The African Theatre was first broadcast on the B.B.C.'s African Service in 1960 after John Stockbridge, a B.B.C. producer, was asked to devise a new drama series. The early scripts were written by Stockbridge, but other writers soon contributed their own plays, many of which had a strong political dimension. The number of transmissions was reduced during the 1970s, and African Theatre was renamed African Performance in 1994, when music, readings and drama-documentaries were added to the broadcasts. The Writers' Club was broadcast weekly on the African Service from 1959 to 1971, and featured interviews, plays and recordings of conferences.