The Rock was a pageant play

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 with words by T. S. Eliot

T. S. Eliot

Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...

, first performed at Sadler's Wells Theatre

Sadler's Wells Theatre

Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 on 28 May 1934.

In a prefatory note Eliot disclaimed full responsibility for the text, saying "I cannot consider myself the author of the "play", but only of the words which are printed here." By Eliot's account, the text was written in collaboration with director E. Martin Browne

E. Martin Browne

E. Martin Browne was a British theatre director, known for his production of twentieth century verse plays. He collaborated for many years with T. S...

and the Reverend R. Webb-Odell.