Peter Thomson, the first professor of drama at Exeter University and a key figure in transforming drama education in British universities, has died aged 88. He wrote books on Shakespeare and Brecht, and co-authored the Everyman Companion to the Theatre.
Champion of Practical Drama
Historically, drama was taught in English departments as a branch of literature. With the foundation of a dedicated undergraduate drama course at Bristol in 1947, the subject emerged as a separate discipline focusing on plays in performance. Thomson was a key figure in this transformation. As he put it: "Drama is a subject that demands deeds as well as words."
When Thomson took up a post as an assistant lecturer at the University of Manchester in 1964, tensions existed between traditionalist academics and the practical approach of lecturers like Stephen Joseph. Thomson insisted that theory and practice were complementary routes to the same end.
In the spirit of "learning by doing," he developed "practical essays": students worked creatively, preparing and enacting seminal events in theatre history. One student recalled playing dissident dramatist Henry Fielding in a drama-documentary on the introduction of theatre censorship in 1737, performed to celebrate its abolition in 1968.
Innovation at Exeter
Arriving at Exeter University's drama department in 1974, Thomson found his ideas in fuller flower. The course was delivered through five-week-long projects, conducted "in footless tights and sleeveless leotards." His inaugural lecture challenged any hierarchy between academic and practical work.
In 1972, Thomson co-founded the Standing Conference of University Drama Departments (Scudd, now DramaHE) and later a regular conference and scholarly journal to defend the discipline. In 1981, when the University Grants Committee invited 13 universities to drop their drama departments, Thomson led a successful campaign of resistance. When Bangor closed its drama department, he arranged the transfer of its staff to other universities.
Legacy of Success
Thomson's department proved a perfect training ground for Felix Barrett, founder of Punchdrunk, and the original lineup of Foursight and Forced Entertainment. It also nurtured conventionally inclined graduates, including writers Abi Morgan, Jessica Swale, and David Eldridge.
Born in Poole, Dorset, to a Methodist minister and a teacher, Thomson attended Kingswood School in Bath and learned Russian during national service with the RAF. He studied at Jesus College, Cambridge, where his PhD on Byron was overtaken by a whirlwind romance with Rita Prince, whom he married in 1963.
After Manchester, Thomson was lured to Swansea's English department with the promise of setting up a drama department. When offered an impossibly miserly budget, he left for Exeter and his chair.
Prolific Writer and Cricketer
Thomson's writings included works on Shakespeare (Shakespeare's Theatre, 1983; Shakespeare's Professional Career, 1992) and Brecht (a definitive study of Mother Courage and Her Children, 1997), as well as the co-authored Everyman Companion to the Theatre (1985) and a three-volume Introduction to English Theatre 1660-1900 (2006).
He was also a passionate cricketer, making 584 appearances for the Exeter University staff team, the Erratics, as a wicketkeeper. His writing extended to poetry, including a volume of clerihews. He enjoyed a cigarette, a pint, and an evening in the pub, and was unfailingly supportive to a worldwide community of students.
Rita, a CND activist, died in 2021. Thomson is survived by his children, Jim, Kate, Stephen, and Annie, and five grandchildren.
