Post War British Theatre

Author : John Elsom
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 255 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2014-10-14
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781317557500

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Post-War British Theatre Criticism (Routledge Revivals) by John Elsom Pdf

This book, first published in 1981, sets out the critical reaction to some fifty key post-war productions of the British theatre, as gauged primarily through the contemporary reviews of theatre critics. The plays chosen are each, in their different ways, important in their contribution to the development of the British theatre, covering the period from immediately after the Second World War, when British theatre fell into decline, through the revival of the late 1950s, to the time in which this book was first published, in which British theatre enjoyed a high international reputation for its diversity and quality. This book is ideal for theatre studies students, as well as for the general theatre-goer.

Author : John Elsom
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 204 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2014-10-17
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781317557746

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Post-War British Theatre (Routledge Revivals) by John Elsom Pdf

Since the Second World War, we have witnessed exciting, often confusing developments in the British theatre. This book, first published in 1976, presents an enlightening, objective history of the many facets of post-war British theatre and a fresh interpretation of theatre itself. The remarkable and profound changes which have taken place during this period range from the style and content of plays, through methods of acting, to shapes of theatres and the organisational habits of managers. Two national theatres have been brought almost simultaneously into existence; while at the other end of the financial scale, the fringe and pub theatres have kicked their way into vigorous life. The theatre in Britain has been one of the post-war success stories, to judge by its international renown and its mixture of experimental vitality and polished experience. In this book Elsom presents an approach to the problems of criticism and appreciation which range beyond those of literary analysis.

Author : Philip Barnes
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1986
Category : Drama
ISBN : UOM:39015015874194

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A Companion to Post-war British Theatre by Philip Barnes Pdf

This original compilation is a comprehensive guide to every aspect of contemporary British theatre. It contains entries on playwrights and their plays; on major directors, actors and theatre groups; on alternative theatre, 'schools' of dramatic practice, critical idioms and stage history. It will be an invaluable source of reference for the student of drama, the critic, the aspiring writer or actor; and a desirable acquisition for the thousands who visit the theatre regularly.

Author : John Elsom
Publisher : London ; Boston : Routledge & K. Paul
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 1976
Category : English drama
ISBN : OCLC:464081829

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Post-war British Theatre by John Elsom Pdf

Author : Michelene Wandor
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 292 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2003-12-16
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781134773114

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Post-war British Drama: Looking Back in Gender by Michelene Wandor Pdf

In this extensively revised and updated edition of her classic work, Look Back in Gender, Michelene Wandor confirms the symbiotic relationship between drama and gender in a provocative look at key, representative British plays from the last fifty years. Repositioning the text at the heart of hteatre studies, Wandor surveys plays by Ayckbourn, Beckett, Churchill, Daniels, Friel, Hare, Kane, Osborne, Pinter, Ravenhill, Wertenbaker, Wesker and others. Her nuanced argument, central to any analysis of contemporary drama, discusses: *the imperative of gender in the playwright's imagination *the function of gender as a major determinant of the text's structural and narrative drives *the impact of socialism and feminism on post-war British drama, and the relevance of feminist dynamics in drama *differences in the representation of the fmaily, sexuality and the mother, before and after 1968 *the impact of the slogan that the 'personal is political' on contemporary form and content.

Author : Dominic Shellard
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 243 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2008-10-01
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9780300147919

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British Theatre Since the War by Dominic Shellard Pdf

British theatre of the past fifty years has been brilliant, varied, and controversial, encompassing invigorating indigenous drama, politically didactic writing, the formation of such institutions as the National Theatre, the exporting of musicals worldwide from the West End, and much more. This entertaining and authoritative book is the first comprehensive account of British theatre in this period. Dominic Shellard moves chronologically through the half-century, discussing important plays, performers, directors, playwrights, critics, censors, and agents as well as the social, political, and financial developments that influenced the theatre world. Drawing on previously unseen material (such as the Kenneth Tynan archives), first-hand testimony, and detailed research, Shellard tackles several long-held assumptions about drama of the period. He questions the dominance of Look Back in Anger in the 1950s, arguing that much of the theatre of the ten years prior to its premiere in 1956 was vibrant and worthwhile. He suggests that theatre criticism, theatre producers, and such institutions as the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company have played key roles in the evolution of recent drama. And he takes a fresh look at the work of Terence Rattigan, Harold Pinter, Joe Orton, Alan Ayckbourn, Timberlake Wertenbaker, and other significant playwrights of the modern era. The book will be a valuable resource not only for students of theatre history but also for any theatre enthusiast.

Author : Michael Patterson
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2003-05-22
Category : Drama
ISBN : 9781139434997

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Strategies of Political Theatre by Michael Patterson Pdf

This volume provides a theoretical framework for some of the most important play-writing in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century. Examining representative plays by Arnold Wesker, John Arden, Trevor Griffith, Howard Barker, Howard Brenton, Edward Bond, David Hare, John McGrath and Caryl Churchill, the author analyses their respective strategies for persuading audiences of the need for a radical restructuring of society. The book begins with a discussion of the way that theatre has been used to convey a political message. Each chapter is then devoted to an exploration of the engagement of individual playwrights with left-wing political theatre, including a detailed analysis of one of their major plays. Despite political change since the 1980s, political play-writing continues to be a significant element in contemporary play-writing, but in a very changed form.

Author : Andrew Wyllie
Publisher : Intellect Books
Page : 162 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2009-03-01
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781841502922

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Sex on Stage by Andrew Wyllie Pdf

In the years just after World War II, theater provided an important critique of British society’s engagement with gender and sexual politics. Sex on Stage examines how British playwrights, actors, and directors brought women’s sexuality and gay and lesbian issues to the cutting edge of drama after World War II. Through a close reading of playwrights such as John Osborne, Harold Pinter, and Terence Rattigan, alongside accounts of their sociopolitical context and public reception, Andrew Wyllie reveals that this more progressive age was also one of reactionary statements and industry-wide anxiety.

Author : Colin Chambers,Mike Prior
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 1987
Category : Drama
ISBN : UOM:39015013343234

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Playwrights' Progress by Colin Chambers,Mike Prior Pdf

Author : Michael Billington
Publisher : Faber & Faber Non Fiction
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Theater
ISBN : 057121049X

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State of the Nation by Michael Billington Pdf

Michael Billington looks at post-war Britain from a theatrical perspective. He examines the constant interplay between theatre and society from the resurgent optimism of the Attlee years to the satire boom of the 1960s and the growth of political theatre under Tony Blair in the post-Iraq period.

Author : Catherine Love
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 132 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2023-02-27
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781000839784

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Text and Performance in Contemporary British Theatre by Catherine Love Pdf

Text and Performance in Contemporary British Theatre interrogates the paradoxical nature of theatre texts, which have been understood both as separate literary objects in their own right and as material for performance. Drawing on analysis of contemporary practitioners who are working creatively with text, the book re-examines the relationship between text and performance within the specific context of British theatre. The chapters discuss a wide range of theatre-makers creating work in the UK from the 1990s onwards, from playwrights like Tim Crouch and Jasmine Lee-Jones to companies including Action Hero and RashDash. In doing so, the book addresses issues such as theatrical authorship, artistic intention, and the apparent incompleteness of plays as both written and performed phenomena. Text and Performance in Contemporary British Theatre also explores the implications of changing technologies of page and stage, analysing the impact of recent developments in theatre-making, editing, and publishing on the status of the theatre text. Written for scholars, students, and practitioners alike, Text and Performance in Contemporary British Theatre provides an original perspective on one of the most enduring problems to occupy theatre practice and scholarship.

Author : Jane Milling,Peter Thomson,Baz Kershaw,Joseph Walter Donohue (Jr.)
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 597 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2004-12-09
Category : Drama
ISBN : 9780521651325

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The Cambridge History of British Theatre by Jane Milling,Peter Thomson,Baz Kershaw,Joseph Walter Donohue (Jr.) Pdf

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Author : Jen Harvie,Dan Rebellato
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 325 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2024-02-29
Category : Drama
ISBN : 9781108386296

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The Cambridge Companion to British Theatre since 1945 by Jen Harvie,Dan Rebellato Pdf

British theatre underwent a vast transformation and expansion in the decades after World War II. This Companion explores the historical, political, and social contexts and conditions that not only allowed it to expand but, crucially, shaped it. Resisting a critical tendency to focus on plays alone, the collection expands understanding of British theatre by illuminating contexts such as funding, unionisation, devolution, immigration, and changes to legislation. Divided into four parts, it guides readers through changing attitudes to theatre-making (acting, directing, writing), theatre sectors (West End, subsidised, Fringe), theatre communities (audiences, Black theatre, queer theatre), and theatre's relationship to the state (government, infrastructure, nationhood). Supplemented by a valuable Chronology and Guide to Further Reading, it presents up-to-date approaches informed by critical race theory, queer studies, audience studies, and archival research to demonstrate important new ways of conceptualising post-war British theatre's history, practices and potential futures.

Author : Michael Pearce
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2017-07-14
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781317422174

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Black British Drama by Michael Pearce Pdf

Black British Drama: A Transnational Story looks afresh at the ways black theatre in Britain is connected to and informed by the spaces of Africa, the Caribbean and the USA. Michael Pearce offers an exciting new approach to reading modern and contemporary black British drama, examining plays by a range of writers including Michael Abbensetts, Mustapha Matura, Caryl Phillips, Winsome Pinnock, Kwame Kwei-Armah, debbie tucker green, Roy Williams and Bola Agbaje. Chapters combine historical documentation and discussion with close analysis to provide an in-depth, absorbing account of post-war black British drama situated within global and transnational circuits. A significant contribution to black British and black diaspora theatre studies, Black British Drama is a must-read for scholars and students in this evolving field.

Author : John Elsom
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 211 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2014-10-14
Category : Performing Arts
ISBN : 9781317558651

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Cold War Theatre (Routledge Revivals) by John Elsom Pdf

Cold War Theatre, first published in 1992, provides an account of the theatrical history within the context of East/West politics. Its geographical span ranges from beyond the Urals to the Pacific Coast of the US, and asks whether the Cold War confrontation was not in part due to the cultural climate of Europe. Taking the McCarthy era as its starting point, this readable history considers the impact of the Cold War upon the major dramatic movements of our time, East and West. The author poses the question as to whether European habits of mind, fostered by their cultures, may not have contributed to the political stalemates of the Cold War. A wide range of actors from both the theatrical and political stages are discussed, and their contributions to the theatre of the Cold War examined in a hugely enjoyable and enlightening narrative. This book is ideal for theatre studies students.