This thesis serves as the first major scholarly analysis of Glen Byam Shaw (1904-1986). Shaw was an actor/director whose work shaped British Theatre and Shakespeare across the last century. Shaw’s influence on British theatre is not accurately reflected by the scholarship surrounding him. This thesis looks to fill that gap in the scholarship of post-war Shakespeare studies. In doing so it presents a revisionist history of the Royal Shakespeare Company, locating the origins of many of its principles, practices and approaches in Shaw’s work as director of the theatre in the decade before its official foundation.

This thesis looks specifically at the influence of WWII upon Shaw’s work as a director of Shakespeare. It examines the history of his wartime service before exploring its effects on his readings of Shakespeare throughout his time at Stratford and his ultimate rejection of the military and their approaches. Shaw’s productions of Coriolanus, Troilus and Cressida, and Othello are explored in detail as the most military plays Shaw produced.

Shaw’s pre-production notebooks are unique theatrical materials, offering an unparalleled insight into the mind of a director setting out on a production of Shakespeare: his initial reactions to a text at the start of the rehearsal process. Using them, this thesis examines Shaw’s understanding of Shakespeare’s texts, his interpretations of them, and his directorial instincts and decisions based upon them. From these sources, Shaw is shown as a deeply intuitive and talented reader of Shakespeare with a gift for understanding his characters and translating those understandings onto the stage.

This thesis also explores Shaw’s relationship with actors and directors, through interviews conducted with Shaw and his colleagues in the 1970s. From these a clear picture of Shaw is built up as a beloved, respected and highly valued director who showed particular affection for his actors.