Community theatre (UK)

In the UK the term community theatre refers to professional theatre work, taking place in non-theatre settings within specific communities. Much of this work has tended to be issue-based.

Alongside this kind of work there is also the concept of the Community Play, pioneered by Ann Jellicoe. Here there are no auditions as such, all the people who turn up can take part in the productions, at the discretion of the director or directors. Although paid professionals may take leading roles, amateurs do too. Because of the lack of clearing with the numbers in these productions, they tend to lean towards huge productions.