The Theatre History Podcast
Episode 108: "Stirring Up Sheffield" with Tedd George
August 12, 202440 min · 8,661 words
Show notes
In the 1960s, the English city of Sheffield began work on a new theatre. The new venue, called the Crucible, became an important landmark in the development of theatre in the UK, as well as a point of contention nationwide. At the center of it all was Colin George, who spearheaded the building of the Crucible and fought for its then-unconventional design.
Highlighted moments
If you imagine ancient Greek theatre, where you have almost a semi-circular stage, and the audience wrapped around it on three sides, with the actors in the centre of the action. He reimagined that, first at the Edinburgh Festival in the assembly rooms there in 1948.
“if you're on a proscenium stage in a huge theatre, with the lights on, you very often can't see more than the front row. And anyone in the gods, I mean, they might as well be in a different postcode.”
“you get an equally good view, but you get a different performance. If you've ever had the opportunity to see the same show, and you sit in the middle, and then you sit on either sides up down below, it's a completely different show.”
Transcript
Transcript not available for this episode yet.
More from The Theatre History Podcast
Episode 115: All Play and No Work in the Depression w/ Dr. Paul Gagliardi
Jun 22, 202638 min
Episode 114: The Education of Lin-Manuel Miranda w/ Dr. Daniel Pollack-Pelzner
Jun 11, 202653 min
Episode 113: Todd London on Zelda Fichandler and the History of Nonprofit Theatre in the United States
May 19, 202646 min
Episode 112: Serving up "Titus Andronicus" with Jesse Berger and Red Bull Theater
Mar 9, 2026
Episode 111: Warning: Armed Women! (w/ Dr. Sarah Burdett)
Mar 2, 202648 min