Yorkshire Modernisms and Yorkshire Theatre: Edith Craig (1869-1947) and the Leeds Art Theatre

This article examines the Leeds Art Theatre (LAT), founded in 1922, as a significant but overlooked centre of modernist theatre practice in Yorkshire. Drawing on new research into digitised regional and national newspaper coverage, this article reframes the history of the LAT by restoring Edith Craig (1869–1947) to her central role as the organisation’s Art Director. Previous scholarship, principally Tom Steele’s account via the Leeds Arts Club, largely overlooked Craig’s formative influence. I argue that Craig brought to the LAT a rich legacy from women’s suffrage theatre ecologies--inclusive, community-oriented, and open to amateurs--that fundamentally shaped the organisation’s aesthetic ambitions and regional reach. The article traces the LAT’s evolution through press coverage, its collaborative network across Yorkshire cities, and the landmark 1924 production of Hofmannstahl’s The Great World Theatre at St Edward’s Church, Leeds. It also examines the mechanisms by which Craig’s contributions were systematically marginalised in contemporaneous reportage. Situating the LAT within broader debates about modernism, regionalism, and the politics of theatre practice, I make a case for recognising Yorkshire’s place in the modernist landscape and Craig’s undervalued role within it.