From the lasting hits of Me and My Girl, The Dancing Years, The Boy Friend and Oliver! to the successes of Bitter Sweet, Bless the Bride and Expresso Bongo, the British musical in its formative years has appeared in strikingly different guises. This authoritative study traces what made these shows successes in the West End and how their individual qualities combine in a uniquely British interpretation of the genre. Cultural, sociological and political influences entwine with close reading of the dramatic and musical elements of this repertory to reveal a fascinating web of connections and contrasts between the times, the shows and the people who made them.

The patterns of change in this formative period are seldom linear or predictable, and in the shadow of a Broadway-dominant focus have frequently been misinterpreted and even overlooked until recently. The case studies here spotlight the rich individuality of each West End work, posing bigger questions and intriguing answers as to what a British musical can be. Indeed, the period from Coward’s Bitter Sweet to Lionel Bart’s Oliver! lays the foundations for the distinctive qualities of the success story of British musicals that continues today.

The interdisciplinary nature of this study brings together in one place the core materials through which to discover this formative period for the British musical. Insightful and lively, it is an invaluable resource for students and scholars of musical theatre and all those theatregoers drawn to the power of these classic British shows.