Literary studies: plays and playwrights Books

Book SynopsisYou can't live your life thinking everything you text will become public knowledge.Censoring yourself is no way to live.Everyone needs Jim.His mother.His best friend.His brother.A hopeful future President.But can Jim really help anyone, when he isn't sure who he is any more, or what he actually believes? An expert in electoral strategy, he's forged a successful career by advising politicians how to communicate with voters. But following seismic shifts in the political landscape, he's disillusioned. And his marriage is in crisis. As he juggles the demands on his life through his smartphone, will the lure of success and fame prove irresistible?The Narcissist is a gripping, inventive and witty take on personal and political communication in the internet age by celebrated US playwright Christopher Shinn. This edition was published to coincide with the premiere at Chichester Festival Theatre in August 2022.

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Book SynopsisIn this deeply moving and life-affirming tale, a mother must nurture her five-year-old son through an unfathomable situation with only the power of their imagination and their boundless capacity to love.Written for the stage by Academy Award nominee Emma Donoghue, this unique theatrical adaptation featuring songs and music by Kathryn Joseph and director Cora Bissett takes audiences on a richly emotional journey told through ingenious stagecraft, powerhouse performances, and heart-stopping storytelling. Room reaffirms our belief in humanity and the astounding resilience of the human spirit.This updated and revised edition was published to coincide with the Broadway premiere in Spring 2023.Trade ReviewRoom soars! Visually arresting and emotionally rich, Emma Donoghue’s Room is boldly realised for the stage … harrowing … astonishingly moving. * Toronto Star *Emma Donoghue's adaptation of her novel works beautifully onstage, and the songs capture heightened moments with sensitivity. A story of survival and love — something we all need to hear more of at this time. * Now Magazine *The most striking thing about Emma Donoghue’s stage version of her award-winning novel, Room, is its intense imaginative quality… Kathryn Joseph’s songs, co-written with Cora Bissett, burst from the texture of the play like some heightened form of speech… The story of Room is in some ways a harrowing one, that brings many in the audience to tears. Yet it is also a tremendously beautiful, vivid and uplifting show about the power of a mother’s love * The Scotsman *Haunting and reflective music and lyrics. They emerge naturally from the narrative … Compelling viewing (even in you know the ending.) This coproduction… is a triumph * Times of London *A strangely moving work about the power of imagination and the pain of adjustment to a new reality. … I found the prospect of the play intimidating. In the end, I was deeply touched by its testament to human resourcefulness * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisSome things we do for those we are responsible for, some things for ourselves, and some things we do for the ancestors.Today, it's all three!1959. The first wave of independence is sweeping across Africa and Beneatha has left the prejudice of 1950s America for a brighter future with her Nigerian husband in Lagos. But on the day they move into their new house in the white suburbs, it doesn't take long for cracks to appear, changing the course of the rest of their lives.Present day. Now a renowned Dean whose colleagues are questioning the role of African American studies for future generations, Beneatha returns to the same house in search of answers. Inspired by Lorraine Hansberry''s ground-breaking modern classic, A Raisin in the Sun, Beneatha's Place challenges today's culture wars about colonial history and reckoning with the past. A razor-sharp satire from Young Vic Artistic Director Kwame Kwei-Armah, about the power of knowing your hi

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Book SynopsisWould you mind if I asked you a troubling question?An Oscar-winning American actor, an English director and a Northern Irish playwright are about to begin rehearsals for a new play one that could transform each of their careers. But when it turns out that they're not on the same page, the night threatens to spiral out of control.Power dynamics, cultural identity and the perils of being a woman in the entertainment industry; nothing is off limits in this pitch-black comedy from the award-winning playwright David Ireland.This edition is published to coincide with the revival at Riverside Studios, London, in December 2023.

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Book SynopsisThe life of William Davenant -Shakespeare's godson and potential biological son -reads as entertainingly as his plays.

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Book SynopsisOffers an ecocritical approach to understanding dress in early modern plays and performance

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Book SynopsisA Student Edition of Brecht's classic parable, set in an unjust society where good can only survive by means of evil. The text of the play is accompanied by an extensive commentary and study notes.

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Book SynopsisWith over 3,000 quotes organized by topic and by play the Dictionary is very easy to use. It also includes a glossary of unfamiliar terms and a brief biography of Shakespeare. The key word index makes it easy to dip into by word, theme or play allowing you to track down a half-remembered quote easily.

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Book SynopsisThis unique book desribes the ways in which educational practitioners at Shakespeare''s Globe theatre bring Shakespeare to life for students of all ages.The Globe approach is always active and inclusive - each student finds their own way into Shakespeare - focussing on speaking, moving and performing rather than reading. Drawing on her rich and varied experience as a teacher, Fiona Banks offers a range of examples and practical ideas teachers can take and adapt for their own lessons. The result is a stimulating and inspiring book for teachers of drama and English keen to enliven and enrich their students'' experience of Shakespeare.Trade ReviewI’m pretty impressed with a new book from Bloomsbury about the Globe’s Education work. In Creative Shakespeare, Fiona Banks describes the ways in which educational practitioners at the Globe bring Shakespeare to life for students of all ages . . . It’s practical and informative . . . give it to all your director/practitioner/teacher friends for Christmas. -- Susan Elkin * The Stage *Creative Shakespeare is not only a book of fantastic teaching ideas: it’s also a great read for anyone who is interested in Shakespeare as theatre and Shakespeare in education . . . Just as the Globe theatre has the potential to bring Shakespeare’s plays to life for its audiences in this very particular way, so these workshop techniques have the potential to lift the text in the classroom from the page in a very powerful way . . . It’s difficult in this short space to convey a sense of the richness of this book and of the depth of experience which has produced it. It’s more than a resource book: it’s a book that every teacher of Shakespeare should read. -- Gary Snapper * Teaching English *An excellent and thorough resource which provides teachers and directors with a battery of exercises to help students and actors discover Shakespeare's work through what must surely be highly enjoyable active learning and exploration. * Drama Resource *A rich mixture of discussion, activities, teaching tips, extracts of text, and commentaries from the Globe Education practitioners. * Drama Magazine *In pedagogy, Fiona Banks’s Creative Shakespeare: The Globe Education Guide to Practical Shakespeare is a rich resource of educational tactics for students of all ages, although elementary and secondary teachers will find it most useful. -- Roland Greene, Stanford University * Recent Studies in Tudor and Stuart Drama *Fiona Banks, a leading member of Globe Education for many years, approaches the teaching of Shakespeare seriously. There is no patronizing, no spoonfeeding, but respect for students and their intellect … Banks expresses the purpose of the book quite clearly, and anyone who has ever been engaged in this sort of work will emphatically agree. -- Arthur Kincaid * The Shakespeare Newsletter *Table of ContentsIntroduction Key Principles and Ideas Context Core Approaches Language: Inside Out Actor, Stage and Audience Performance Learning Through Shakespeare Conclusion References

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Book SynopsisMacbeth is one of the most popular and bloody of Shakespeare''s tragedies. This accessible introduction offers a springboard into the play, taking a hands-on, performance-based approach, exploring the challenges and the rewards it presents to actors, audiences and students. Springboard Shakespeare: Macbeth has a three-part structure: whether you''re watching or reading, Ben Crystal takes you through exactly what you need to know Before, During and After the play. He combines a genuine passion and understanding of Shakespeare with his experience as an actor, giving the reader a clear route to thinking about, understanding and enjoying Macbeth.Trade ReviewHaving Crystal as a companion through the stickier parts of Hamlet and Macbeth is like going to the theatre with an intelligent friend. * The Independent *How different it might have been if we’d had Ben Crystal’s sparky little books to introduce us. My Shakespearean epiphany would have come much sooner...[the books] lead newcomers into the play in question in a gentle, upbeat, unpretentious way. Fresh and slim, they’re about as far as could be from dusty, dry study guides relating to school exams...much better than the average theatre programme...I’d like to see them on sale in theatre bookshops, and/or wherever there’s a production of one of these plays...I’d also recommend them for classroom use. -- Susan Elkin * The Independent on Sunday *A highly worthwhile series, which should prove to be valuable for directors, actors and students…This formula really works. As an experiment, your dedicated reviewer tried out Macbeth in preparation for and following on from the Eve Best production of the Globe. The experience was definitely improved, with some of the tips on words and language proving especially helpful and enlightening… These really are excellent little guides that will prove informative to almost anybody with an interest in the subject. -- Philip Fisher * British Theatre Guide *

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Book SynopsisWho really wrote the plays of Shakespeare?Trade Review‘A major contribution to the greatest literary puzzle of all. This is a revealing, scrupulous, carefully documented historical work. It devastates the crumbling claims for the man of Stratford, and offers a realistic and persuasive case for a credible candidate.’ * Dr John Spiers, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of English Studies, University of London *‘Casson and Rubinstein reveal remarkable discoveries in the margins of Henry Neville’s books, in his letters and handwriting, linking him to the works of Shakespeare. This documentary evidence shifts the ground: in our search for Shakespeare we should look to Neville.’ * Greg Thompson, award-winning theatre director and Entrepreneur in Residence, University College, London *‘With meticulous and jaw-dropping discoveries, all the pieces of the authorship puzzle have been slotted into place – and the fit is impeccable.’ * John O’Donnell, Monash University, Melbourne *

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Book SynopsisStephen Guy-Bray is Professor and Head of the Department of English at the University of British Columbia, Canada.Martin Wiggins is a Fellow of The Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.Table of ContentsIntroduction A Note on the Text Further Reading Edward II

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Book SynopsisHamlet remains the most-studied of all Shakespeare''s great tragedies. This collection of newly-commissioned essays gives readers an overview of past critical views of the play as well as new writing about the play from today''s leading scholars. The range of perspectives offered makes the book an invaluable companion to anyone studying the play at an advanced level. The final chapter on learning and teaching resources is particularly useful as a guide for further study.Trade ReviewI’m very impressed by this series. I think its success lies in part in the general editors’ wise selection of volume editors who are both intellectually open-minded and capable of assembling strong, diverse teams of contributors. * Studies in English Literature *Table of ContentsSERIES INTRODUCTION NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS TIMELINE Introduction ANN THOMPSON 1. The Critical Backstory JOHN LEE 2. Performance History LOIS POTTER 3. Hamlet: The State of the Art NEIL TAYLOR 4. New Directions: Hamlet and Gender CATHERINE BELSEY 5. New Directions: Hamlet, Cinema, the World MARK THORNTON BURNETT 6. New Directions: Being Hamlet Not Being Hamlet FRANK McGUINNESS RESOURCES ANN THOMPSON NOTES REFERENCES INDEX

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Book SynopsisWhat does it mean to teach Shakespeare with purpose? It means freeing teachers from the notion that teaching Shakespeare means teaching everything, or teaching Western Civilisation and universal themes. Instead, this invigorating new book equips teachers to enable student-centred discovery of these complex texts. Because Shakespeare's plays are excellent vehicles for many topics history, socio-cultural norms and mores, vocabulary, rhetoric, literary tropes and terminology, performance history, performance strategies it is tempting to teach his plays as though they are good for teaching everything. This lens-free approach, however, often centres the classroom on the teacher as the expert and renders Shakespeare's plays as fixed, determined, and dead. Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose shows teachers how to approach Shakespeare's works as vehicles for collaborative exploration, to develop intentional frames for discovery, and to release the texts from over-determined interpretatioTrade ReviewThompson and Turchi describe techniques for moving us away from teacher-centered historical expertise toward a collaborative and participatory model of learning that puts Shakespearean language and performance at the center of the classroom experience … It’s innovative, practical, and generous; I hope it will be read widely and put to use. * Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 *Teaching Shakespeare with Purpose is not just a practical guide but an argument for the continued relevance of Shakespeare survey courses … Each chapter grounds the teaching theory in practical examples from a model class. The chapters are full of helpful activities including model close readings, themes, and questions from the plays selected (each chapter relies on a different one to model the pedagogy discussed). This approach is advantageous since it provides value for readers who may only have time to read a chapter or two. As well, the pedagogical process described is adaptable to any set of plays. Thompson and Turchi discuss framing, guided questions, entry points, and close readings that allow any teacher the structure she needs to get started on designing her Introduction to Shakespeare course while preserving an individual’s pedagogical strengths and the freedom to pick any of the plays … As someone working on an ‘Introduction to Shakespeare’ class for the first time, this book was a must read if only for the way that it helped put the task of design, teaching, and assessment, in perspective. However, the authors demystify and clarify the purpose of all of the aspects of an introductory course in a way that is not overbearing. Their argument is always student-centered and asks us to make choices about how we approach any aspect of the play (be it the history, the language, or the writing assignments we pick) in order to enhance the experience for the students. In this way, they have given readers a good model not just for the teaching of an ‘Introduction to Shakespeare’ course but other literature courses as well. * This Rough Magic *Table of ContentsChapter One: Introduction: The Realities of the 21st Century Chapter Two: Finding Your Purpose and Putting It into Action: Framing Chapter Three: ‘Ancient English’: Shakespeare’s Language Chapter Four: Embodiment: What Is It (Not)? Chapter Five: History: What Time Are You Thinking About? Chapter Six: Writing Assignments with a Purpose Chapter Seven: Assessment with a Purpose Chapter Eight: The Tyranny of Resources Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWritten specifically for GCSE students by academics in the field, the Methuen Drama GCSE Student Editions provide in-depth explanatory material alongside the play texts frequently studied at Key Stage 4. Whether for use in the classroom or independent study, these editions offer a fully comprehensive and lightly glossed play text with accompanying notes specifically directed towards readers of this age, which unravel essential topics and challenge all students to delve further into literary analysis. In Simon Stephens''s multi-award-winning stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on Mark Haddon''s novel, Christopher''s investigation into the death of the neighbour''s dog tears his world apart and confronts him with the struggle to survive when everything feels foreign.In addition to some on-page explanatory notes and the play text itself, this edition contains sub-headed analyses of themes, characters, context and dramatic devices, as well asTrade ReviewTrue to the original novel, Simon Stephens's version drips with ideas * Evening Standard *Table of ContentsConcise critical commentary, focusing upon key speeches/events; language; dramatic technique Expanded sections on theme, dramatic technique, characterisation and context Close reading of selected passages Press reviews including up-to-date reviews Words of actors and directors who have been involved in the play Playwrights' own words (annotated) Short extracts from critical writings on the playwright Extensive activities involving other works by the playwright

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Book SynopsisThe surviving works of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides have been familiar to readers and theatregoers for centuries; but these works are far outnumbered by their lost plays. Between them these authors wrote around two hundred tragedies, the fragmentary remains of which are utterly fascinating. In this, the second volume of a major new survey of the tragic genre, Matthew Wright offers an authoritative critical guide to the lost plays of the three best-known tragedians. (The other Greek tragedians and their work are discussed in Volume 1: Neglected Authors.) What can we learn about the lost plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides from fragments and other types of evidence? How can we develop strategies or methodologies for reading' lost plays? Why were certain plays preserved and transmitted while others disappeared from view? Would we have a different impression of the work of these classic authors or of Greek tragedy as a whole if a different selectioTrade ReviewWright’s insightful analysis of nearly 200 fragmentary dramas by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides will lead readers to re-assess not only their dramatic output, but the nature of Greek tragedy itself. -- Ian C. Storey, Professor Emeritus of Classics, Trent University, CanadaThe book will be of interest to all those working on Greek tragedy. * Revue des Etudes Anciennes (Bloomsbury Translation) *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1. Aeschylus 2. Sophocles 3. Euripides 4. Unfamiliar Faces 5. Lost Tragedies in Performance Bibliography and Abbreviations Index

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a comparative study of the history, performances and politics of the FTP by drawing and exposing further links between American modernism and its European counterparts.

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Book SynopsisThisbook examines the 100 or so families who lived in Shakespeare'sparish and demonstrates how their interests, work and connections formed part of the background environment that Shakespeare probably borrowed from as he reworked existing stories.

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Book SynopsisRevises current thinking about how genre operates in early modern theatre

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Book SynopsisHow to Do Things with Dead People studies human contrivances for representing and relating to the dead. Alice Dailey takes as her principal objects of inquiry Shakespeare''s English history plays, describing them as reproductive mechanisms by which living replicas of dead historical figures are regenerated in the present and re-killed. Considering the plays in these terms exposes their affinity with a transhistorical array of technologies for producing, reproducing, and interacting with dead thingstechnologies such as literary doppelgängers, photography, ventriloquist puppetry, X-ray imaging, glitch art, capital punishment machines, and cloning. By situating Shakespeare''s historical drama in this intermedial conversation, Dailey challenges conventional assumptions about what constitutes the context of a work of art and contests foundational models of linear temporality that inform long-standing conceptions of historical periodization and teleological ord

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Book Synopsis‘Enchanting’ - Simon Russell Beale ‘Remarkable’ - James Shapiro‘Wonderful . . . compulsively readable’ - Nicholas HytnerWhy do the collected works of an Elizabethan writer continue to speak to us as if they were written yesterday?When Robert McCrum began his recovery from a life-changing stroke, described in My Year Off, he discovered that the only words that made sense to him were snatches of Shakespeare. Unable to travel or move as he used to, McCrum found the First Folio became his ‘book of life’, an endless source of inspiration through which he could embark on ‘journeys of the mind’, and see a reflection of our own disrupted times.An acclaimed writer and journalist, McCrum has spent the last twenty-five years immersed in Shakespeare’s work, on stage and on the page. During this prolonged exploration, Shakespeare’s poetry and plays, so vivid and contemporary, have become his guide and consolation. In Shakespearean he asks: Why is it that we always return to Shakespeare, particularly in times of acute crisis and dislocation? What is the key to his hold on our imagination? And why do the collected works of an Elizabethan writer continue to speak to us as if they were written yesterday?Shakespearean is a rich, brilliant and superbly drawn portrait of an extraordinary artist, one of the greatest writers who ever lived. Through an enthralling narrative, ranging widely in time and space, McCrum seeks to understand Shakespeare within his historical context while also exploring the secrets of literary inspiration, and examining the nature of creativity itself. Witty and insightful, he makes a passionate and deeply personal case that Shakespeare’s words and ideas are not just enduring in their relevance – they are nothing less than the eternal key to our shared humanity.Trade ReviewShakespearean is a remarkable book, an illuminating and personal journey that takes us to the heart of Shakespeare’s art and influence. From his account of the plays’ quintessential Englishness to his exploration of what he shrewdly terms their 'negligent ambiguity,' McCrum’s insights are hard-earned and deeply rewarding -- James ShapiroI can’t think of anything better than listening to Robert McCrum talk about Shakespeare. And this enchanting book is the next best thing - like a gentle chat with a genuine expert. -- Sir Simon Russell BealeRobert McCrum beautifully connects Shakespeare to ourselves in a way I’ve not come across before. I love his curiosity. He seems to live each day as if he’s talked to Shakespeare on the phone that morning. So far, it's the best thing that has happened during lockdown.' -- Michael Grandage, Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, 2002-2012Shakespearean is a brilliant, wise, elegant and profoundly moving book . . . Beautifully written, inspired and inspiring: a captivating portrait of Shakespeare and ourselves -- Joanna Kavenna, author of The Ice MuseumIf you ever had any doubts about the relevance of Shakespeare to the modern world, read this book! -- Henry Marsh, author of Do No HarmWonderful and inexhaustibly fascinating -- Richard EyreWonderful . . . a beautiful personal testament to why Shakespeare continues to matter so much. It is crammed with original insights, and springs equally from a deep knowledge of Shakespeare’s own world and a totally persuasive conviction that his plays speak to our own world, and our own selves, as cogently as they did to the Elizabethans. It is compulsively readable and I loved every page of it. -- Nicholas Hytner, theatre directorReading Shakespearean was a joy . . . by far the most accessible and erudite contemporary critique evoking with wit and profound insight that conscious (and subconscious) acknowledgement of the degrees to which Shakespeare‘s work continues to influence our cultural and political lives. It is also an essential entertaining book for anyone who like me shares a love of the great man’s plays and sonnets. -- Don Boyd, film directorMcCrum writes brilliantly about writing . . . there is much here to stir the blood * The Times *Engaging and animated . . . McCrum guides us rather like someone walking through a gallery . . . McCrum's Shakespeare for "times of disruption" is a welcome participant in the contemporary conversation -- Rowan Williams, New Statesman'Excellent . . . the winning combination of McCrum's own insights and sparkling language lifts Shakespearean to the must-read list . . . an ambitious and exhilarating ride * Daily Mail *A beguiling mix of memoir, literary criticism and biography * iNews *

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Book SynopsisSupernatural elements are of central significance in many of Shakespeare's plays, contributing to their dramatic power and intrigue. Ghosts haunt political spaces and internal psyches, witches foresee the future and disturb the present, fairies meddle with love and a magus conjures a tempest from the elements. Although written and performed for early modern audiences, for whom the supernatural, whether sacred, demonic or folkloric, was part of the fabric of everyday life, the supernatural in Shakespeare continues to enthrall audiences and readers, and maintains its power to raise a range of questions in contemporary contexts.This edited collection of twelve essays from an international range of contemporary Shakespeare scholars explores the supernatural in Shakespeare from a variety of perspectives and approaches, generating new knowledge and presenting hitherto unexplored avenues of enquiry across the Shakespearean canon.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Shakespeare and the supernatural – Victoria Bladen and Yan BrailowskyPart I: Embodying the supernatural1 Shakespeare’s political spectres – Victoria Bladen 2 ‘Rudely stamped’: supernatural generation and the limits of power in Shakespeare’s Richard III – Chelsea Phillips 3 Digital puppetry and the supernatural: double Ariel in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Tempest (2017) – Anchuli Felicia KingPart II: Haunted spaces4 Demons and puns: Revisiting the ‘cellarage scene’ in Hamlet – Pierre Kapitaniak5 Performing the Shakespearean supernatural in Avignon: a challenge to the Festival – Florence MarchPart III: Supernatural utterance and haunted texts6 Prophecy and the supernatural: Shakespeare’s challenges to performativity – Yan Brailowsky7 Puck, Philostrate and the locus of A Midsummer Night’s Dream’s topical allegory – Laurie Johnson 8 ‘Strange intelligence’: Transformations of witchcraft in Macbeth discourse – William C. CarrollPart IV: Magic, music and gender9 Music and magic in The Tempest: Ariel’s alchemical songs – Natalie Roulon10 From Prospero to Prospera: transforming gender and magic on stage and screen – Katharine Goodland Part V: Contemporary transformations11 ‘I’ll put a girdle round the earth in forty minutes’: representing the supernatural in film adaptations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Gayle Allan12 Ophelia and her magical daughters: the afterlives of Ophelia in Japanese pop culture – Yukari YoshiharaIndex

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Book SynopsisThe aesthetic exception theorises anew the relation between art and politics. It challenges critical trends that discount the role of aesthetic autonomy, to impulsively reassert art as an effective form of social engagement. But it equally challenges those on the flipside of the efficacy debate, who insist that art’s politics is limited to a recondite space of ‘autonomous resistance’. The book shows how each side of the efficacy debate overlooks art’s exceptional status and its social mediations. Mobilising philosophy and cultural theory, and employing examples from visual art, performance, and theatre, it proposes four alternative tests to ‘effect’ to offer a nuanced account of art’s political character. Those tests examine how art relates to politics as a practice that articulates its historical conjuncture, and how it prefigures the ‘new’ through simulations capable of activating the political life of the spectator.Trade Review'Starting with a seemingly simple question ‘Can art be political?’, this book opens a Pandora’s box that reveals the paradoxical nature of the relationship between art and life, the impossibility of taxonomy of political theatre, on the one hand, and its potential as a hermeneutical tool, on the other, and when it comes to postdramatic theatre and theory – nothing is anymore as it seemed before … The depth of analysis is impressive, whenever we feel we have reached a conceptual stable ground, Fisher probes further and invites us to question deeper!'Silvija Jestrovic, University of Warwick'Fisher is a joy to read! He writes with clarity and urgency but without oversimplification and gratuitous polemic. He draws on the whole toolkit of interdisciplinary thought and covers a vast terrain in contemporary theatre, but he never relies on jargon and avoids any form of superficiality … with cautious optimism, [he] takes the lead of key artists and heads out towards new horizons of possibility, en route, he has revitalized our understanding of both politics and aesthetics.'Nikos Papastergiadis, University of Melbourne -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction The horizon of the aestheticPart I The aesthetic exception1 The paradox of the aesthetic exception2 Crossing the threshold3 The institution of art: critical and theoretical reflectionsPart II Political art after the communicative turn4 The classical debate revisited: Sartre, Brecht, Adorno5 Art of the communicative turn: Habermas and the political6 What is the proper way to display a US flag? – the work of “dissensual speech” in artPart III Taxonomy of the political theatre7 Foundational problems and problems of foundation8 Displacement effects: Althusser’s “Brecht” and the theatre of the conjuncture9 Activist theatre of the conjuncture: the case of Janam and the street theatre in India10 The “closure” of the political theatre and the critique of post-dramatic reason11 The political theatre redefined12 The theatre of the planetary conjuncture: Milo Rau’s Congo Tribunal13 On taxonomic strategiesIndex

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Book SynopsisHow are great turning points in history experienced by individuals?As Britain pulls away from Europe great British writers come together to give voice to their innermost feelings. These writers include novelists, writers of books for children, of comic books, humourists, historians, biographers, nature writers, film writers, travel writers, writers young and old and from an extraordinary range of backgrounds. Most are famous perhaps because they have won the Booker or other literary prizes, written bestsellers, changed the face of popular culture or sold millions of records. Others are not yet household names but write with depth of insight and feeling.There is some extraordinary writing in this book. Some of these pieces are expressions of love of particular places in Europe. Some are true stories, some nostalgic, some hopeful. Some are cries of pain. There are hilarious pieces. There are cries of pain and regret. Some pieces are quietly devastating. All are passionate.Conceived as a love letter to Europe, this book may also help reawaken love for Britain. It shows the unique richness and diversity of British cultures, a multitude of voices in harmony.Contributors include:Hugh Aldersey-Williams, Philip Ardagh, Jake Arnott, Patricia Atkinson, Paul Atterbury, Richard Beard, Mary Beard, Don Boyd, Melvyn Bragg, Gyles Brandreth, Kathleen Burke, James Buxton, Philip Carr, Brian Catling, Shami Chakrabarti, Chris Cleave, Mark Cocker, Peter Conradi , Heather Cooper, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Roger Crowley, David Crystal, William Dalrymple, Lindsey Davies, Margaret Drabble, Mark Ellen, Richard Evans, Michel Faber, Sebastian Faulks, Ranulph Fiennes, Robert Fox, James Fox, Neil Gaiman, Evelyn Glennie, James Hanning, Nick Hayes, Alan Hollinghurst, Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch, Will Hutton, Robert Irwin, Holly Johnson , Liane Jones, Ruth Jones, Sam Jordison, Kapka Kassabova, AL Kennedy, Hermione Lee, Prue Leith, Patrick Lenox, Roger Lewis, David Lindo, Penelope Lively, Beth Lync, Richard Mabey, Sue MacGregor, Ian Martin, Frank McDonough, Jonathan Meades, Andrew Miller, Deborah Moggach, Ben Moor, Alan Moore, Paul Morley, Jackie Morris, Charles Nicholl, Richard Overy, Chris Riddell, Adam Roberts, Tony Robinson, Lee Rourke, Sophie Sabbage, Marcus Sedgwick, Richard Shirreff, Paul Stanford, Isy Suttie, Sandi Toksvig, Colin Tudge, Ed Vulliamy, Anna Whitelock, Kate Williams, Michael Wood, Louisa Young

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Book SynopsisWilliam Shakespeare understood power: what it is, how it works, how it is gained, and how it is lost. In The Hollow Crown, Eliot A. Cohen reveals how the battling princes of Henry IV and scheming senators of Julius Caesar can teach us to better understand power and politics today. The White House, after all, is a court-with intrigue and conflict rivalling those on the Globe's stage-as is an army, a business, or a university. And each court is full of driven characters, in all their ambition, cruelty, and humanity. Henry V's inspiring speeches reframe John F. Kennedy's appeal, Richard III's wantonness illuminates Vladimir Putin's brutality, and The Tempest's grace offers a window into the presidency of George Washington. An original and incisive perspective, The Hollow Crown shows how Shakespeare's works transform our understanding of the leaders who, for good or ill, make and rule our world.

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Book SynopsisThe 1590s were black years for England. The queen was old, the succession unclear, and the treasury empty after decades of war. Amid the rising tension, William Shakespeare published a pair of poems dedicated to the young Earl of Southampton: Venus and Adonis in 1593 and The Rape of Lucrece a year later. Although wildly popular during Shakespeare's lifetime, to modern readers both works are almost impenetrable. But in her enthralling new book, the Shakespearean scholar Clare Asquith reveals their hidden contents: two politically charged allegories of Tudor tyranny that justified--and even urged--direct action against an unpopular regime. The poems were Shakespeare's bestselling works in his lifetime, evidence that they spoke clearly to England's wounded populace and disaffected nobility, and especially to their champion, the Earl of Essex.Shakespeare and the Resistance unearths Shakespeare's own analysis of a political and religious crisis which would shortly erupt in armed rebellion on the streets of London. Using the latest historical research, it resurrects the story of a bold bid for freedom of conscience and an end to corruption which was erased from history by the men who suppressed it. This compelling reading situates Shakespeare at the heart of the resistance movement, and sees him correctly identifying the factors that would before long plunge the country into civil war.

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Book SynopsisBreaking Free from Death examines how Russian writers respond to the burden of living with anxieties about their creative outputs, and, ultimately, about their own inevitable finitude. What contributes to creative death are not just crippling diseases that make man defenseless in the face of death, and not just the arguably universal fear of death but, equally important, the innumerable impositions on the part of various outsiders. Many conflicts in the lives of Rylkova's subjects arose not from their opposition to the existing political regimes but from their interactions with like-minded and supporting intellectuals, friends, and relatives. The book describes the lives and choices that concrete individuals and—by extrapolation—their literary characters must face in order to preserve their singularity and integrity while attempting to achieve fame, greatness, and success.Trade Review"Rylkova’s meticulous study is full of original insights and new interpretations of famous literary works, delivered in a lucid and accessible writing style, with numerous references to primary sources; it is a joy to read. Furthermore, she supplies her readers with a clear road map throughout the book, explaining her next steps and intentions at every turn." - Russian ReviewTable of Contents Acknowledgements Prologue: Breaking Free from Death Part One: Beginnings and Endings 1. Leo Tolstoy and the Privilege of Formidable Hypochondria 2. In Chertkov's Grip 3. Uncle Vanya: The Drama of Sustainability 4. "Homo Sachaliensis": Chekhov's "Character" as a Strategy 5. The Steppe as a Story of Humble and Spectacular Beginnings Part Two: Transcending Death 6. Reading Chekhov through Meyerhold's Eyes 7. Living with Tolstoy and Dying with Chekhov: Ivan Bunin's Liberation of Tolstoy (1937) and About Chekhov (1953) as Two Modes of Auto/Biographical Writing 8. "There is a way out": The Cherry Orchard in the Twenty-First Century 9. A Boring Story: Chekhov's Trip to Germany in 1904 Epilogue: Oyster Fever: Chekhov and Turgenev Index

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Book Synopsis'This book gives some of the very best of Shakespeare’s twenty-first-century colleagues an opportunity to share insights that can only come from playing him' Nicholas Hytner, from his Foreword Twelve leading actors take us behind the scenes of landmark Shakespearean productions, each recreating in detail their memorable performance in a major role. Roger Allam on his Falstaff in both Henry IV plays at Shakespeare’s Globe Eileen Atkins on Viola in two productions of Twelfth Night seventeen years apart Simon Russell Beale on Cassius in Deborah Warner’s modern-dress Julius Caesar Chiwetel Ejiofor on his Donmar Warehouse Othello, directed by Michael Grandage Sara Kestelman on Hippolyta and Titania in Peter Brook’s iconic white-box Dream Ian McKellen on one of Shakespeare’s most demanding of roles: King Lear Michael Pennington on stepping in at the eleventh hour as Timon of Athens Alan Rickman on re-evaluating the melancholic Jaques in As You Like It Fiona Shaw on Shakespeare’s Shrew, Katherine, in Jonathan Miller’s production Patrick Stewart on his Las Vegas-set Shylock, a role he has played many times Harriet Walter on Imogen in Shakespeare’s late romance, Cymbeline, at the RSC Zoë Wanamaker on her National Theatre Beatrice, directed by Nicholas Hytner Each actor leads us through the choices they made in rehearsal, and how the character works in performance, shedding new light on some of the most challenging roles in the canon. The result is a series of individual masterclasses that will be invaluable for other actors and directors, as well as students of Shakespeare – and fascinating for audiences of the plays. Shakespeare On Stage: Volume 2 was shortlisted for the 2018 Theatre Book Prize. ‘Absorbing and original… Curry’s actors are often thinking and talking as that other professional performer, Shakespeare himself, might have done.’ TLS on Shakespeare On Stage: Vol. 1Trade Review'A remarkably rich collection... as well as the thoughtful step-by-step analyses of rehearsal and performance, the interviews abound in striking perceptions of the plays as a whole' * Shakespeare Survey *'[Gives the reader] that amazing, engrossing feeling of listening to someone who is an expert in their field… one of the other joys of this book is the reminder that it brings of how intellectual acting is. These actors talk about the roles with great knowledge and affection… give [it] to a student to read and be inspired' * Drama Magazine *'These thorough and penetrating interviews are greatly illuminating' * Word Matters - Journal of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama *'[This] is becoming a fascinating series... a good read for fans of the performers, Shakespeare or acting in general' * British Theatre Guide *

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Book SynopsisThe author's guide to Kindertransport, an invaluable and uniquely authoritative resource for anyone studying, teaching or performing the play. Since it was first staged by the Soho Theatre Company in London in 1993, Diane Samuels’ Kindertransport has enjoyed huge success around the world, has been revived numerous times, and is widely studied in schools and colleges. The play tells the story of how nine-year-old Eva, a German Jewish girl, is sent by her parents on the Kindertransport to start a new life with a foster family in Britain just before the outbreak of World War Two. Over forty years later, she has changed her name to Evelyn and denied her roots. When her own daughter discovers some old letters and photos in the attic, she is forced to confront the truth about who she really is and to reveal a dark secret that she has done everything to keep hidden. In this author’s guide to the play, Diane Samuels investigates the historical background, drawing on the personal testimony of those whose lives were transformed by the Kindertransport. She explores the creative process that shaped the play through successive drafts. And she presents detailed accounts from the actors, directors, a composer and designer who have contributed to the play’s most notable productions.Trade Review'Such a wonderful companion to the play... incredibly helpful... lends itself for so many different types of student' * Teaching Drama *'Illuminating... It's a refreshing change for a study guide to come from the pen of the person who created the text being studied... an informative, enlightening contribution to textual study and performance' * The Stage *

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Book SynopsisIn The Quality of Mercy, one of the world's most revered theatre directors reflects on a fascinating variety of Shakespearean topics. In this sequence of essays, Peter Brook debates such questions as who was the man who wrote Shakespeare's plays, why Shakespeare is never out of date, and how actors should approach Shakespeare's verse. He also revisits some of the plays which he has directed with notable brilliance, such as King Lear, Titus Andronicus and, of course, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Taken as a whole, this short but immensely wise book offers an illuminating and provocative insight into a great director's relationship with our greatest playwright. 'An invaluable gift from the greatest Shakespeare director of our time... Brook's genius, modesty, and brilliance shine through on every page' James Shapiro, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William ShakespeareTrade Review'Should be required reading for any aspiring young directors and actors but also all serious theatregoers... the writing is a model of clarity, the ideas challenging but sensible... it should be on every reader's bookshelf' * British Theatre Guide *'Each new page you turn is a delight. And all written in such an unpretentious, gentle, often amusing style. A joy' * ReviewsGate.com *'This volume positively seethes and sparkles with ideas... provides not only acute insights into the texts, but intriguing details of performance history, and a few morsels of grand theatrical gossip' * Scotsman *'Exquisite... enthralling... This short, modest and brilliant book does more than many more grandiose tomes to renew the reader's fascination with the plays, and the theatre-goer's wonder at the extraordinary and diverse sensations locked up inside the First Folio. It should be required reading at all universities and drama clubs.' * Guardian *'If you want a gift for an actor, look no further than this educative, engrossing, entertaining book' * The Stage *'Contains within its scintillating reflections the essence of all that Peter Brook has learned over a lifetime. Whoever imagined that a book about Shakespeare could also be such fun?' * Wall Street Journal *

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Book SynopsisEveryday life in the teeming metropolis during William Shakespeare's time in the city. Shakespeare's London was a bustling, teeming metropolis that was growing so rapidly that the government took repeated, and ineffectual, steps to curb its expansion. From contemporary letters, journals and diaries, a vivid picture emerges of this fascinating city, with its many opportunities and also its persistent problems. By far the largest city in the country, it was the centre of government, the law and the church, the focus of politics and culture. It had a vigorous economy, with a range of industries and a lucrative trade in luxury goods for the courtiers and wealthy citizens. Growth produced overcrowding and high mortality, with shockingly high death tolls during the periodic plague epidemics, yet London attracted an endless stream of people, who were absorbed into its diverse communities and economic structures. Here the first playhouses were built, patronised by large audiences, who were treated to a rich and varied diet of plays to keep them, and the court, entertained. The London that Shakespeare knew was an expanding, changing and exciting city.Trade ReviewA meticulous recreation of a vibrant world - echoes with the living voices of Londoners' -- GILLIAN TINDALLA lucid and cogent narrative of everyday life in Shakespeare's place of work' * SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST *A vivid account' * THES *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements 1. A Little World in Itself 2. A Great Multitude of People 3. The Greatest City of the Christian World 4. The World Runs on Wheels 5. The Whole Trade of Merchandise 6. The Time of Life is Short 7. A Quick Eye & a Nimble Hand 8. A World of People References Bibliography List of Illustrations Index

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Book SynopsisThis entertaining collection gathers together William Shakespeare's wisest and wittiest quotations. Quotable Shakespeare proves that brevity is the soul of wit and is sure to delight all lovers of the Bard's uniquely perceptive and influential works.

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Book SynopsisThe Nick Hern Books Page to Stage series – highly accessible guides to the world's best-known plays, written by established theatre professionals to show how the plays come to life on the stage. Director Stephen Unwin takes you scene by scene through the action of Ibsen's play A Doll's House, analysing moment by moment what is actually said and done, and how the staging of these moments affects our understanding of them. Also included in this volume: a concise introduction to Ibsen and the historical background of the play; a discussion of the characters and setting; and an exploration of the possibilities for staging, lighting, costumes, props and furniture, and the sound and music. Ideal for anyone studying, teaching or performing A Doll's House, as well as anyone interested in how the play works on stage.

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Book Synopsis'Like so much of Renaissance Art, Shakespeare's work bears an open secret. The esoteric spiritual content is undisguised, though it may be unexpected and not always immediately recognized. And, like all the great artistic achievements...this work remains incomplete until we recognize and respond to its open invitation that we become active participants.' - from the IntroductionThe perennial universal appeal of Shakespeare's work is well established. His core themes explore the challenges of the human condition whilst celebrating the potential of human beings to achieve and develop in earthly life. But what is it that enables Shakespeare's characters to live and breathe beyond the confines of their written roles, some 400 years after the plays were first performed? In these collected lectures, edited with an extensive introduction by Andrew Wolpert, Rudolf Steiner throws new light on the Bard's work, describing the on-going life that flows from it, and the profound spiritual origins of Shakespeare's inspirations. He shows how Shakespeare can enliven us in our longing for contemporary ideals and truths; indeed, in our goal of becoming fully human. Our engagement with the plays, not just as actors and directors, but also as students and members of an audience, can thus become a co-creative participation in the redemptive potential of Shakespeare's enduring legacy. Steiner speaks about Shakespeare in connection with the evolution of the arts of poetry and drama, and the transitions between cultural epochs. He reminds us of the sources and characteristics of classical Greek drama, recalling Aristotle's definition of drama as catharsis, and pointing to Shakespeare's connection to these cultural and historical wellsprings.

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Book SynopsisIn their lively and engaging edition of this sometimes neglected early play, Cox and Rasmussen make a strong claim for it as a remarkable work, revealing a confidence and sureness that very few earlier plays can rival. They show how the young Shakespeare, working closely from his chronicle sources, nevertheless freely shaped his complex material to make it both theatrically effective and poetically innovative. The resulting work creates, in Queen Margaret, one of Shakespeare's strongest female roles and is the source of the popular view of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick as 'kingmaker'. Focusing on the history of the play both in terms of both performance and criticism, the editors open it to a wide and challenging variety of interpretative and editorial paradigms.

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Book SynopsisSuzanne Gossett offers a full and critical performance history, with an introduction showing how the play's performance history has paralled the criticism. It then gives an interpretation of this two-generation romance, with its successive male and female central characters, based on a reading 'through the family', and influenced by the feminist and new historicist criticism of the last two decades. The edition integrates cumulative research on Shakespeare's collaborative authorship and the transmission of the text without rewriting the play or ignoring years of emendations.

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Book SynopsisTwo Gentlemen of Verona is commonly agreed to be Shakespeare's first comedy, and probably his first play. A comedy built around the confusions of doubling, cross - dressing and identity, it is also a play about the ideal of male friendship and what happens to those friendships when men fall in love.William Carroll's engaging Introduction focuses on the traditions and sources that stand behind the play and explores Shakespeare's unique and bold treatment of them. Special attention is given to the strong female figure of Julia and the controversial final scene.

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Book SynopsisTimon of Athens has struck many readers as rough and unpolished, perhaps even unfinished, though to others it has appeared as Shakespeare's most profound tragic allegory. Described by Coleridge as 'the stillborn twin of King Lear', the play has nevertheless proved brilliantly effective in performance over the past thirty or forty years.This edition accepts and contributes to the growing scholarly consensus that the play is not Shakespeare's solo work, but is the result of his collaboration with Thomas Middleton, who wrote about a third of it. The editors offer an account of the process of collaboration and discuss the different ways that each author contributes to the play's relentless look at the corruption and greed of society. They provide, as well, detailed annotation of the text and explore the wide range of critical and theatrical interpretations that the play has engendered. Tracing both its satirical and tragic strains, their introduction presents a perspective on the play's meanings that combines careful elucidation of historical context with analysis of its relevance to modern-day society. An extensive and well-illustrated account of the play's production history generates a rich sense of how the play can speak to different historical moments in specific and rewarding ways.Trade Review'...a critical introduction that...could scarcely be better...an admirable edition of Shakespeare and Middleton's challenging collaberative play.' Shakespeare Quarterly (2009)

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Book SynopsisIn All’s Well That Ends Well, Helen, a lowly ward, risks her life to satisfy her boundless love for Bertram, a count and ward to the King of France. Following him to Paris, she concocts an endangering plan to win the King of France’s favour and induce Bertram’s hand in marriage. In the comprehensive introduction to this new, fully-illustrated Arden edition, Suzanne Gossett takes a transformative look at the play’s critical and performance history by offering fresh perspectives on the conundrum of genre, sexuality and moral dilemmas with masculinity and the structures of family. The authoritative play text is amply annotated to clarify its language and allusions, and two appendices debate the play’s authorship and review its casting. Offering students and scholars alike a wealth of insight and new research, this edition maintains the rigorous standards of the Arden Shakespeare.Trade ReviewThe best edition available with a particularly thoughtful and undogmatic introduction. * Paul Hartle, University of Cambridge, UK *Table of ContentsList of illustrations General editors’ preface Preface Introduction ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL Appendix 1: Casting All's Well That Ends Well Appendix 2: The Authorship Debate Abbreviations and references Index

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Book SynopsisSue Glover (1943 - ) began writing plays in the 1970s, making her stage debut at the Little Lyceum in 1980 with The Seal Wife, her first full-length play, in which many of the recurring features and concerns of her work are to be found: the influence of oral culture and folklore, and the re-examination of history, legend and myth from a female perspective. John Hodgart''s Scotnote examines two of Sue Glover''s plays, Bondagers and The Straw Chair. Both plays can be seen in the context of a very strong tradition of modern Scottish feminist drama which includes the work of Ena Lamont Stewart, Joan Ure, Liz Lochhead, Rona Munro and others. Bondagers is a powerful and moving drama about a band of brave, vulnerable women struggling to survive hardship, exploitation and injustice. The Straw Chair is set on St Kilda, and tells the story of Lady Grange''s exile on that distant island. In both plays, Glover gives voices to exploited or alienated women whose identity has been determined by their domestic or working role or their social status in a hypocritical patriarchal society. Issues of set and staging are explored as well as the themes of the plays.This guide is suitable for senior school pupils and students at all levels.

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Book SynopsisRona Munro's 1991 play Bold Girls is a tale of four Belfast women during the Troubles, exploring personal and communal history, and what it means when aspects of a community ideologies, relationships, and spaces, for example are threatened. Despite being set in a very specific time and place, the themes are universal: how societies are warped by male violence, dominance, and social privilege, and female subservience to that behaviour. Bold Girls is a case-study of the victims rather than the perpetrators of conflict: an unsentimental portrait of women's lives under psychological siege.Gillian Sargent's Scotnote Study Guide provides a comprehensive overview to the characters and themes of Munro's play, as well as its artistic and cultural influences, and is an excellent guide for senior school pupils and teachers alike.

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Book SynopsisIn his first tetralogy of history plays (Henry VI Parts 1, 2 and 3, and Richard III), Shakespeare offered the most extensive dramatic sequence since the great days of ancient Greek drama in Athens.                  Critics have sometimes disparaged this first tetralogy as episodic and amateurish. There are various lively scenes, and some characters radiate vitality – in Richard III, Shakespeare (defying historical fact) created a superbly memorable monster, the grotesque and arrogant villain whom audiences love to hate. But if the Shakespeare of the first tetralogy blithely embarrasses his modern fans by the abundance of jingoistic propaganda, his second tetralogy (Richard II, Henry IV Parts One and Two and Henry V) is much more sophisticated and ambiguous. Indeed, in view of the problems of censorship which he faced, Shakespeare provides remarkably incisive insights into the beh

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