Led by director Edith Craig, with her mother Ellen Terry as president, the Pioneer Players theater society was founded on May 11, 1911 in London with the aim of staging the play of ideas. As a play-producing subscription society following the model of the much larger Stage Society and earlier New Century and Independent Theatre societies, the Pioneer Players’ innovative productions of controversial drama for its members were deemed to be private and thereby technically evaded the Lord Chamberlain’s licensing powers.