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Music, Film and
Education
Some of the lesser-known achievements of Merseyside Unity Theatre were their contributions to the local socialist movement through music, film and education. The club’s activities in these areas, particularly the Sunday University, saw the committee use the arts as a pedagogical tool to encourage members and audiences to engage more deeply with national and international politics through the study of literature, film, and drama.
At the heart of the theatre’s labour activism was the Left Theatre Choir. Established in early 1939 shortly after the club’s foundation, the singing group quickly became a cornerstone of its political activities, with rehearsals taking place every Sunday at the 61 Eversley Street club rooms. The choir’s performances were soon recognised as one of the most valued contributions to the local labour movement, and already by the 1940s the group was regularly requested at all major regional political rallies - most notably the annual May Day parades - earning formal commendation in correspondence from the Liverpool Trades Council.
The choir’s initial repertoire began to take shape in 1939 when labour activist George Garrett held an early lecture for members on Songs of Revolt from his own IWW songbook. Following this, the theatre went on to develop an impressive collection of labour songbooks and scores for use in the choir’s engagements. Most notably The Left Song Book, published in 1938 by the Left Book Club and Workers Music Association, contained an informative selection of traditional and topical workers’ songs from across Britain and Europe that became important education for club members.
Through the choir’s activities many singers became first acquainted with the writings of Bertolt Brecht, the International Brigade, and other influential socialist writers and composers including Randall Swingler, Alan Bush, and William Morris. Though the singers were largely untrained, the group instead placed emphasis on singing with passion, and the power of collective voice to unite audiences in a common cause.
One of the most significant music events in the club’s early history was their support in organising an open-air performance given by American singer and activist Paul Robeson in May 1949. Robeson wanted to sing directly to the people of Liverpool, and with the help of Merseyside Unity Theatre he succeeded by drawing in a crowd of over 10,000 people to his performance on top of an air raid shelter on Lord Street. Subsequently, he requested that the theatre perform in a programme at St. George’s Hall the next day, to which they brought their song scena Free and Equal about race relations in Liverpool. The song scena format became a signature method of their storytelling in which music was used to drive the momentum of their theatrical narratives. Other song scenas included Atomic Blues written in 1947 in the shadow of the atomic bomb, and I Never Died written in 1950 about renewing hope in the organisation of a factory strike through characters singing the labour song I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night.
Expanding its scope beyond the Left Theatre Choir, the committee also incorporated film screenings into its regular programme of activities. The club brought international cinema to new audiences, screening films from across Europe, the Soviet Union, America and China, at venues ranging from the David Lewis Theatre to the Philharmonic Hall. The selected films were inherently political, designed primarily to strengthen the political consciousness of members and audiences. In addition to this ideological objective, the committee also sought to improve peoples’ understanding of other cultures by showcasing both established classics and contemporary cinema from the Eastern Bloc.
However, after 7 years of successful screenings often to capacity audiences, the club faced a ban on its use of the Philharmonic Hall by the Liverpool City Council in 1953. It was a key example of McCarthyism on Merseyside, and in response the club demanded its freedom to cultural expression through circulating a petition and organising a protest meeting with speakers from the local Trades Council, Labour and Cooperative parties. It garnered support from the National Council on Civil Liberties and local MPs Harold Wilson and Bessie Braddock, following which it eventually won the right to resume screenings.
Staying true to its original aims set out in 1939, the club also focused on arranging lectures, play readings, and a variety of practical classes. Coined the “Sunday University” by its driving force, Jerry Dawson, the initiative hosted guest speakers on literature, politics and theatre for the next few decades, aiming to enrich members’ knowledge for their performances. The catalogue of speakers was remarkably diverse, ranging from professional actors and academics to historians and playwrights. Notable sessions included the actor Harry Ross on the Stanislavsky technique and historian Edward Thompson on the socialism of William Morris.
