Literary studies: plays and playwrights Books

Book SynopsisWritten (and occasionally performed) by Rob Drummond in collaboration with director David Overend, these scripts are a record of a long-term artistic partnership. From the award-winning magic of Bullet Catch (the Arches, 2012), to the audience votes of The Majority (National Theatre of Great Britain, 2017), these six plays open up a space for improvisation and participation, and a range of responses and reactions from the audience. The collection includes four previously unpublished scripts along with up-to-date versions of their most successful productions. With introductory essays and in-text commentary by both the writer and director, this is a valuable resource for practitioners, students, and scholars of contemporary British theatre.Trade ReviewRemarkable, multilayered and utterly gripping. * The Guardian (on Bullet Catch) *A startlingly deep reflection on the mysterious relationship between performance and despair. * The Scotsman (on Bullet Catch) *Table of Contents1. Foreword by Jackie Wylie 2. Introduction by David Overend 3. Rob Drummond and David Overend in conversation 4. Bullet Catch 5. Wallace 6. The Majority 7. Top Table 8. Eulogy 9. Rolls in Their Pockets

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Book SynopsisAnthony Neilson (b. 1967, Edinburgh) is a Scottish playwright and director. His breakthrough show Normal: The Dusseldorf Ripper was produced at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in 1991. Other shows include The Wonderful World of Dissocia (2004), Realism (2006), Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness (2009) and Orson Welles in the Land of the Peas (2010). He also took part in the Bush Theatre's Sixty Six in 2011.Trade ReviewTerrific...has a sense of foreboding unlike anything I've experienced, and induces a quality of silence from its audience that is something truly special * Evening Standard on Relocated *Chilling, vivid and unnvervingly topical. Deeply disconcerting...dark and dream-like. X-certificate theatre that depicts all too recognizable human atrocities. * Telegraph on Relocated *This beautifully unlikely play has heart to match its humour * The Times on Get Santa! *A hilariously inventive and unconventional extravaganza. A hoot...vivid, stylish...witty. Warmly recommended. * Independent on Get Santa! *Intelligent and witty about art and ego, beauty and elusiveness * The Stage on Unreachable *Intoxicatingly chaotic comedy * Time Out on Unreachable *Table of ContentsRelocated Get Santa! Narrative Unreachable The Prudes

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Book SynopsisA work of startling originality when it debuted in 1938, Thornton Wilder''s Our Town evolved to be seen by some as a vintage slice of early 20th Century Americana, rather than being fully appreciated for its complex and eternal themes and its deceptively simple form. This unique and timely book shines a light on the play''s continued impact in the 21st century and makes a case for the healing powers of Wilder''s text to a world confronting multiple crises. Through extensive interviews with more than 100 artists about their own experience of the play and its impact on them professionally and personally and including background on the play's early years and its pervasiveness in American culture Another Day's Begun shows why this particular work remains so important, essential, and beloved.Every production of Our Town has a story to tell beyond Wilder's own. One year after the tragedy of 9/11, Paul Newman, in his final stage appearance, played the Stage Manager in <Trade ReviewAn important book consisting of oral histories of 12 productions of the play that have opened since 2012 and prefaced by a richly detailed 34-page overview of the original Broadway production of the play’s subsequent history up to the turn of this century. * The Wall Street Journal *The early chapters are full of fascinating 'Our Town' factoids, but the heart of 'Another Day’s Begun' is the more than a dozen chapters outlining major productions of ‘Our Town,' which Sherman presents as oral histories. * Hartford Courant *With the country splintered, its institutions shaken, a book documenting a classic American play affirming shared life experiences and bedrock values seems especially timely. * The Washington Post *Thornton Wilder’s classic play Our Town is so familiar — and so often performed in a sanitized, sentimental style in high schools around the country — that it’s easy to forget how bold this work originally proved. Author Howard Sherman tells the tale anew with Another Day’s Begun: He brings the story up to date with examinations of the many bold and exciting productions that have appeared in the past 20 years. * Broadway Direct *If you love the play, you’ll love the book. If you have believe it or not, never really even seen a production of Our Town, you’ll love the book, because this book, as much as the play, is the story about people, and how we fit each other into our lives and what we mean to each other. One of the things you’re struck by as you read about production after production, is that every production becomes its own small town, and you are inevitably touched by the lives that are uplifted. It’s a great book. * Scott Simon, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday *An engaging and deeply researched book for theater lovers and for anyone who has ever spent time with this Thornton Wilder masterpiece. The oral histories enliven the book with candid, often contrarian, views by the theatrical participants. The variety of stagings and performers in this century demonstrates Sherman’s premise that Our Town is not a play of nostalgia and sentimentality but rather one that reminds us to savor every glorious moment of our ordinary lives. That’s a tough but important message during this endless pandemic. * Third Coast Review *[Our Town] has gained a reputation for fusty sentimentality, a misperception that Howard Sherman’s new oral history, “Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s ‘Our Town’ in the 21st Century”… debunks through discussion of a dozen productions. * The New York Times *[A] new history of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.” * The Boston Globe *A compendium of newly created oral histories about some key productions from the past two decades…The result is not just an intimate look at the theatermaking process, but an enlightening examination of a play that isn't what it appears to be. * TheaterMania *Another Day’s Begun possesses a theatricality of its own, with an “intermission” at its mid-point, and a peppering of production stills throughout. But it is with its collection of interviews, or “Oral Histories”, that Sherman’s book comes into its own, offering a novel lens through which to view the play, both in performance and as a cultural phenomenon… To those who want to get to grips with the play, Another Day’s Begun can be highly recommended. * The Times Literary Supplement *A captivating history of Our Town… In this time of dark stages and unemployed thespians, Sherman’s reflections will enchant all theater buffs. * Library Journal *Our Town reminds us of what unites, rather than divides, humanity. Howard Sherman has provided a valuable current portrait of the play’s ever timely and timeless testimony to our better selves. * Tappan Wilder *I love this book! Howard Sherman delivers a fresh, witty, engaging, exhaustively researched, up to the minute backstage tour into one of America's very greatest and perhaps most underestimated plays. An excellent must-have book to own and cherish. * Stephen Adly Guirgis *What an immense pleasure to read Another Day Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century. Howard Sherman has crafted a comprehensive overview of Our Town that traces the play’s journey from inception to reception, its acceptance and then the interrogations that surround such success. Sherman places Thornton Wilder firmly where he belongs, in the pantheon of the most significant American playwrights. And he makes a compelling case for how the play speaks directly to the complexities our current century * Anne Bogart *To explore the pages of this book is to rediscover the joy and wonder of theatre itself. Our Town is arguably the greatest American play, and Howard Sherman helps us understand how it retains that power for new generations, new visions of America, and communities around the globe. The stories he tells, like Wilder's play itself, make their gentle and mysterious way into our hearts, until we too are transformed by a bigger and more generous vision of our world. * David Henry Hwang *If Thornton Wilder ever wondered: “What difference will it make if I write this play?”, Howard Sherman’s Another Day’s Begun answers him. Sherman’s book is a remarkable case study of Our Town in multiple contexts. We are given testimony from all involved in how one play makes an enormous difference in appreciating our time on earth and realizing our connection to each other. A must-read for all who love theatre, and an eloquent gift for all of us who wonder what difference it makes to write during our allotment of days * Paula Vogel *Howard Sherman has crafted an entertaining and enlightening appreciation of what is arguably the greatest American play … Another Day’s Begun is not only a colorful companion to Our Town, but a worthy addition to the study of American theater. * Donald Margulies *The core of Another Day’s Begun lies in a series of intelligent discussions between those involved in every kind of production from schools to Broadway and the UK stage… [The book] builds a wealth of information and interest as readers discover the ways in which it has touched so many diverse lives. * British Theatre Guide *In his fascinating new book, Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century, author Howard Sherman analyzes the play’s meaning and explores its continuing impact on audiences across the globe. * The Red Hook Star Review *[A]n astonishing, nimble demonstration of how research can be deployed in the field through a multiplicity of dramaturgical filters and prisms. * Thorton Wilder Journal *Table of Contents1. Introduction: The Name of this Book is Another Day’s Begun 2. Building Grover’s Corners 3. Expanding Grover’s Corners 4. The David Cromer productions 5. Westport Country Playhouse and Broadway 6. Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre 7. Montgomery County Emergency Services 8. Theatre Baton Rouge and Louisiana State University 9. Lookingglass Theatre 10. Intermission: The Church of Grover’s Corners 11. Theatrical Outfit 12. Miami New Drama 13. Oregon Shakespeare Festival 14. Deaf West and Pasadena Playhouse 15. Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park 16. Sing Sing Correctional Facility 17. Epilogue: 11 O’Clock in Grover’s Corners i. Notes and Sources ii. Thanks and acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisWhere did cabaret come from? What has it got to do with pre-war Berlin, decadent society and Nazis? How does it turn into media cabaret and the sisterhood of sleaze? Is cabaret a primary vehicle for exploring the range of sexual practices and alternative sexual identities?In this new book William Grange brings into one place for the first time the range of practices now associated with the form of cabaret. Beginning with its origins in speciality German theatres and the development both of the sheet music industry and disc recordings, Grange tracks the form through into its golden age in the 1920s and beyond. The book's three sections deal first with the emergence of Berlin as the German Chicago', where cabaret flourished in the midst of post-war political turmoil. The abolition of censorship allowed nude dancing and sexually explicit songs and routines. It also saw the introduction of kick-line dancing and black performers. In the book's second and third sections Grange takes tTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Series Preface Introduction CHAPTER I : Beginnings in France Montmartre The Bohemians Rodolphe Salis Aristide Bruant Yvette Guilbert CHAPTER II: The Craze Spreads to Germany Kabarett Munich Frank Wedekind Kathi Kobus Vienna CHAPTER III: Offshoots: Prague, Kracow, Budapest, Moscow, Zurich Prague Kracow BudapestMoscow Zurich New York CHAPTER IV: The Golden Age of Cabaret Escape The Outbreak of War The New Republic The Naked Body of Cabaret Wildness and Megalomania The Follies of Foliés and Revues Retorts and Tribunals CHAPTER V: The Nazi Terror Catastrophe The National Socialist Reign of Terror Cabaret in Exile Klaus and Erika Mann CHAPTER VI: Cabaret in a Media-Driven Age Aftermath The Economic Miracle Cabaret on the Airwaves East Germany Fat and Overfed The Revolt of the ’68ers Downhill Televised Cabaret Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisClassical Greek Tragedy offers a comprehensive survey of the development of classical Greek tragedy combined with close readings of exemplary texts. Reconstructing how audiences in fifth-century BCE Athens created meaning from the performance of tragedy at the dramatic festivals sponsored by the city-state and its wealthiest citizens, it considers the context of Athenian political and legal structures, gender ideology, religious beliefs, and other social forces that contributed to spectators' reception of the drama. In doing so it focuses on the relationship between performers and watchers, not only Athenian male citizens, but also women and audiences throughout the ancient Mediterranean world.This book traces the historical development of these dynamics through three representative tragedies that span a 50 year period: Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes, Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus, and Euripides' Helen. Topics include the role of the chorus; the tragic hero; Trade ReviewIn this highly accessible introduction to Greek tragedy, Judith Fletcher has combined close analysis of three plays with an impressive overview of the genre as a whole, from its formal features to the sociocultural context of its productions in the fifth century BCE. Throughout she ensures that her readers see tragedy as a multimedia performance, with a range of possible receptions by its audiences. Classical Greek Tragedy will be an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to learn more about this ancient artform. * Naomi Weiss, Harvard University, USA *Students and non-specialists seeking a quick and seamless introduction to Athenian tragedy should look no further than this handy little book … Clear and engaging. * The Classical Review *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Series Preface Chapter One: Early Tragedy Chapter Two: The Mature Period Chapter Three: Late Tragedy Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisThis engaging and fresh biography begins by examining how Shakespeare's life turns into myth so comfortably as to seduce even the most sceptical scholar. The early departure, the late return. Public success, private loss. A twilight of plays about family reunions, a death at home in the biggest house in town, the one he walked by as a schoolboy and eyed with envy, or at least ambition. Shakespeare led an orbital life, everything returned to where it began. He even had the dramatic good sense to die on his birthday. One of the appealing dynamics of the Shakespeare myth is the contrast of his humble beginnings and his lofty achievements, persuading us that genius might blossom anywhere. William Shakespeare: A Brief Life honours these myths, but also explores some of the mysteries: why Shakespeare left Stratford, who he ran with in London, why he put down his pen and at last came home again. Ultimately, the book explores the compelling contrast between the mere fifty two years Trade ReviewWritten with verve, this biography is as breezy as it is illuminating. * Laurie Maguire, Fellow, Magdalen College, and Professor Emeritus, University of Oxford, UK *As wry and witty as it is thorough and thoughtful, Menzer’s eminently readable study is the most fun you will ever have with a biography of Shakespeare. * Andrew Hartley, Robinson Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA *Table of ContentsSeries Preface Preface: The Complete Life of William Shakespeare Chapter 1. Shakespeare’s Dead Chapter 2. Earth Unto Earth Chapter 3. Shakespeare at School Chapter 4. Anne Hathaway, aka Chapter 5. The Lost Years Chapter 6. Stratford in the Rear View Chapter 7. Enter London Chapter 8. Shakespeare, playwright Chapter 9. Shakespeare, poet Chapter 10. Shakespeare’s Company Chapter 11. William Shakespeare, gent. Chapter 12. Shakespeare at Court Chapter 13. Shakespeare’s Globe? Chapter 14. Shakespeare’s Properties Chapter 15. The King’s Man Chapter 16. The Plague Years Chapter 17. Shakespeare’s Daughters Chapter 18. The Returning Point Chapter 19. Shakespeare’s Head Epilogue: Yellow Leaves Notes Index

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Book SynopsisChristopher Shinn (b. 1975) is an American playwright from New York. His plays include Now or Later (shortlisted for the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play), Dying City (Pulitzer Prize finalist), Where Do We Live (winner of an Obie in Playwriting), An Opening In Time, Teddy Ferrara, Picked, Four, What Didn't Happen, On the Mountain, Other People, and The Coming World. His adaptation of Hedda Gabler premiered on Broadway (American Airlines Theatre), and he has written short plays for Naked Angels (Democracy Project), the 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, the Bush Theatre (Sixty-Six Books), and Headlong (Decade). His work has been premiered by Lincoln Center Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, the Vineyard Theatre, South Coast Rep, the Goodman, the Royal Court, and the Soho Theatre, and later produced around the world. Christopher Shinn's awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwriting, a grant from the NEA/TCG Residency Program, an Obie in Playwriting and the Robert Chesley Award.Trade ReviewA playwright who writes with unshowy depth and unforced menace on a challenging subject * New York Magazine *Mr Shinn sees and hears people as they are, and his greatest strength is his ability to reproduce onstage the clumsy poetry of natural human interaction. That skill is rarer than you might think. * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisYou don't tell an American to switch off her light; you build her a better light bulb.A leading British doctor with a radical plan to save the NHS and a Silicon Valley billionaire with a radical plan to halt climate change, meet outside an abandoned train on a salt flat in South America.A landscape so bright in its whiteness that it isn't easy to look at, and so uninterrupted in its flatness there's no echo.For Kimsa and his daughter who live there, the arrival of these strangers initially seems like an opportunity. Until they both stake their claim on the land, each following their ruthless pursuit of the greater good'.Al Smith''s landmark play premieres at the Royal Court following his 2016 hit Harrogate which saw him nominated for Most Promising Playwright at the 2017 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.Trade ReviewThe beauty of Smith’s occasionally Pinteresque writing is that while it is dark, it is never gratuitously ugly. * Telegraph *Al Smith knows how to set up and detonate a joke. He has a wicked, inky sense of humour. * The Stage (on Diary of a Madman) *

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Book SynopsisThe sixth collection of plays from award-winning playwright Richard Bean, including the world-conquering hit One Man, Two Guvnors, as well as Young Marx, his riotous take on Karl Marx''s life in London, which launched London''s new Bridge Theatre and The Hypocrite, a historical-farcical romp that lit up Hull''s year as City of Culture.One Man, Two GuvnorsBased on Carlo Goldoni's classic Italian comedy The Servant of Two Masters, sex, food and money are high on the agenda.Winner of the both 2011 Evening Standard Theatre Best New Play & Critic''s Circle Best New Play awards.Young MarxCreditors, spies, rival revolutionary factions and prospective seducers of his beautiful wife all circle like vultures. His writing blocked, his marriage dying, his friend Engels in despair at his wasted genius, his only hope is a job on the railway. But there's still no one in the capital who can show you a better night on the piss than Karl Heinrich MTrade ReviewThe Hypocrite serves as a scabrous, bawdy, witty, often flagrantly silly love-letter to Hull and its purported place in a crucial moment of national history... it hits the bull’s-eye...Richard Bean returns to One Man, Two Guvnors form with a brilliantly entertaining new farce. * Telegraph *Young Marx, a wily, fast-paced comedy * Independent *One Man, Two Guvnors - You would had to have had a humour by-pass not to enjoy it. * Guardian *Table of ContentsIntroduction One Man, Two Guvnors by Richard Bean Young Marx by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman The Hypocrite by Richard Bean

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Book SynopsisUnusual Stories, Unusually Told celebrates some of the boldest contemporary American voices with seven plays from Clubbed Thumb''s Summerworks. Spanning 2001 to 2019 and accompanied by artist interviews and reflections on the work, this anthology presents a vital survey of formally inventive 21st century playwriting, and is a perfect collection for study and performance. U.S. Drag by Gina GionfriddoA serial killer named Ed stalks the city, luring his victims by asking for help. To protect themselves, a group of New Yorkers form SAFE, Stay Away From Ed. The first rule: don't help anyone. It's a matter of urban survival. Slavey by Sigrid GilmerIn which Robert and Nora, a couple on the rise, get a big promotion, a bigger house, and a brand new slave. Dot by Kate E. RyanIn which old Dot and the weird kid from the neighborhood become friends. Set in that kind of Florida town that makes you wonder: is this TV, a book, or maybe even a cabaret? Baby Screams Miracle by Clare BarTrade ReviewI've discovered so many of my favorite playwrights thanks to Clubbed Thumb, and I keep going back to their shows because I want to know who the most exciting new artists are. Theater in this country would be much less interesting without Clubbed Thumb. * Heidi Schreck, writer and star of What the Constitution Means to Me (which originated in Clubbed Thumb's Summerworks). *Clubbed Thumb is where the American theater is headed – it just doesn’t know it yet. * Amy Staats, playwright & actor *To your cherished list of warm-weather city pleasures, you should think about adding Summerworks. Now 23 years old, this staple of the East Village culturescape…allows you to say you knew certain rising playwrights before your friends did. * Ben Brantley, New York Times *A perfect summer show, a trick Clubbed Thumb seems to have mastered. The Summerworks home at the Wild Project in the East Village, with its garage-door entry open to the street, makes seeing the plays seem like a friendly invitation instead of a cultural duty. * Jesse Green, New York Times *As has become customary at Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks Festival, the cast, direction and design are top-notch, though it only costs a pittance to get in. In terms of dollars per laugh, the value here is extremely high. * Helen Shaw, Time Out NY *Table of ContentsForeword by Maria Striar, Producing Artistic Director & Co-Founder of Clubbed Thumb Each play includes the playwright's biography and additional material: Piano by Will Arbery (2018, 2019) Of Government by Agnes Borinsky (2017) Men on Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus (2015, 2016) Baby Screams Miracle by Clare Barron (2013) Dot by Kate E Ryan (2010) Slavey by Sigrid Gilmer (2008) U.S. Drag by Gina Gionfriddo (2001)

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Book SynopsisMigrating Shakespeare offers the first study of the earliest waves of Shakespeare's migration into Europe. Charting the spread of the reception and production of his plays across the continent, it examines how Shakespeare contributed to national cultures and in some cases nation building. The chapters explore the routes and cultural networks through which Shakespeare entered European consciousness, from first translations to stage adaptations and critical response. The role of strolling players and actors, translators and printers, poets and dramatists, is chronicled alongside the larger political and cultural movements shaping nations. Each individual case discloses the national, literary and theatrical issues Shakespeare encountered, revealing not only how cultures have accommodated and adapted Shakespeare on their own terms but their interpretative contribution to the texts. Taken collectively the volume addresses key questions about Shakespeare's naturalization or reluctanTable of ContentsIntroduction: ‘Migrating Shakespeare’ by Janet Clare and Dominique Goy-Blanquet 1. “Michelangelo of tragedy”: Shakespeare’s tortuous Italian routes by Maria Luisa De Rinaldis (University of Salento, Italy) 2“No stranger here”: Shakespeare in Germany by Wolfgang G. Müller (University of Jena, Germany) 3. Shakespeare at cultural crossroads: Switzerland by Balz Engler (Basel University, Switzerland) 4. Opening the book: the disclosure of Shakespeare in the Netherlands by Detlef Wagenaar (Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands) 5. Jean-François Ducis, global passeur: Shakespeare’s migration in Continental Europe by Michèle Willems (University of Rouen, France) 6. No profit but the name’: the Polish reception of Shakespeare’s plays by Anna Cetera-Wlodarczyk (University of Warsaw, Poland) 7. ‘From migration to naturalisation: Shakespeare in Russia by Marina P. Kizima (Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Russia) 8. Trade routes, politics and culture: Shakespeare in Sweden by Per Sivefors (Linnaeus University, Sweden) 9. The mirror and the razor: Shakespeare’s arrival in Spain by Keith Gregor (University of Murcia, Spain) 10. Migrating with migrants: Shakespeare and the Armenian diaspora by Jasmine Seymour (Armenian Shakespeare Association) 11. Shakespeare in Greece: from Athens to Constantinople and beyond by Mara Yanni (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece) Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisFive exciting new plays for young people written specifically in response to a world in the midst of a pandemic, accompanied by a handbook from Wonder Fools theatre company with guidance for staging the plays either online or live in the space.Commissioned as part of Wonder Fools'' national participatory project Positive Stories for Negative Times, these five plays offer a variety of stories, styles and forms for ages 8-25. These original and innovative plays are:Is This A Fairytale? by Bea WebsaterA new play that rips apart the traditional fairy tale canon and turns it on its head in a surprising, inventive and unconventional way. Ages 8+Hold Out Your Hand by Chris ThorpeA dynamic text asking questions about place, where we are now and the moment we are living through. Ages 13+The Pack by Stef SmithA playful and poetic exploration about getting lost in the loneliness of your living room and trying to find your way home. Ages 13+OzTrade ReviewThe thing I love most about this selection of plays ... is the variety of themes, stories, styles and the diversity of the cast size; you can pick up this anthology and find something for a lesson, a series of workshops, an exam piece, and even a full scale production. * National Drama *If you are looking for something that will really revitalise a mid-Key Stage 3 drama unit, and require more than a desk study of a play script, then these [plays] could well be the answer. * Teaching English *Table of Contents1. Editor's Note 2. Credits and Biographies 3. Handbook 4. Is This A Fairytale? by Bea Webster 5. The Pack by Stef Smith 6. Hold Out Your Hand by Chris Thorpe 7. Ozymandias by Jack Nurse and Robbie Gordon 8. Bad Bored Women of the Rooms by Sabrina Mahfouz

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Book SynopsisThe gods have much to tell us about performance. When human actors portray deities onstage, such divine epiphanies reveal not only the complexities of mortals playing gods but also the nature of theatrical spectacle itself. The very impossibility of rendering the gods in all their divine splendor in a truly convincing way lies at the intersection of divine power and the power of the theater. This book pursues these dynamics on the stages of ancient Athens and Rome as well on those of Renaissance England to shed new light on theatrical performance. The authors reveal how gods appear onstage both to astound and to dramatize the very machinations by which theatrical performance operates. Offering an array of case studies featuring both canonical and lesser-studied texts, this volume discusses work of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Plautus as well as Beaumont, Heywood, Jonson, Marlowe, and Shakespeare. This book uniquely brings together the joint perspectives of two eTrade ReviewThis work shows great erudition, since in addition to the main sources of study, there are numerous allusions to other classical and neoclassical texts. The fact that it features analysis of both tragedy and comedy is a rarity and therefore one of the volume’s strengths. Ultimately, it offers a dialogue between literature, theatre and performance, anthropology and religion in a pragmatic and reinvigorating way. Undoubtedly, it will be a work of reference for researchers of classical reception, drama performance, divinity and the English Renaissance. * The Classical Review *Performing Gods is a lively, wide-ranging, illuminating guide to the many ways in which the stories of gods and humans in classical antiquity influenced writers in the age of Shakespeare. A pleasure to read, this fine study should appeal both to the general reader and to students of Renaissance or classical literature. -- Warren Chernaik, Emeritus Professor of English, University of London, UKPerforming Gods offers a provocative argument, with richly rewarding implications for a wide range of plays … [and] does a valuable service in opening a conversation on this important topic. * The Journal of Hellenic Studies *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Gods Take Stage Chapter One: Approaching Divinity Chapter Two: Under the Actor’s Spell: Audiences in Euripides’ Helen and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus Chapter Three: An Actor Ascends: Status and Identity in Plautus’ Amphitruo and the Court Masque Chapter Four: Authoring Gods in Aeschylus’ Oresteia and Shakespeare’s Hamlet Chapter Five: To Die is Human, To Perform is Divine Afterword: Entertaining Gods in Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisGemma Kate Allred is a doctoral researcher at the Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland.Benjamin Broadribb is a doctoral researcher at The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, UK.Erin Sullivan is Reader in Shakespeare at The Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, UK.Trade ReviewA remarkably cathartic read. * Shakespeare Survey *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Cultural Cartography of The Digital Lockdown Landscape Gemma Kate Allred (Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland) and Benjamin Broadribb (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) Part One: Analyses 1. The Screen Language of Lockdown: Connection and Choice in Split-Screen Performance John Wyver (University of Westminster, London, UK) 2. Lockdown Shakespeare and the Metamodern Sensibility Benjamin Broadribb (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) 3. Notions of Liveness in Lockdown Performance Gemma Kate Allred (Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland) 4. Creation Theatre and Big Telly’s The Tempest: Digital Theatre and the Performing Audience Pascale Aebischer and Rachael Nicholas (University of Exeter, UK) 5. Immersion in a Time of Distraction: ‘The Under Presents: Tempest’ Erin Sullivan (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) 6. What You Will in the Time of COVID-19: Exploring the Digital Arts, Race and Flexible Resistance David Sterling Brown (Trinity College, Connecticut, USA ) and Ben Crystal (The Shakespeare Ensemble, Global) Part Two: Case Studies 7. ‘Shakespeare for Everyone’ The Show Must Go Online in conversation with Gemma Kate Allred (Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland) and Benjamin Broadribb (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) 8. Ricardo II: una producción bilingüe de Merced Shakespearefest William Wolfgang (University of Warwick, UK) and Erin Sullivan (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) 9. ‘Your play needs no excuse’ CtrlAltRepeat in conversation with Gemma Kate Allred (Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland) and Benjamin Broadribb (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) 10. ‘Are we all met?’: Responding to Shakespeare’s Canon through Online Community Performance Jennifer Moss Waghorn, Katrin Bauer, Sarah Hodgson, Diane Lowman, Kathryn Twigg and Martin Wiggins (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) 11. ‘Present fears are less than horrible imaginings’ Big Telly Theatre Company in conversation with Gemma Kate Allred (Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland) and Benjamin Broadribb (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) 12. Teaching Shakespearean Performance in Lockdown Andrew James Hartley (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA), Sarah Hatchuel (Université Paul-Valéry, Montpellier, France) and Yu Umemiya (Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan) in conversation with Erin Sullivan (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) Part Three: Lockdown Digital Arts: An Extended Year in Review Gemma Kate Allred (Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland), Benjamin Broadribb and Erin Sullivan (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) I. Spring II. Summer III. Autumn IV. Winter / Spring Conclusion: Shakespeare after Lockdown Erin Sullivan (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) Notes Index

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Book SynopsisSeven exciting new plays for young people written specifically in response to a world in the midst of a pandemic, accompanied by a handbook from Wonder Fools with guidance for staging the plays, and other creative responses, either online or live in the space.Commissioned as part of Wonder Fools'' national participatory project Positive Stories for Negative Times: Season 2, these plays offer a variety of stories, styles and forms for ages between 6 and 25.Spyrates 2 (Spies vs Pirates): Journey to the Forbidden Island by Robbie Gordon & Jack NuseFeaturing spies, pirates, robots, talking animals and everything in between, ''Spyrates'' is an interactive, playful and imaginative adventure story. Ages 6+At First I Was Afraid (I Was Petrified!) by Douglas Maxwell A feel-good comedy drama about a girl who keeps a diary of all her anxieties; but as she moves from Primary School to Secondary, from normal life to Lockdown, all of her worries appear to come true. Ages 11 +Table of ContentsAbout the Project Editor’s Note About Wonder Fools About the Traverse Creative Team Biographies The Handbook Steps of the process 1. Pick your play 2. Prepare your process 3. Create an open, safe and inclusive space 4. Build a creative and environment to work in 5. Form positive relationships through active listening, storytelling and discussion 6. Explore the play 7. Make a response 8. Upload your work 9. Share and celebrate 10. Evaluation The Plays Spyrates (Spies vs Pirates) 2: Journey to the Forbidden Island by Robbie Gordon & Jack Nurse At First I Was Afraid… (I Was Petrified!) by Douglas Maxwell The Raven by Hannah Lavery Thanks for Nothing by The PappyShow with Lewis Hetherington Revolting by Bryony Kimmings The Skirt by Ellen Bannerman Write to Rave: Step Pon by Debris Stevenson

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Book SynopsisSatoko Ichihara was born in Osaka in 1988 and grew up in Fukuoka Prefecture. She studied theatre at J. F. Oberlin University. Since 2011, she has led the theatre unit Q. Ichihara is known for creating and directing dramas that deal with human actions and the di scomfort of the physiological needs of the body, as well as for her distinctive use of language and physicality. Ichihara was a Junior Fellow Artist of the Saison Foundation. She won the 11th AAF Drama Award for her play Mushi Insects in 2011, and the 64th Kunio Kishida Drama Award in 2020 for her play The Bacchae Holstein 3 Milk Cows.Shiro Maeda is a Playwright, Director, Novelist, Film director, Screenwriter and Actor. Maeda founded the theatre company GOTANNDADAN in 1997 while he was a university student. He won the 52nd Kishida Drama Award for Isn't Anyone Alive? (2007). As a novelist, he won the 22nd Mishima Yukio Prize for The Mermen of Summer Water (2009) and was nominated for the 137th AkuTable of ContentsIntroduction Japanese Theatre by Playwrights of Generation X and on The Bacchae—Holstein Milk Cows Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext One Night Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext Isn’t Anyone Alive? Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext The Sun Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext Carcass Introduction to the Playwright and the Play Playwright Biography Playtext

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Book SynopsisSarah Kane was one of the landmark playwrights of 1990s Britain, her influence being felt across UK and European theatre. This is the first book to focus exclusively on Kane's unique approach to mind and mental health. It offers an important re-evaluation of her oeuvre, revealing the relationship between theatre and mind which lies at the heart of her theatrical project. Drawing on performance theory, psychoanalysis and neuroscience, this book argues that Kane's innovations generate a dramaturgy of psychic life', which re-shapes the encounter between stage and audience. It uses previously unseen archival material and contemporary productions to uncover the mechanics of this innovative theatre practice. Through a radically open-ended approach to dramaturgy, Kane's works offer urgent insights into mental suffering that take us beyond traditional discourses of empathy and mental health and into a profound rethinking of theatre as a mode of thought. As such, her theatre can help usTrade ReviewSarah Kane’s Theatre of Psychic Life is an incisive and eloquent account of the necessity of Kane, the necessity of theatre, and the necessity of interdependence. Sidi’s book offers a persuasive argument for the fecundity of desolation. * anna harpin, Head of Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Warwick, UK *Though Sarah Kane’s work is steeped in despair, this fascinating and compassionate book offers hope in its vision of her theatre as a place where our darkest and most intensely personal experiences are transformed into an investigation into the political and psychological landscape of our society. * Professor of Contemporary Theatre, Royal Holloway University of London, UK *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Revisiting Kane - Why Kane? - The question of biography: mental health and politics - Context: Mental Health in the 1990s: Phaedra’s Love and ‘community care plays’ Chapter 1: Plays and playing: The Dramaturgy of Psychic Life - A Starting Point: Experientialism and the mind - Dramaturgy - Theatre and thought - Psychic life and psychoanalysis - Crave with Paine’s Plough (1998): Exploring Experientialism Chapter 2: The stage as traumatic space - Kane’s Feminist Legacies: Feminist theatre and sexual trauma - Theatre as a theoretical response? PTSD and mimetic traumas - Blasted : The psychic life of sexual trauma - Blasted at the Crucible: A trauma reading Chapter 3: Rhythm, Interruption, Psychosis - Phaedra’s Love to Cleansed: A dramaturgical turning point - Dramaturgical tools: Prediction and interruption in Cleansed and Crave - A cognitive reading: Psychosis and prediction errors - Influence on Kane from Strindberg and Artaud - Cleansed at the National Theatre: Playing it against the text Chapter 4: The Mind as Theatrical Site - Crave and 4.48 Psychosis as ‘mental health’ plays - The mind-as-site - Neoliberal healthcare and psychosis: dramaturgical responses to political changes - 4.48 Psychosis at the Lyric Hammersmith: splitting the mind into space Chapter 5: RSVP ASAP - Kane and desire: What does theatre want? - Suicidality: returning to Kane’s sources - Staging desire: An apostrophic reading with Barbara Johnson - 4.48 Psychosis by the Belarus Free Theatre: Queer love and suicidality Conclusion: Looking ahead: Kane and the future of ‘mental health’ Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewA work of undeniable immediacy. * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisHow can the study of Shakespeare contribute to equipping young people for the challenges of an uncertain future? This book argues for the necessity of a Shakespeare education that: finds meaning in the texts through inviting in the prior knowledge, experiences and ideas of students; combines intellectual, social and emotional learning; and develops a critical perspective on what a cultural inheritance is all about. It offers a comprehensive exploration of the educational principles underpinning theatre-based practice and explains how and why this practice can open up the possibilities of Shakespeare study in the classroom. It empowers Shakespeare educators working with young people aged 5-18 to interact critically, creatively and collaboratively with Shakespeare as a living artist.Drawing on the authors' research and experience with organizations including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe, the Folger and Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, Trade ReviewThis timely, important publication reinforces the continuing significance of Shakespeare in the school and university curriculum. It reminds students and teachers that active, creative and diverse approaches to the plays are rewarding and relevant. * Chris Green, Director of English and Drama, The Perse School, Cambridge, UK *Even as theatre companies scramble for financial footing and beloved plays become contested ground, Irish and Kitchen present a multidisciplinary case for active or embodied Shakespeare teaching. This book provides a dynamic survey of experiential, joyful and community-building theatre work for classrooms that should convince artists and teachers not to cede a curricular inch to standardized testing - or to rely exclusively on written analytic work – and instead to explore, with students, the benefits of social meaning-making with Shakespeare texts. The editors incorporate insights from social science, neuroscience and educational theorists. They profile directors of established and innovative global theatre education programs and highlight the voices of expert practitioners. Weaving together these perspectives, Irish and Kitchen create a compelling argument for theatre-based Shakespeare teaching: fundamentally intercultural and democratic by respecting students’ lives, providing academic and socio-emotional learning and encouraging critical questions of culture. * Laura Turchi, Arizona State University, USA *This is a brilliant book and a must read for all artists, educators and researchers with an interest in the teaching of Shakespeare through theatre-based pedagogies. The breadth of its theoretical grounding is remarkable and synthesises beautifully with the diverse accounts of inclusive practice that follow. The passion of the authors, grounded in knowledge and experience, shines through every page, leaving the reader in no doubt about the continuing relevance of Shakespeare to the lives of today’s young people and some of the most pressing social and cultural issues of our time. * Joe Winston, University of Warwick, UK *Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors Foreword, James Stredder Acknowledgements Note on the Text Introduction Part 1: Perspectives from Multidisciplinary Research Chapter 1: The Pedagogy Question Chapter 2: The Cultural Capital Question Chapter 3: The Literature Question Chapter 4: The Language Question Part 2: Perspectives from Organizations and Practitioners Chapter 5: Perspectives from Organizations and Practitioners: Introduction Chapter 6: Aims, Scope and Areas of Focus Chapter 7: On Teaching, Schools, and Culture Chapter 8: Why Shakespeare? Part 3: Perspectives from the Classroom Chapter 9: Perspectives from the Classroom: Introduction Chapter 10: Dirty Shakespeare: Outdoor Learning with Primary Pupils, Mary Carey (Primary School Teacher, Channel Islands) Chapter 11: How Relevant is Shakespeare in an International School Context?, Judith Berends O’Brien (Secondary School Teacher, international) Chapter 12: Macbeth: Utilising Students’ Code-Switching as a Tool for Engaging with Shakespeare at Secondary Level, Kirsty Emmerson (Secondary School Teacher, UK) Chapter 13: Salvaging the Bard: A Success Story of Theatre-based Practice for Neurodiverse Learners, Eleni Kmeic (International Theatre & Dance Project, Greece and ICON—School for the Arts, USA) Chapter 14: Transference and Integration: Using Shakespeare to Teach Composition, Carol Parker (Pikes Peak State College, USA) Chapter 15: Theatre-based Pedagogy in a 'Knowledge-based' Curriculum: Perspectives from Initial Teacher Education, Karen McGivern (Teacher Educator) Chapter 16: Much Ado about Decolonizing Shakespeare, Nobulali Dangazeli (ShakeXperience, South Africa) Epilogue References Index

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Book SynopsisHow can the study of Shakespeare contribute to equipping young people for the challenges of an uncertain future? This book argues for the necessity of a Shakespeare education that: finds meaning in the texts through inviting in the prior knowledge, experiences and ideas of students; combines intellectual, social and emotional learning; and develops a critical perspective on what a cultural inheritance is all about. It offers a comprehensive exploration of the educational principles underpinning theatre-based practice and explains how and why this practice can open up the possibilities of Shakespeare study in the classroom. It empowers Shakespeare educators working with young people aged 5-18 to interact critically, creatively and collaboratively with Shakespeare as a living artist.Drawing on the authors' research and experience with organizations including the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare's Globe, the Folger and Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, Trade ReviewThis timely, important publication reinforces the continuing significance of Shakespeare in the school and university curriculum. It reminds students and teachers that active, creative and diverse approaches to the plays are rewarding and relevant. * Chris Green, Director of English and Drama, The Perse School, Cambridge, UK *Even as theatre companies scramble for financial footing and beloved plays become contested ground, Irish and Kitchen present a multidisciplinary case for active or embodied Shakespeare teaching. This book provides a dynamic survey of experiential, joyful and community-building theatre work for classrooms that should convince artists and teachers not to cede a curricular inch to standardized testing - or to rely exclusively on written analytic work – and instead to explore, with students, the benefits of social meaning-making with Shakespeare texts. The editors incorporate insights from social science, neuroscience and educational theorists. They profile directors of established and innovative global theatre education programs and highlight the voices of expert practitioners. Weaving together these perspectives, Irish and Kitchen create a compelling argument for theatre-based Shakespeare teaching: fundamentally intercultural and democratic by respecting students’ lives, providing academic and socio-emotional learning and encouraging critical questions of culture. * Laura Turchi, Arizona State University, USA *This is a brilliant book and a must read for all artists, educators and researchers with an interest in the teaching of Shakespeare through theatre-based pedagogies. The breadth of its theoretical grounding is remarkable and synthesises beautifully with the diverse accounts of inclusive practice that follow. The passion of the authors, grounded in knowledge and experience, shines through every page, leaving the reader in no doubt about the continuing relevance of Shakespeare to the lives of today’s young people and some of the most pressing social and cultural issues of our time. * Joe Winston, University of Warwick, UK *Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors Foreword, James Stredder Acknowledgements Note on the Text Introduction Part 1: Perspectives from Multidisciplinary Research Chapter 1: The Pedagogy Question Chapter 2: The Cultural Capital Question Chapter 3: The Literature Question Chapter 4: The Language Question Part 2: Perspectives from Organizations and Practitioners Chapter 5: Perspectives from Organizations and Practitioners: Introduction Chapter 6: Aims, Scope and Areas of Focus Chapter 7: On Teaching, Schools, and Culture Chapter 8: Why Shakespeare? Part 3: Perspectives from the Classroom Chapter 9: Perspectives from the Classroom: Introduction Chapter 10: Dirty Shakespeare: Outdoor Learning with Primary Pupils, Mary Carey (Primary School Teacher, Channel Islands) Chapter 11: How Relevant is Shakespeare in an International School Context?, Judith Berends O’Brien (Secondary School Teacher, international) Chapter 12: Macbeth: Utilising Students’ Code-Switching as a Tool for Engaging with Shakespeare at Secondary Level, Kirsty Emmerson (Secondary School Teacher, UK) Chapter 13: Salvaging the Bard: A Success Story of Theatre-based Practice for Neurodiverse Learners, Eleni Kmeic (International Theatre & Dance Project, Greece and ICON—School for the Arts, USA) Chapter 14: Transference and Integration: Using Shakespeare to Teach Composition, Carol Parker (Pikes Peak State College, USA) Chapter 15: Theatre-based Pedagogy in a 'Knowledge-based' Curriculum: Perspectives from Initial Teacher Education, Karen McGivern (Teacher Educator) Chapter 16: Much Ado about Decolonizing Shakespeare, Nobulali Dangazeli (ShakeXperience, South Africa) Epilogue References Index

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Book SynopsisA clique of Caribbean maroon warrior women, a general of Haiti and his right-hand man, an ex-enslaved couple reclaiming their land, a group of Black French Caribbean soldiers held captive in Portchester and their wives travelling across the Atlantic to be reunited with them. These are The Ancestors: manifesting in our world, in the hopes we can stop history repeating itself. But do we really hold the key? What dark forces are still currently at play?In October 1796 a fleet of ships from the Caribbean carrying over 2,500 prisoners-of-war, who were mostly Black or mixed-race, began to arrive in Portsmouth Harbour. By the end of that month, almost all of them were held at Portchester Castle, accompanied by their families. About 100 women and children were sent to live nearby.The Ancestors is a site-specific play by Lakesha Arie-Angelo that explores the grounds of Portchester Castle and the voices of Black revolutionaries imprisoned therein that history forgot. It was commissioned bTrade ReviewWith a large cast and a worthwhile focus, The Ancestors is perfect for school productions. * Drama & Theatre Magazine *

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Book SynopsisDespite the popularity of plays about the East, the representation of the East in early modern drama has been either overlooked, marginalized as footnotes or generalized into stereotypes. Materializing the East in Early Modern English Drama focuses on the multi-layered, often conflicting and changing perceptions of the East and how dramatic works made use of their respective theatrical space to represent the concept of the East in drama. This volume re-examines the (mis)representation of the East on the early modern English outdoor and indoor stage and broadens our understanding of early modern theatrical productions beyond Shakespeare and the European continent. It traces the origin of conventional depictions of the East to university dramas and explores how they influenced the commercial stage. Chapters uncover how conflicting representations of the East were communicated on stage through the material aspects of stage architecture, costumes and performance effects. The colleTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Introduction Murat Ögütcü (Adiyaman University, Turkey) and Aisha Hussain (University of Salford, UK) Part I. Civility, Commonality, and the Classics 1. Materializing Mamluks and Turks in Salterne’s Tomumbeius Murat Ögütcü (Adiyaman University, Turkey) 2. Cultural and Celestial Representations in Goffe’s The Courageous Turk Daniel Blank (Durham University, UK) 3. Byzantines in English Jesuit Drama: Performing Joseph Simons’ Leo the Armenian Mark Chambers (Durham University, UK) and Johnny Ignacio (Durham University, UK) Part II. Costume, Space, and Place 4. Dramatising Borders and Behaviours of the Eastern ‘Other’ in Greene’s Alphonsus and Orlando Furioso Aisha Hussain (University of Salford, UK) 5. Staging a Multicultural World in Daborne’s A Christian Turned Turk Hana Ferencová (Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic) Part III. Sight, Smell, and Blood 6. ‘Seat of Merchandise’: Staging Indian Trade in The Triumphs of Honour and Industry Lubaaba Al-Azami (University of Liverpool, UK) 7. Scent of the Orient: The King’s Men and the Corporatization of Smell Nour El Gazzaz (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK) 8. Fat Falstaffs and Sullied Flesh in Dryden’s Amboyna Marianne Montgomery (East Carolina University, USA) Afterword: Journeys into the ‘Orient’ Jyotsna G. Singh (Michigan State University, USA) Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisIsley Lynn's play Skin A Cat was awarded Pick Of The Year at Vault Festival 2016 and nominated for four Off West End Awards (Most Promising New Playwright - shortlist, Best New Play, Best Lead Female, Best Director) for its transfer as inaugural production at The Bunker, 2016, then touring nationally throughout 2018. Her contribution to 15 Heroines (The Desert: Canace - A Good Story) earned critical acclaim, and her adaptation of War Of The Worlds in collaboration with Rhum And Clay enjoyed a completely sold out five week run at New Diorama Theatre and will tour nationally. Her play Revolutions is supported by Arts Council England, the MGCfutures Bursary, Old Vic Lab, Arcola Lab, and the Bush Theatre. Isley was the 2014 Script6 winner at The Space with Bright Nights, she received Special Commendation from the 2012 Soho Young Writers Award for Lomography, and Isley's monologue What's So Special was performed as part of The Get Out at The Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs (2014). Her critically acclaimed debut play Lean enjoyed an extended run at the Tristan Bates Theatre (2013). She was twice named Champion of Literary Death Match (Norfolk and Norwich Festival and The Book Club, London). Her European debut Sie Und Wir was performed in German at Werk X, Vienna. Her play Totty, written for Paines Plough and Tamasha's Come To Where I'm From: London, is available for free through the CTWIF app. Isley is a graduate of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme (2012) and Royal Court Invitation Studio Group (2013) and her work has been supported by writing programmes at the National Theatre Studio and Dorfman Theatre, Hightide, Soho Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, the Kiln, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Ovalhouse, Criterion theatre, and the Orange Tree Theatre.Trade ReviewThere aren’t many writers who conjure stories the way Isley Lynn can. Her innate instinct for achingly human characters in situations rarely – if ever – seen on stage sets her well apart from most young playwrights. -- Laura Kressly * The Play's The Thing *Lynn’s scenes are full of genuine connections between characters, and the hope that comes with change. * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisI have kind of become invisible. Nobody looks at me. Not like they used to. You reach an age. Like my age and people stop looking at you. They stop checking you out. In Greenwich Village a generation or so ago, the city is alive. Joni Mitchell sings, friends and lovers come and go, and the regulars change at the White Horse Tavern. As 50 years pass, one woman's life is revealed in all its complexity, mystery and possibility in this enthralling world premiere about mothers and daughters, beginnings and endings in New York City. Simon Stephens's new play, commissioned by MTC, premiered off-Broadway in November 2021 starring Blair Brown, Edie Falco and Marin Ireland.Trade ReviewA lot of playwrights are poets, but not many are craftsmen like Simon Stephens ... His new play, Morning Sun, is a master class in theatrical precision. * TheatrerMania *

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Book SynopsisThe Arden Research Handbook of Shakespeare and Social Justice is a wide-ranging, authoritative guide to research on Shakespeare and issues of social justice and arts activism by an international team of leading scholars, directors, arts activists, and educators. Across four sections it explores the relevance and responsibility of art to the real world. The collection draws from noted scholars, writers and practitioners from around the globe to assert the power of art to question, disrupt and re-invigorate both the ties that bind and the barriers that divide us.A series of interviews with theatre practitioners and scholars opens the volume, establishing areas for research, exploration, and change. In Section 2 ''The Practice of Shakespeare and Social Justice'' contributors examine Shakespeare's place and possibilities in intervening on issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. Section 3 ''The Performance of Shakespeare and Social Justice'' traces ShakespeareTrade ReviewThis progressive and encouraging collection really does assume that Shakespeare’s plays, like the players whom Hamlet welcomes to Elsinore, are ‘the abstracts and brief chronicles of the time’ – of our own times. I hope these essays continue a range of on-going conversations about justice, inclusion, diversity, fairness, and, yes, kindness. * Rev. Dr Paul Edmondson, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, UK *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Series Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: “This Is Real Life: Shakespeare and Social Justice as a Field of Play”, David Ruiter (University of Texas at El Paso) Part One: The Shakespeare and Social Justice Interviews 1.1.“Deconstructing Social Hierarchies: Interviews”, Erin Coulehan Chris Anthony (Assistant Professor of Acting at DePaul University, Chicago, USA) Erika Whyman (Deputy Artistic Director at the Royal Shakespeare Company, UK) Arthur Little (Associate Professor, English, UCLA) Ewan Fernie (Professor at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, UK, and Director of the 'Everything to Everybody' Project, UK) Farah Karim-Cooper (Professor of Shakespeare Studies at King’s College London, UK, and Head of Higher Education and Research at Shakespeare's Globe, UK) Part Two: The Practice of Shakespeare and Social Justice 2.1. “Active Shakespeare: A Social Justice Framework” Ayanna Thompson (Arizona State University) and Laura Turchi (University of Houston, USA) 2.2. “Bending Toward Justice: From Shakespeare’s Black Mediterranean to August Wilson’s Black Atlantic”, Peter Erickson (Northwestern University, USA) 2.3.“Black Hamlet, Social Justice, and the Minds of Apartheid”, Arthur Little (UCLA, USA) 2.4.“Shakespeare and Civil Rights: Rhetorical Universalism”, Jason Demeter (Norfolk State University, USA) 2.5.“Shakespeare’s Disabled, Disabled Shakespeare”, Adelle Hulsmeier (University of Sunderland, UK) 2.6.“Social Justice in the Academy: Reflecting on Shakespeare’s Royal Women”, Christie Carson (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK) Part Three: The Performance of Shakespeare and Social Justice 3.1.“William Shakespeare’s Enrique IV, Primera Parte: Common [Battle]Grounds between Medieval England and Mexico’s Present”, Alfredo Modenessi (National University of Mexico) and Paulina Morales (National University of Mexico) 3.2. “King Lear and Gender Justice in India”, Preti Taneja (Newcastle University, UK) 3.3.“Re-enacting Hamlet in South Africa”, Malcolm Cocks (Shakespeare's Globe, UK) 3.4.“‘Shakespeare in Prison’: A South African Social Justice Alternative”, Kevin Quarmby (The College of St. Scholastica) 3.5.“Romeo and Juliet with Chinese Characteristics: Questions of Usefulness and Engagement in 21st Century China”, Julie Sanders (Newcastle University) and Li Jun (University of International Business and Economics) 3.6.“Social Justice, Social Order and Political Power in NTCC’s Adaptation of Richard III”, Chee Keng Lee (Yale-NUS College) Part Four: The Economies of Shakespeare and Social Justice 4.1.“The Empathetic Imagination and the Dream of Equality: Shakespeare’s ‘Poetical Justice’”, Kiernan Ryan (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK) 4.2.“The Idea of Communism in Shakespeare”, Peter Holbrook (University of Queensland, Australia) 4.3.“‘Leftward Ho!’: Shakespeare and Lenin in the Tempest of Class Politics”, Jeffrey Butcher (College of Coastal Georgia) 4.4.“The Visible and the Invisible: Shakespeare and the Question of Social Justice in King Lear”, Geraldo de Sousa (University of Kansas, USA) Annotated Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisShakespeare / Text sets new agendas for the study and use of the Shakespearean text. Written by 20 leading experts on textual matters, each chapter challenges a single entrenched binary such as book/theatre, source/adaptation, text/paratext, canon/apocrypha, sense/nonsense, extant/ephemeral, material/digital and original/copy that has come to both define and limit the way we read, analyze, teach, perform and edit Shakespeare today. Drawing on methods from book history, bibliography, editorial theory, library science, the digital humanities, theatre studies and literary criticism, the collection as a whole proposes that our understanding of Shakespeare and early modern drama more broadly changes radically when ''either/or'' approaches to the Shakespearean text are reconfigured. The chapters in Shakespeare / Text make strong cases for challenging received wisdom and offer new, portable methods of treating ''the text'', in its myriad instantiations, that will be useful Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION SHAKESPEARE / TEXT by Claire M. L. Bourne I INCLUSIVE / EXCLUSIVE 1. FAIR / FOUL by B. K. Adams (Arizona State University, USA) 2. TEXT / PARATEXT by Hannah August (Massey University, New Zealand) 3. PUBLIC / PRIVATE by Elizabeth Zeman Kolkovich (Ohio State University, USA) 4. EDITION / TRANSLATION by Régis Augustus Bars Closel (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil) 5. CANON / APOCRYPHA by Aleida Auld (University of Geneva, Switzerland) II BEFORE / AFTER 6. NOW / THEN by Andy Kesson (University of Roehampton, UK) 7. MISCELLANY / SEQUENCE by Megan Heffernan (DePaul University, USA) 8. ORIGINAL / COPY by Dianne Mitchell (University of Colorado, Boulder, USA) 9. SOURCE / ADAPTATION by Sujata Iyengar (University of Georgia, USA) 10. LIFE / AFTERLIFE by Margaret Jane Kidnie (University of Western Ontario, Canada) III AUTHORIZED / UNAUTHORIZED 11. BOOK / THEATRE by Holger Schott Syme (University of Toronto, Canada) 12. TEXT-BASED / CONCEPT-DRIVEN by Katherine Steele Brokaw (University of California, Merced, USA) 13. SENSE / NONSENSE by Rebecca L. Fall (Independent Scholar, USA) 14. FACT / FICTION by Adam G. Hooks (University of Iowa, USA) 15. PART / WHOLE by Paul Salzman (La Trobe University, Australia) IV PRESENT / ABSENT 16. BLACK / WHITE by Miles P. Grier (Queens College, City University of New York, USA) 17. EXTANT / EPHEMERAL by Scott A. Trudell (University of Maryland, USA) 18. LOST / FOUND by Misha Teramura (University of Toronto, Canada) 19. PAPER / INK by Emma Depledge (University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland) 20. MATERIAL / DIGITAL by Zachary Lesser & Whitney Trettien (University of Pennsylvania, USA) Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisI got my first pair of glasses when I was seven.A nurse came to the school and tested everyone's eyes. And so it was discovered why I'd thrown bread to the floating crisp packets in our local pond and walked into lamp posts and said, 'excuse me'. Until that day the world was a swirl of moving coloured blobs. I thought it was the same for everyone.How wrong I was.'Winner: Scotsman Fringe First Award 2012Critic's Pick, New York TimesPart memoir, part theatre and part standup comedy this delightful story of a myopic seven year old is brought to you by actor, comedian and playwright Sonya Kelly. Sonya tells her story about growing up with poor vision that went undiagnosed until she was seven years old. Combining several forms of theatre, this delightful story shows us how we can better the world even if we cannot see the world.Trade Review‘Hilarious, poignant... it will please viewers of all lens prescriptions and none.’ * Irish Theatre Magazine *Delightfully whacky... hilarious... tight script and engaging performance... terrific.’ * The Irish Times *‘Wonderfully fresh script... highly endearing.’ * The Sunday Business Post *

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Book SynopsisRachel Holmes is the author of four biographies; The Secret Life of James Barry, The Hottentot Venus, Eleanor Marx: A Life and Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel, all published by Bloomsbury. She has also edited collections of political writing, published as a journalist and worked as an academic, activist and literary programmer. Between Two Fires is her second work for the stage. She co-commissioned Sixty Six Books: 21st Century Writers Speak to the King James Bible (Oberon, 2011), with Josie Rourke and Chris Haydon.

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Book SynopsisI am getting nearer to something. The answer to the question. Who am I? A woman who leaves her husband very suddenly for an old lover and heads to a cottage in Kerry?I needed someone strong. Someone who would sweep me along. Keep me here. In this world. Not allow me to wander down below, and I wanted a child. I dearly wanted a child.Mairead and Mal are struggling to keep their marriage together. Perhaps attending a wedding will help, or it might raise questions that are difficult to answer.Poignant, funny, and beautiful, Heaven is a new play that is full of humanity. It is presented by the Olivier Award-winning Fishamble, and written by Eugene O'Brien (winner of the Rooney Prize for Literature).This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at the Dublin Theatre Festival, followed by an Irish tour, in Autumn 2022.

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Book SynopsisChekhov often said that I am a doctor by trade and sometimes I do literary work in my free time', a surprising claim, given his status as a giant of 20th century drama. This literary-biographical study uncovers new sides to him, as both a medical professional and humanitarian, and tells the story of Chekhov''s trip to Sakhalin Island in the harsh wastes of Siberia.Anton Chekhov practiced medicine for most of his life and engaged in humanitarian work which took him away from writing for months. He placed one such trip though, across the unforgiving terrain of Siberia to write about the penal island of Sakhalin, above all others. Chekhov''s Sakhalin Journey, written by a neuroscientist and practicing clinician, uses this trip and Chekhov''s own account of it to shed light on hitherto overlooked aspects of his life. In doing so, it shows that to understand the man we need his medicine as well as his literature, and we need to assess his life from his perspective as well as oTable of ContentsPrologue Introduction Chapter One; Medical School Chapter Two; Why Chapter Three; Going to War Chapter Four; Everything is chained Chapter Five; The Chasm of Sorrow Chapter Six; South Chapter Seven; Thesis Assembled Chapter Eight; Numbers Chapter Nine; Monday to Wednesday Chapter Ten; Duelling with himself Chapter Eleven; Conscience, irony and understatement Chapter Twelve; Holy of Holies Postscript: Sakhalin Now Bibliography

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Book SynopsisAlexander Zeldin is a writer and director for theatre and film. Alexander made work in Russia, South Korea and the Middle East as well as at the Naples Festival, before, between 2011-2014, developing a number of his own works as a teacher at East 15 Acting School. At this time, he also worked as an assistant director to Peter Brook and Marie-Helene Estienne.His critically acclaimed play, Beyond Caring, which told the story of several temporary workers meeting on a night shift in a meat factory, had its World Premiere at the Yard Theatre in Hackney in 2014, before transferring to the Temporary Theatre at the National Theatre in 2015. In 2015 Alexander was the recipient of the Quercus Trust Award and was appointed as Associate Director at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Beyond Caring toured the UK and a new US production, re-developed for the US by Alexander and produced by Lookingglass Theater in conjunction with David Schwimmer's company Dark Harbour Stories, opened in Chicago in April 2017.

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Book SynopsisNoah Diaz is a playwright and screenwriter from the Iowa/Nebraska border. Productions include You Will Get Sick (Roundabout Theatre, NYT Critic's Pick), Richard & Jane & Dick & Sally (co-production The Playwrights Realm/Baltimore Center Stage), and The Swindlers (Baltimore Center Stage). Commissions from La Jolla Playhouse, Roundabout Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan, Baltimore Center Stage, Audible/Amazon Studios, and Arena Stage. His work has been developed with Berkshire Theatre Group, Two River Theater, The Sol Project, First Floor Theater, and The Playwrights Realm, where he was a Page One Resident Playwright. Noah is a recipient of the ASCAP Cole Porter Prize, a five-time recipient of playwriting awards from The Kennedy Center, and a nominee for the Outer Critics Circle's John Gassner Award. In television, he has written on Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu), Up Here (Hulu), Joe vs. Carole (Peacock), and has developed projects for ABC, Hulu, 20th Television, The Walk-Up Company, Nyle DiMarco, and the team at Eva Longoria's UnbeliEVAble Entertainment. MFA: Yale School of Drama.

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Book SynopsisAs Co-Artistic Directors, Daphna Attias and Terry O'Donovan co-create Dante or Die productions. They put together teams of collaborators and participants specific to each project. They include playwrights and designers as well as leisure centre managers, neuroscientists and people from the communities that they're working in. Hundreds of participants have taken part in their productions, and they've run thousands of hours of development workshops and residencies in person, online and as far afield as Hong Kong. They create partnerships with arts organisations and local businesses and have had the pleasure of collaborating with organisations that they hugely admire such as Almeida Theatre, Traverse Theatre, The Lowry, BAM New York, Cork Midsummer Festival, Lighthouse Poole, Ideas Test, Greenwich + Docklands International Festival. We're proud SITELINES Associate Artists at South Street Reading.

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Book SynopsisInvestigates Shakespeare's mode of composition and the way contemporary psychology informs dramatic representation through ekphrasisTrade Review"Focusing on the idea of Shakespeare as a bodger" or tailor, Joel Altman performs a "thick description" of The Winter's Tale, revealing how Shakespeare stitches together early modern approaches to character, rhetoric, art forms, mixed dramatic genres and theatrical faith. This masterful book provides striking insights not only into one of Shakespeare's greatest plays but also into his general method of play-making."" -Peter G. Platt, Barnard College, USA

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Book SynopsisDrawing inspiration from Robert Greene?s deathbed attack on Shakespeare as an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, The Bodger (Elizabethan variant of botcher, mender, patcher) argues that Shakespeare?s dramas are compositions of shreds and patches pieced together by a mind of extraordinary synthetic acuity. Such patches include passages of dialogue that, as described in the sixteenth century, lead objects before our eyes by means of ekphrasis. The book offers substantial art-historical research into the only visual artist named by Shakespeare, Giulio Romano--who performs an important role in The Winter?s Tale as the alleged sculptor of a statue of the dead Queen. Giulio, heir to Raphael''s workshop, is known primarily as a painter and architect. My research has revealed that he was also a designer of sculpture. Applying historical and theoretical materials to close readings of several plays, I focus on the most critical issues of The Winter?s Tale?King Leontes? sudden fit of jealousy; Shakespeare?s introduction of a surrogate playwright in the personification of Time, who refashions the play from tragedy to comedy, assisted by a behind-the-scenes female ghost writer; and the Queen?s statue amazingly coming to life through an interactive declaration of faith.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the ways the encounters between modernist theatre makers and Greek tragedy were constitutive in the modernist experiments in performance.

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Book SynopsisA substantial reference work that supersedes existing studies, the Companion, explores the place of Shakespeare in relation to a wide range of artistic practices and activities, past and present. The ''arts'' are defined broadly as cultural processes that take in publishing, exhibiting, performing, reconstructing and disseminating. The 30 newly commissioned chapters are divided into 6 sections: Shakespeare and the Book; Shakespeare and Music; Shakespeare on Stage and in Performance; Shakespeare and Youth Culture; Shakespeare, Visual and Material Culture; and Shakespeare, Media and Culture. Each chapter provides both a synthesis and a discussion of a topic, informed by current thinking and theoretical reflection. Key Features* Addresses Shakespeare in terms of a global frame of reference* Chapters consider chronology and overview, critical history and analysis* Responds to a growing critical and pedagogical interest in the relations between Shakespeare, the arts, film, performance and mass media more generally.

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Book SynopsisThe editor, Elizabeth Cook, is the author of the fiction Achilles (Methuen), editor of Dekker and Middleton's The Roaring Girl for the New Mermaids and of the Oxford Authors' John Keats. She has lectured at the universities of Essex and Leeds and now works freelance.Trade Review'Ben Johnson's timeless satire.' Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out London, 02/09/10

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Book SynopsisSophie Bush is a writer-researcher specialising in contemporary theatre history and the processes of playmaking. Her doctorate, on the work of Timberlake Wertenbaker, was awarded by the University of Sheffield in 2011. She is a Lecturer in Performance at Sheffield Hallam University, and has previously taught at the Universities of Sheffield, Huddersfield and Manchester Metropolitan. She maintains an involvement with practical theatre-making, as director and devisor.Trade ReviewAccessible and informative, The Theatre of Timberlake Wertenbaker engages in a detailed survey of Wertenbaker's career as a playwright. Bush's approach is rooted in a close, textual analysis of play texts and production contexts, whilst her material is structured by means of a chronological charting of the dramatist's work through to the contemporary moment . . . Three-pronged attention [to Our Country's Good], complemented by Bush's own discussion of this major, widely studied and performed work, augers a wide market for the book from secondary to tertiary levels . . . Overall Bush makes a robust case as to why 'the theatre of Timberlake Wertenbaker' deserves our enduring critical interest -- Elaine Aston, Lancaster University, UK * Studies in Theatre and Performance *Detailed and comprehensive. * The Year's Work in English Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of illustrations Introduction: Timberlake Wertenbaker’s floating identities Chapter One: ‘Good enough to go on’: the beginnings of a playwright Chapter Two: ‘They never went on quests’: the gender of identification Chapter Three: ‘To speak in order to be’: on language and identity Chapter Four: Three professional perspectives on Our Country's Good Creating Our Country’s Good: collaborative writing practice and political ideals at the Royal Court in the 1980s by Sarah Sigal Our Country's Good in Melbourne by Roger Hodgman Our Country's Good in the classroom by Debby Turner Chapter Five: ‘The longing to belong’: on cultural genealogies Chapter Six: ‘Landscapes with figures in them’: on pity and tenderness Conclusions Resources Chronology Bibliography Notes on Contributors Notes and References Index

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Book SynopsisWhat's so funny about Shakespeare's comedies?

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Book SynopsisKaren Britland is Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.Trade ReviewThe play is well-chosen for the present moment, with its struggling immigrants, social predation, and vibrant street scenes, and Britland does an excellent job of clarifying the puns and jabs often lost on student readers, much of them in polyglot argot. * Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *Attentive to the literary influences behind Marston's play ... Particularly illuminating is Britland's attention to Marston's borrowings from Montaigne. * Times Literary Supplement *This is by far the best edition of the play on the market, superbly treated by Karen Britland. * Professor Alison Shell, University College London, UK *Table of ContentsSeries Preface; Introduction; The Dutch Courtesan; Bibliography; Appendices; Index

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Book SynopsisBrinda Charry is Professor of English at Keene State College, New Hampshire, USA.Table of ContentsPart I 1. Politics and Society 2. Men and Women 3. Travel and Trade 4. Humanism 5. The stage 6. Authors, Books and Readers 7. Genre 8. Language and Style Part II The Alchemist Arden of Faversham Doctor Faustus The Duchess of Malfi Hamlet Henry V The Jew of Malta The Knight of the Burning Pestle The Roaring Girl The Shoemaker’s Holiday The Spanish Tragedy The Tempest The Tragedy of Mariam Volpone Appendices Index

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Book SynopsisRoger Paulin is Schröder Professor Emeritus at Trinity College, University of Cambridge, UK.Contributors: Michèle Willems (University of Rouen, France), Stephen Fennell (University of Cambridge, UK), Christine Roger (Université de Picardie, France) and Reginald Foakes (UCLA, USA).Table of ContentsSeries Preface Notes on Contributors Note on References to Shakespeare Introduction Voltaire Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Friedrich von Schlegel Samuel Taylor Coleridge Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisGeorge Rodosthenous is Associate Professor in Theatre Directing at the School of Performance and Cultural Industries of the University of Leeds, UK. He is the Artistic Director of the theatre company 'Altitude North' and also works as a freelance director/composer for the theatre.Trade ReviewAs a contribution to the field, the book provides many interesting insights and departure points for further discussion ... it is gratifying to see Disney musicals attract such scholarly attention. * Studies in Musical Theatre *Table of ContentsIntroduction: George Rodosthenous (Leeds) PART A DISNEY MUSICALS: ON FILM 1. Music and the Aura of Reality in Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Elizabeth Randell Upton, (University of California, Los Angeles) 2. Medieval “Beauty” and Romantic “Song” in Animated Technirama: Pageantry, Tableau, and Action in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty – Raymond Knapp (University of California, Los Angeles) 3. Mary Poppins: A Precursor of the Matriarchal Musical – Tim Stephenson (University of Leeds) 4. Musicals in the Mirror: Enchanted, Self-Reflexivity, and Disney's Sudden Boldness – Paul Laird (University of Kansas) PART B DISNEY ADAPTATIONS: ON STAGE AND BEYOND 5. Disney as Broadway Auteur: The Disney Versions of Broadway Musicals for Television in the Late 1990s and Early 2000s – Geoffrey Block (University of Puget Sound) 6. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996): Too far “Out There”? Olaf Jubin – (Regent’s University London) 7. The Lion King: A Blockbuster Feline on Broadway and Beyond – Barbara Wallace Grossman (Tufts University) 8. Not Only on Broadway: Disney Junior Across the United States – Stacy E. Wolf (Princeton Atelier, Princeton University)? PART C DISNEY MUSICALS: GENDER AND RACE 9. Dancing toward Masculinity: Newsies and Homosocial Choreography – Aaron C. Thomas (Dartmouth College) 10. ‘We’re All in This Together:’ Being Girls and Boys in High School Musical (2006) - Dominic Symonds (University of Lincoln) 11. ‘I wanna be like you’: Negotiating race, racism and Orientalism in The Jungle Book on stage– Stefanie Jones, Donatella Galella, Catherine Young, and Emily Clark (City University of New York) 12. Ashman’s Aladdin Archive: Queer Orientalism in the Disney Renaissance – Sam Baltimore (Twoson University) 13. “For the first time in forever”: locating Frozen as a feminist Disney musical – Sarah Whitfield (University of Wolverhampton) Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisShakespeare and Posthumanist Theory charts challenges in the field of Shakespeare studies to the assumption that the category human is real, stable, or worthy of privileging in discussions of the playwright's work. Drawing on a variety of methodologies cognitive theory, systems theory, animal studies, ecostudies, the new materialisms the volume investigates the world of Shakespeare's plays and poems in order to represent more thoroughly its variety, its ethics of inclusion, and its resistance to human triumphalism and exceptionalism. Karen Raber, a leading scholar in the field, clearly and cogently guides the reader through complex theoretical terrain, providing fresh, exciting readings of plays including Othello, The Tempest, Titus Andronicus, Troilus and Cressida and Henry IV Part 1.Trade ReviewAn excellent orientation to this theory and practice that will interest multiple audiences. In no-nonsense prose, Raber sets out the intellectual genealogy of posthumanism… * Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Series Editor's Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: We Have Never Been Humanist: Genealogies of Posthumanism Chapter 2: Posthuman Cosmography Chapter 3: Bodies and Minds Chapter 4: Neither Fish nor Fowl Chapter 5: TechnoBard Chapter 6: Post-posthumanism? Back to the Future Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis new volume in the Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition series increases our knowledge of how Antony and Cleopatra has been received and understood by critics, editors and general readers. The volume provides, in separate sections, both critical opinions about the play across the centuries and an evaluation of their positions within and their impact on the reception of the play. The chronological arrangement of the text-excerpts engages the readers in a direct and unbiased dialogue, and the introduction offers a critical evaluation from a current stance, including modern theories and methods. This volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century.

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Book SynopsisWith its depiction of the victorious English king, Henry V has divided critical opinion and remains one of the more controversial of Shakespeare''s histories. This new volume in Shakespeare: The Critical Tradition increases our knowledge of how Shakespeare's plays were received and understood by critics, editors and general readers. The volume offers, in separate sections, both critical opinions about the play across the centuries and an evaluation of their positions within and their impact on the reception of the play. The chronological arrangement of the text-excerpts engages the readers in a direct and unbiased dialogue, whereas the introduction offers a critical evaluation from a current stance, including modern theories and methods. Thus the volume makes a major contribution to our understanding of the play and of the traditions of Shakespearean criticism surrounding it as they have developed from century to century.Trade ReviewEdited by Joseph Candido, the book covers criticism of the play from 1790 to 1945. Candido's wonderfully informative introduction goes further, offering a brisk survey of the earliest criticism to the present day. * The Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsGeneral Editor's Preface General Editors’ Preface to the Revised Series Preface Introduction The Critical Tradition Texts Notes Select Bibliography Index

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