Huntly Carter and Theatre in Germany

The British theatre industry in the first three decades of the twentieth century exuded confidence. Most of its key players believed that its continued success was closely linked to the economic model of supply and demand, a model in which long runs provided healthy profits for the leading managers, actors and playwrights. In many ways it was a theatre pulling away from the continent, where subsidies, director’s theatre, and dramaturgical practices increasingly came to the fore. It may not be surprising then that few critics and practitioners were interested in continental European theatre. However, Huntly Carter was one of the commentators who showed an active interest in theatre in Germany. His study of the influential German theatre director Max Reinhardt was, therefore, not just a discussion of his practice but an attempt to introduce to a largely ignorant British public the advantages of a theatre run on continental terms.