledge and enthusiasm give this book an extraordinary lustre. The entries are enlivened by quotes from the most acerbic reviewers of their age. Observing the triumphs and occasionally the disasters at first hand. The illustrative material included in the book evokes a clear sense of the passing epochs. Revealing the changing styles from the furiously busy early decades of the century to the critical successes of the Post War years, and the rise of the musical towards the end of the century.

No serious follower of the London theatre will be able to resist the temptation of this book and the compendium of knowledge and information it contains. 

About the author

Robert Tanitch is one of London’s foremost theatrical critics and biographers. His career arches across many decades and his reviews of current West End productions are still published weekly throughout the London media.

His acclaimed biographies have included among their subjects actors as wide-ranging as John Gielgud, John Mills, Peggy Ashcroft, Dirk Bogarde and Clint Eastwood.