About The All-England Theatre Festival has a history dating back to 1919 when the British Drama League was formed. The public inauguration of the League took place at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on June 22nd and it was said by Mr. Geoffrey Whitworth that "Drama was par excellence the art of the people, and the Theatre everyone's business". This view dominated the launch and resulted in a wide range of individuals on the first committee. One of the main planks of the Drama League was its Education platform. This evolved into a strong commitment to new writing and the establishment of competitive Festivals. By June 1923 there were 360 affiliated societies which included amateur and professional bodies. In 1926 professionals were expressing concern that the rapid growth of amateur drama was likely to cause problems with too many people trying to enter an already overcrowded profession! A Council Meeting was held to discuss this and in 1927 it was noted that the League's monthly journal 'Drama' was selling 3000 copies. This interest had started a British 'Festival of Community Drama' which was used to find an entry for the New York Little Theatre Tournament. Other aspects of the League's work included the making of a substantial contribution to the Stratford-on-Avon Memorial Theatre, visits to Europe to help establish Festivals and the organisation of summer schools. In 1938 the final of the National Festival was held outside London for the first time following the invitation of the Scottish Community Drama Association. Entries had totalled 602.The war brought a significant reduction in the League's membership but activities continued as best they could throughout. The emphasis changed somewhat to encourage Youth clubs and military units for educational purposes. After the war the regions started to organise their own Festivals and the first England only Final was held in 1947. The organisation of subsequent annual Finals eventually became the remit of the All England Theatre Festival and the role of the British Drama League gradually faded away to be replaced by a mixture of support groups. Email the Webmaster