Plays, playscripts, drama
Protea Boekhuis Hessie Kwedet: Dagga-, Dop-, Dryf- En Verwante
Book Synopsis
£13.25
Theater der Zeit Pledge and Play: How the Passion Play in
Book Synopsis
£12.35
Dramatists Play Service DurangDurang Acting Edition
Book Synopsis
£11.21
New Amsterdam Books Elizabethan Jacobean Drama
Book SynopsisThe purpose of this absorbing collection is to illuminate the world of the theatre by setting it squarely in its historical context. To that end, Professor Evans draws on the whole spectrum of Elizabethan-Jacobean writing, from official documents to diaries and letters. Part I, The Theatre and the World, deals, through contemporary writings, with the drama itself, the audiences and their responses, theatrical companies, acting and actors, and buildings and technical matters. Part II, The Worlds and the Theatre, illustrates how the problems of everyday life, complicated as they were by moral, religious, social, political, and economic issues, provided an ever-fruitful source of materials to the dramatists who practiced their craft during this extraordinarily creative period.Trade ReviewA useful teaching tool. * CHOICE *
£14.24
Aurora Metro Publications Eastern Promise
Book SynopsisA collection of the best plays from central and eastern europe. BELGRADE TRILOGY by BILJANA SRBLJANOVIC (Yugoslavia) Set in Sydney, Los Angeles and Prague on New Year''s Eve, the everyday life of young exiles from the Balkans. Winner of the Slobodan Selenic Prize ~THE TENDER MERCIES by SLADJANA VUJOVIC (Montenegro) A three-hander about torture, power and language. Edinburgh fringe first winner. ~ NASCENDO by ALINA NELEGA (Romania) Set in a Maternity ward on the eve of the revolution, patients and staff reflect the divided nature of Romanian society. ~ THE CHOSEN ONES by ELENA POPOVA (Belorussia) Winner of the first European play competition ''A poignant portrayal of postcommunist society.'' ~ THE UMBILICAL CORD by KRYSTYNA KOFTA (Poland) An intense family relationship, where ritual has replaced real life. ''...a generation suffering moral defeat.'' ~ TULIP DOCTOR by VERA FILO (Hungary) Set against the background of war, life becomes a cartoon, where anything can happen and will. ~ JENUTable of ContentsForeword by Gerald Lidstone 6 Introduction by Sian Evans and Cheryl Robson 8 Jenufa, (Her Step-daughter) by Gabriela Preissova, translated by Barbara Day 18 The Umbilical Cord by Krystyna Kofta, translated by Joanna Mludzinska 62 Tulip Doctor by Vera Filo, translated by Mia Nadasi 105 The Tender Mercies by Sladjana Vujovic 140 Nascendo by Alina Nelega, translated by Alina Nelega and Cheryl Robson 188 The Chosen Ones by Elena Popova, translated by Sandra Harvey 226 Belgrade Trilogy by Biljana Srbljanovic, translated by Ellis 270
£11.99
Aurora Metro Publications The Little Black Book
Book SynopsisEnglish version of Carriere''s popular French play L''Aide Memoire.One morning, confirmed bachelor Jean-Jacques leaves his door ajar-and a total stranger slips into his life. Is she a squatter, somewhat deranged, or a woman from his past? Jean-Jacques'' orderly world is turned upside down, when what started as a comic encounter changes his life forever.Trade Review'I love Jean-Claude Carriere's plays, to start with they merely catch your attention, but then they seduce you with their special quality, seldom found in theatre, an exhilaration of the imagination.' JEAN-PAUL LUCET, THEATRE MAGAZINE "A fine French vignette" ★ ★ ★ ★ Daily Mail "An adorable portrayal of the gameplay of lone lovers, thrillingly chasing each other in circles." ★ ★ ★ ★ WhatsOnStage
£9.67
Christian Publishers LLC Comedy Scenes for Student Actors: Short Sketches
Book SynopsisThese real-life, juvenile dilemmas for children to perform are popular because the actors can portray characters like those they see every day. Sample titles from this collection of 31 scenes include: Picture Day, Love is All You Need, First Kiss, 30 Days to a New Teen, Home Alone, Cookie Dough, Food Fight, Barbie Girl, Texas Size Zit, the Cat Walk, Save the Frogs, and Dreadful Dancing. All situations are believable and easy for timid and eager actors to perform. Ideal for classroom practice or for an evening of entertainment.
£18.04
Luath Press Ltd Aeschylus Agamemnon in Scots
Book SynopsisTransforming Aeschylus' timeless epic Agamemnon into Scots, this groundbreaking translation transports readers into the heart of ancient Greece, infusing the classic tale with the lyrical beauty and cadence of the Scots language. William Imray's masterful rendition captures the essence of the original while breathing new life into the narrative, making it accessible to modern audiences and lovers of Scots literature alike. For scholars, students and enthusiasts of classical literature, this edition offers a unique perspective, shedding fresh light on familiar themes of power, betrayal and destiny. Whether you're a seasoned aficionado of Aeschylus or a newcomer to his works, Aeschylus' Agamemnon in Scots promises an immersive reading experience that transcends language barriers and invites exploration of the human condition.
£999.99
Renard Press Ltd Character Flaw
Book SynopsisPip is forever arriving late and losing things, and things happen around her. She's always just written it off as part of her personality, but a late diagnosis of ADHD changes everything.Character Flawdeftly exposes life before and after the diagnosis, and its intersection with queerness.
£9.71
Aurora Metro Publications Inigo
Book SynopsisFollow Inigo (Ignatius of Loyola) from ambitious, hot-headed, street-fighting sensualist to his co-founding, (with a radical group of young friends), the Society of Jesus in the sixteenth century. In Moore's bold, visceral, funny and poetic play, he asserts Loyola's position as counter-cultural radical. But it is not only for those interested in Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits. It is also a political allegory about those who fight for change against an implacable Establishment. With the current Pope a Jesuit, this is a timely exploration of one of history's major spiritual leaders and reformers: a story of a spiritual journey from sinner to saint. Published in conjunction with the play's run at the Pleasance Theatre, London in May 2015, the play explores the life and times of Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). Of special interest to Catholic schools and Colleges, in particular with the current pope a Jesuit. The play has now been translated into Spanish.Trade Review“This is the most interesting play text to have reached me for a while, not least because I keep running into actors who were involved in the runs, directed by the playwright, at the White Bear and the Pleasance earlier this year. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits is not the most obvious choice for a play subject until you remember that he was effectively a counter-cultural radical fighting an implacable establishment suddenly it's both topical and relevant. I hope this thoughtful, engaging and very funny in places eight-hander will get more outings very soon. If not read the text anyway.” Susan Elkin, The Stage “Impressive...entertaining. Enlightening.” **** LondonTheatre “Historically accurate, comic and thought-provoking while still incredibly relevant.” **** Plays To See “Brilliantly written... a great evening of thoughtful and dynamic theatre.” Mark Lawson, broadcaster and critic “... lovely moments of religious poetry and pragmatic comedy... given the current activity in Rome, this is a particularly pertinent time for this story of humility.” **** The Stage “The intelligence of the production, and especially the vitality and versatility of the performances make for a moving, stimulating and enjoyable experience. The structure and dynamism of the play, the art with which Jonathan Moore makes Ignatius accessible to us, capturing much of the drama of the Spiritual Exercises themselves, would also make an excellent discovery for schools and colleges.” James Hanvey SJ, Master of Campion Hall, University of Oxford, Thinking Faith
£9.99
Scarecrow Press Chinese Drama
Book SynopsisProviding access to relevant citations from a variety of disciplines_art, architecture, anthropology, literature, political science, history, and others_this bibliography is intended for theatrical groups or students searching for a translation of a play or an interpretation of one, for scholars seeking an introduction to an aspect of Chinese drama beyond their immediate expertise, for teachers revising or developing courses in Chinese/Asian drama, and for libraries attempting to develop their Chinese/Asian drama collection. Part I, Drama, is a comprehensive, classified, annotated, interdisciplinary bibliography in English of articles, books, parts of books, theses, and dissertations concerning all aspects of Chinese drama from its shamanistic origins to 1985. Part II, Plays in Translation, includes references both to Chinese plays in English translation and to commentary. The plays are listed alphabetically by title. For each play, citations are listed within three possible subdivisions: scripts, selections, excerpts; summaries; commentary/criticism, with a separate name index for each part.Trade Review...comprehensive...useful for reference purposes. * CHOICE *The bibliography is a stupendous achievement and in general definitely validates the claim of being comprehensive. But I believe it will be a long time before this bibliography is superseded in its particular field, and conclude by paying tribute to its late compiler. * Journal Of Oriental Studies *...useful access...an impressive list of plays in translation... * American Theatre *
£999.99
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press Dreamscapes in Italian Cinema
Book SynopsisDreamscapes in Italian Cinema explores different representations of dreams, visions, hallucinations, and hypnagogic states in Italian film culture, covering the works of some of the most significant auteurs in the history of Italian cinema (Fellini, Pasolini, Moretti, Bellocchio, among others). Dreams are discussed both in a filmic context, considering the diegetic and formal techniques employed to construct and represent them, and as allegories or metaphors in a broader cultural, political, and social sense (the film industry itself as the proverbial dream factory, and dreams as hopes, aspirations or altogether parallel universes, for example). The book covers works released over different decades and spanning multiple genres (drama, gothic film, horror, comedy), and it is intended to shed light on a topic that is as suggestive as it is insufficiently studied.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction Francesco Pascuzzi, Bryan Cracchiolo 1. Dreamed Cinema, Cinematic Dreams: Dreamscape, Neurosis and Desire in Federico Fellini’s 8½ Avishek Parui 2. The Uncanny and Mannequins: The Dream-Like Qualities of Two Italian Gothic Films, Il mulino delle donne di pietra and Lisa e il diavolo Fernando Pagnoni, Amy M. Davis 3. Massimo Fagioli’s Influence and Psychoanalysis in Marco Bellocchio’s Il diavolo in corpo Alessandro De Stefanis 4. The Visionary Realism of Marco Bellocchio’s Buongiorno, note Francesco Rabissi 5. The Ironic Oneiric: Nanni Moretti and the Cinematic Challenges of the 1970s Axel Andersson 6. Life Is But a Dream: Reveries, Nightmares and Other Worlds in the Films of Nanni Moretti Eleanor Andrews 7. Sublimation, Myth and the Work of Dreams: Radical Nostalgia and Melancholic Attachment in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Edipo Re Linda Belau 8. The Cinedream in Pasolini and Cassavetes Anthony Cristiano 9. Gradivae and Nymphs: Walking Women in the Dreamscapes of Italian Cinema Maurizia Natali 10. Dreams, Nightmares, and Hallucinations in Francesca Comencini’s Cinema Letizia Bellocchio 11. The Nightmarish in Dario Argento’s Mother Trilogy: Spatial Oddities and Family Ties Sandra Waters List of Contributors Index
£37.00
Nick Hern Books Light Shining in Buckinghamshire
Book SynopsisCaryl Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, set during the English Civil War, tells the story of the men and women who went into battle for the soul of England. Passionate, moving and provocative, it speaks of the revolution we never had and the legacy it left behind. In the aftermath of the Civil War, England stands at a crossroads. Food shortages, economic instability, and a corrupt political system threaten to plunge the country into darkness and despair. The Parliament men who fought against the tyranny of the King now argue for stability and compromise, but the people are hungry for change. For a brief moment, a group of rebels, preachers, soldiers and dissenters dare to imagine an age of hope, a new Jerusalem in which freedom will be restored to the land. Premiered by Joint Stock at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, in September 1976 during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it toured the UK including the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1976. The play was revived at the National Theatre, London, in 1996 and again in 2015, in a production directed by Lyndsey Turner.Trade Review'Epic and astringent... the fevered spirit of the times, its sense of new-found, numinous possibility, is infectiously relayed' * Telegraph *'A fascinating play that presents a pivotal point in English history' * British Theatre Guide *'Dense and passionate... gripping radical theatre' * Financial Times *
£9.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Roaring Girl
Book SynopsisAnother example of a woman of the London underworld, Moll Cutpurse, who is used by the son of a wealthy but disapproving father to advance his courtship to another. This re-edited text is part of a series presenting modern-spelling editions of important English plays.
£12.58
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Arden of Faversham
Book SynopsisDr Tom Lockwood, Lecturer in English at the University of Birmingham.His article The Sheridans at Work' was awarded The Review of English Studies Essay Prize and his book Ben Jonson in the Romantic Age is published by Oxford University Press.
£12.58
Voltaire Foundation Œuvres complètes de Voltaire Complete Works of
Book Synopsis
£137.23
Edinburgh University Press David Lindsays the 3 Estaites
Book SynopsisThe 3 Estaites is - by common consent - Scotland's greatest play. First performed in Cupar, Fife in June 1552, it is the earliest Scottish play to have survived.Trade ReviewAlan Spence has shawn us, aince and foraye, at 'Ane Satyre' is still a leivin, dirlin pley at can speik ti modren Scots i thair awn leid an tak tent o thair pressin concairns juist as it did in the 16t centurie. We awe Spence oor aefauld thenks. The magnum opus of Scottish Renaissance drama! Alan Spence's newly updated script simultaneously illuminates Lindsay's groundbreaking achievement in marrying vernacular language with sophisticated verse forms, while at the same time adding yet more weight to the assertion of Scots' expressive dynamism and eloquence as a language for literary drama. This 21st century retelling of Sir David Lindsay's political satire was snappy, funny and downright irreverent! The use of modern Scots made it accessible to all. A compact, performable, modern version! Not only hilarious in itself but matches stroke for stroke the inherent bawdiness of Lindsay's script! A condensed version that loses nothing. Alan Spence has shawn us, aince and foraye, at 'Ane Satyre' is still a leivin, dirlin pley at can speik ti modren Scots i thair awn leid an tak tent o thair pressin concairns juist as it did in the 16t centurie. We awe Spence oor aefauld thenks. The magnum opus of Scottish Renaissance drama! Alan Spence's newly updated script simultaneously illuminates Lindsay's groundbreaking achievement in marrying vernacular language with sophisticated verse forms, while at the same time adding yet more weight to the assertion of Scots' expressive dynamism and eloquence as a language for literary drama. This 21st century retelling of Sir David Lindsay's political satire was snappy, funny and downright irreverent! The use of modern Scots made it accessible to all. A compact, performable, modern version! Not only hilarious in itself but matches stroke for stroke the inherent bawdiness of Lindsay's script! A condensed version that loses nothing.
£22.79
Edinburgh University Press The Bush Aboon Traquair and the Royal Jubilee
Book SynopsisTwo of James Hogg's pastoral dramas with songs, presented here with full explanatory notes and glossary.Trade ReviewThe excellent edition of The Bush aboon Traquair and The Royal Jubilee, edited by Douglas S. Mack, contains two versions of Hogg's lifely pastoral drama, with songs, as well as his masque, written as part of the welcoming celebrations for George IV's visit to Edinburgh in 1822. -- Deirdre A. Shepherd, University of Edinburgh BARS Bulletin and Review The excellent edition of The Bush aboon Traquair and The Royal Jubilee, edited by Douglas S. Mack, contains two versions of Hogg's lifely pastoral drama, with songs, as well as his masque, written as part of the welcoming celebrations for George IV's visit to Edinburgh in 1822.Table of ContentsIntroduction; The Bush aboon Traquair; Version of the Wellington Fair-Copy Manuscript; Act First; Act Second; Act Third; Version of Blackie's Tales & Sketches; Act First; Act Second; Act Third; The Royal Jubilee; Note on the Texts; Hyphenation List; Editorial Notes; Glossary.
£90.25
Edinburgh University Press Gadda Goes to War
Book SynopsisIntroduces and analyses stage performances of texts by Italian Modernist writer Carlo Emilio Gadda, Italy's own Joyce. Includes the Italian texts (with English translation) and the dvd of the Italian performance (with English subtitles).
£22.79
University of Toronto Press Dramatizing Dido Circe and Griselda Volume 5
Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of the most acclaimed French poets from the turn of the eighteenth century and one of the rare women of the time to achieve recognition at court, Louise-Geneviève Gillot de Sainctonge was France's first female librettist. The current volume provides not only the most in-depth biography of her ever published, but also the first appearance of any of her work in English. It features her two tragic opera libretti, both of which were set to music and staged at the Opéra, a spoken play that constitutes an important precursor of tearful comedy, and a small sampling of her poetry. The three dramatic works give thoughtful portrayals of women of high rank who exemplify traits such as fidelity, integrity and forthrightness, only to find themselves powerless in a misogynist society, where the male heroes turn out to be inglorious." * Perry Gethner, Oklahoma State University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ixIntroductionThe Other Voice 1Context for Women’s Theatrical Writing 2Personal Context of Her WorkFamily 7Career 13Personal Connections 35Self-Representations 44Criticism 50TranslationsSelected PoemsIntroduction 53Poems 54Opera LibrettosOpera in Paris: Introduction 67DidoIntroduction 85Dido, Tragedy 103Jean Baptiste Dubos: Critique of the OperaDido by Demarest 141CirceIntroduction 145Circe, Tragedy 167DramaGriseldaIntroduction 207Griselda, or the Princess of Saluzzo 225Bibliography 270Index 285
£33.13
University of Toronto Press Celinda a Tragedy a Bilingual Edition 8 Other
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Valeria Miani's Celinda (1611), the only female–authored secular tragedy of early modern Italy, is here made available for the first time in a modern edition. Miani's tale of the doomed love of the Lydian princess Celinda for the cross–dressed Persian prince Autilio/Lucinia offers a striking example of the explorative attitude to gender identity that is such a marked characteristic of Italian drama in this period, both within the erudite and the commedia dell'artetradition. Accompanied by Julia Kisacky's sensitive translation, and with a valuable contextualizing introduction by Valeria Finucci, this edition of Celinda makes an important contribution to our understanding of women's place within Italian literary culture in a period increasingly recognized as exceptional for the range and quality of female-authored writing it produced." * Virginia Cox, New York University *Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ixEditor’s IntroductionThe Other Voice 1Biography 7Situating Miani’s Work: A Survey of Early Modern DramaPenned by Women 14The Pastoral Play Amorosa Speranza 21The Tragic Genre 25Celinda: Structure and Themes 30The Fortunes of Valeria Miani 49Note on the Italian Text 51Note on Transcription 52Note on the Translation 53Celinda, A Tragedy: Italian Text with English Translation on Facing Pages 55Endnotes to the Translation 370Editors’ Bibliography 391Index 407
£35.15
McGill-Queen's University Press The Theatricality of Robert Lepage
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Johns Hopkins University Press Plautus
Book SynopsisThe speakable, performable scripts, along with Tatum's introduction, notes, and critical essays summarizing his own experiences in producing them, make this a gold mine for troupes wishing to produce these classics on the contemporary stage as well as for students of classical drama.
£25.17
Johns Hopkins University Press Last Operas and Plays PAJ Books
Book SynopsisThis volume contains a collection of Stein's works. It also includes her essay "Plays", in which she reflects on the experience in the theatre of seeing and hearing, and on emotion and time. She envisioned a new dramaturgy, beginning with the pictorial conception of a play as a landscape.Trade ReviewTo Carl Van Vechten's 1949 selection of some of Stein's most important and most produced plays, this reprint adds the essay Plays, in which Stein elaborates her notion of the play as a landscape and, and a new introduction by Bonnie Marranca. American LiteratureTable of ContentsContents: Yes Is for a Very Young Man * The Mother of Us All * Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights * A Play of Pounds * A Manoir * Short Sentences * Four Saints in Three Acts * Photography * Also includes the essay "Plays"
£30.60
Johns Hopkins University Press Five Comedies from the Italian Renaissance
Book SynopsisAt the turn of the 16th century, Italians rediscovered and reinvented an old art form: the ancient Latin comedy. In this anthology, Giannetti and Ruggiero have translated five of the most representative plays of the period, presenting the modern reader with a view of Italian Renaissance society.Trade ReviewThe translations of these bold and sometimes bawdy Italian imitations of raucous Latin comedy are readable and playable. Bibliotheque d'Humanisme et Renaissance An intelligently prefaced book which makes available in sensible, accurate English-to scholars and students of drama and of the Renaissance, as well as to general readers-a coherent body of theatre which is culturally and intrinsically valuable. -- Ronnie Ferguson Modern Language Review 2006Table of ContentsLa Calandra (The Comedy of Calandro) / by Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena; La mandragola (The Mandrake Root) / by Niccolao Machiavelli; Il Marescalco (The Master of the Horse) / by Pietro Aretino; Gl'ingannati (The Deceived) / by the Academy of the Intronati of Siena; La Veniexiana (The Venetian Comedy) / Anonymous.
£25.20
Johns Hopkins University Press The Flowering of an Idea A Play Presenting the
Book SynopsisChesney used Helen Thom's definitive biography, Johns Hopkins: A Silhouette, as a source and wrote the play to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
£20.42
Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press Visit A Tragicomedy
Book Synopsis
£11.39
Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press Physicists A Comedy in Two Acts
Book Synopsis
£11.39
Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press Waiting for GodotEn Attendant Godot A Bilingual
Book Synopsis
£11.99
University of Nebraska Press Tis Pity Shes a Whore
Book SynopsisFocuses on the context of incestuous love between brother and sister.Trade Review"The central situation of 'Tis Pity She's a Whore is an incestuous love between brother and sister, and it is hardly surprising that critics have differed widely in their interpretation of the exact meaning and significance of the play. . . . All the love affairs in the play end in disaster . . . it would even be possible to read the play as a series of warnings against the destructive effects of passion."—N. W. Bawcutt
£22.79
Stanford University Press The Declared Enemy
Book SynopsisThis posthumous work brings together articles, interviews, statements, prefaces, manifestos, and speeches dating from 1964 to 1985 (just before Genet''s death in 1986). These texts bear witness to the many political causes and groups with which Genet felt an affinity, including May '68 and the treatment of immigrants in France, but especially the Black Panthers and the Palestinians. We follow him from the Chicago Democratic Convention (where he met William Burroughs and Alan Ginsberg) to Yale University, where he gave the famous May Day Speech in support of the Black Panthers, to Jordan and the Palestinian camps. Along the way, Genet finds allies (George Jackson, Angela Davis, Leyla Shahid, Tahar Ben Jelloun). And, of course, enemies.Between passionate enmity and passionate affinity, Genet speaks for a politics of protest, with an uncompromising outrage that, today, might seem on the verge of being forgotten.The texts are accompanied by detailed editorial notes.
£26.99
Stanford University Press The Labor of Life
Book SynopsisIsraeli playwright and director Hanoch Levin was one of the most original and innovative writers of his generation. Although Levin is familiar within the Israeli cultural contextand despite the steadily growing stream of literary and theatrical research of his oeuvrethere are few resources on his work available outside of Israel. The present volume, containing a selection of ten of his plays, is the first comprehensive effort to present this unique playwright and director to a broad readership.Levin''s artistic credo was based on a constant urge to criticize Israeli society and its mainstream ideology while simultaneously confronting the basic human and existential issues of life and death. A whole generation of Israeli theater audiences has grown up on Levin''s performances with all their paradoxical complexities. At this point, just a few years after his death from cancer in 1999 at the age of 56, it may not be possible to evaluate the full impact of his work. But thTable of Contents@fmct:Contents @toc2:Introduction 000 @tocca:Freddie Rokem @toc2:1. The Rubber Baron (A Tale of 30,000 Condoms): A Play with Songs 000 2. The Torments of Job 000 3. The Labor of Life 000 4. The Child Dreams: A Play in Four Parts 000 5. The Whore from Ohio 000 6. Murder: A Play in Three Acts and an Epilogue 000 7. Requiem (Based on Three Stories by Chekhov) 000 8. The Crybabies 000 Further Reading 000 Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Levin, Hanoch Translations into English
£26.99
Stanford University Press Five Plays
Book SynopsisA fresh, lively, accurate, and, for the first time, complete translation in English of Chekhov's five most famous plays.Trade Review"Brodskaya's translation reads easily and naturally... If you haven't read [Chekhov], read him. If you have, it's always a good time to read him again."—Bob Blaisdell, San Francisco Chronicle"Tender, lucent translation that makes Chekhov's characters leap off the page."—Larry Moss, Acting Teacher and Director"Chekhov's desperate, comedic greatness comes through in these versions as never before—and precisely those two qualities are required, for Chekhov is neither infernal tragedy nor trivial farce but a special sort of purgatorial comedy. I sensed this aura for the first time in Brodskaya's translations, and shivered while laughing. This is a contemporary American-English variant of world-famous plays cast at perfect pitch, by a person who sees (as well as hears) words."—Caryl Emerson, Princeton University"[A]nyone who has taught Chekhov's plays or produced them theatrically, certainly anyone with a knowledge of the original texts, must have been frustrated by the marked defects of previous translations. Brodskaya's translation allows us to discover Chekhovian precision and the impact of his strategic word-choices, together with the light these shine on the fabric of modern drama and communication. It is deeply attuned to the spirit of Chekhov's language and his compassionate observation of humans caught in the net of their own habits and blind spots, striving to stop, cause, or foresee the huge change that has already engulfed them."—Monika Greenleaf, from her Notes on the Translation"With Chekhov, there are infinite possibilities in every thought, every interaction. All an actor asks for in a translation is that these possibilities be left open as they are so beautifully here."—Peter Sarsgaard, actor"In these superlative translations, Marina Brodskaya succeeds in letting Chekhov speak for himself. Her sensitivity to Chekhov's concise and delicate language allows the beauty of his writing to shine through in a way which is wonderfully redolent of the original Russian."—Rosamund Bartlett, author of Chekhov: Scenes From a Life, translator of About Love and Other Stories, and Founding Director of the Anton Chekhov Foundation
£15.19
New Directions Publishing Corporation Prince Friedrich of Homburg
Book SynopsisPrince Friedrich of Homburg is the indisputable dramatic masterpiece of Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811), a leading figure, along with Goethe and Schiller, among early German Romantics.
£10.41
New Directions Publishing Corporation Fugitive Kind
Book SynopsisSocial outcasts, misfit survivors, dangerous passionsTennessee Williams fleshed out the characters and themes that would dominate his later work inFugitive Kind, one of his earliest plays.
£10.99
University of Pennsylvania Press Ellen Terry Player in Her Time
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Auerbach writes beautifully. . . . In this biography of Ellen Terry, she evokes the story of every woman's life, in all its accepted roles. . . . England's most famous actress is here re-created, herself creating the life of woman. A glorious book." * Carolyn G. Heilbrun *"One of the finest examples I know of theatre biography as cultural history. . . . Auerbach's force of feeling . . . [makes us] understand Terry's career as the bowdlerized body of woman's expressive genius in the Victorian age. . . . A life-and-times classic that will become a model for other feminist work." * Jane Marcus, Women's Review of Books *
£27.90
University of Pennsylvania Press Euripides 2
Book SynopsisIncludes translations of "Hippolytus", "Suppliant Women", "Helen", "Electra", and "Cyclops".Trade Review"A boon for classicists and general readers alike. For the reader who comes to tragedy for the first time, these translations are eminently 'accessible.'. . . For the classicist, these versions constitute an ambitious reinterpretation of traditional masterpieces." * Boston Book Review *"Directness, vivid imagery, and rhetorical music prevail in different cadences." * San Francisco Chronicle *"Don't look for the wild and woolly-these were put together by wordsmiths. . . . But they are a far cry from some of the stodgier translations." * Washington Post *"The 12-volume set will offer readers new verse translations of the complete surviving tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, as well as the surviving comedies of Aristophanes and Menander. The complete line of Greek theater classics has not been offered to readers since 1938." * Publishers Weekly *Table of ContentsIntroduction by Palmer Bovie Hippolytus —Translated by Richard Moore Suppliant Women —Translated by John Frederick Nims Helen —Translated by Rachel Hadas Electra —Translated by Elizabeth Seydel Morgan Cyclops —Translated by Palmer Bovie Pronouncing Glossary of Names About the Translators
£27.90
University of Pennsylvania Press Immaculate Deception and Further Ribaldries Yet
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Scurrilous, sexy, stupid, satirical, scatological, side-splitting, and probably something else beginning with 's,' Jody Enders's translation of twelve French farces is a real discovery that goes a long way to readjusting our perception of the Middle Ages. Enders is a great champion of comedy at its most vulgar and hilarious. She points out that however silly or banal these farces may appear to us, they nonetheless confront the real controversies of their day over the law, politics, religion, social order, or the battle of the sexes. Thoroughly grounded in her academic approach to the subject, Enders nevertheless writes with liveliness and humor and wit. She is unafraid to reference modern comedy in her translations and insists on the primacy of performance in assessing these comedies from half a millennium ago." * Terry Jones, on Enders's Farce of the Fart *
£42.50
University of Pennsylvania Press Cultures of Witnessing
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Emma Lipton demonstrates that the legal theory of witnessing serves as both an agent of civic community and as a model of the drama itself. This is a highly original argument, and the critical payoff is large. It says something vital about the shape and form of these plays and their ways of testing out through witnessing the inherited biblical, festive, and liturgical narratives." * Sarah Beckwith, Duke University *
£48.60
University of Pennsylvania Press Immaculate Deception and Further Ribaldries Yet
Book SynopsisTrade Review"Scurrilous, sexy, stupid, satirical, scatological, side-splitting, and probably something else beginning with 's,' Jody Enders's translation of twelve French farces is a real discovery that goes a long way to readjusting our perception of the Middle Ages. Enders is a great champion of comedy at its most vulgar and hilarious. She points out that however silly or banal these farces may appear to us, they nonetheless confront the real controversies of their day over the law, politics, religion, social order, or the battle of the sexes. Thoroughly grounded in her academic approach to the subject, Enders nevertheless writes with liveliness and humor and wit. She is unafraid to reference modern comedy in her translations and insists on the primacy of performance in assessing these comedies from half a millennium ago." * Terry Jones, on Enders's Farce of the Fart *
£70.55
University of Minnesota Press In One Act
Book Synopsis“Since her earliest plays. . . [Adrienne Kennedy] has been creating frightful and seductive theatrical images of her memories and fantasies. Her black, female protagonists enact Kennedy’s nightmares, then make them ours, enveloping the audience in their relentless anger, madness, and fear . . . time and place shift constantly, plot lines are parceled out in bits, and a contextual frame comes clear gradually, like a reflection is stilling waters.”-Alisa SolomonVillage Voice
£11.39
University of Minnesota Press New Downtown Now
Book SynopsisBrings together ten works that show the excitement and possibilities of the theater. Characterized by fragmenting structure, hypnotic rhythms, kaleidoscopic imagery, unpredictable characters, and lyrical language, these plays resemble puzzles from which the writers are teasing revelations.Trade Review"These are made-up worlds, but made up out of the junk of the real. Many of these plays betray the American delight in the tinkerer's habit and the outsider's pleasure in the beauty of random arrangement, the accidental, and the discarded. What makes them so powerful is their obsession with truth of perception and precision of expression." - Mac Wellman, from the Preface"
£17.99
University of Minnesota Press The Face of America
Book SynopsisA collection of plays for young people, reflecting the ethnic diversity of the American landscapeTrade Review"I am so pleased that there is a new anthology of plays for young people, and even more so since it contains the work of four compelling female playwrights. These four plays, with their varying plots and many great characters, are shows that young people should see. They are also shows that young people can perform in. Particularly by choosing pieces that explore the world of young people in the United States today, The Face of America speaks to their real stories and real lives." —Linda Hartzell, artistic director, Seattle Children’s TheatreTable of ContentsContentsPrefacePeter BrosiusIntroductionElissa AdamsAverage FamilyLarissa FasthorseBrooklyn BridgeMelissa James GibsonEsperanza RisingLynne AlvarezSnapshot SilhouetteKia CorthronContributors
£13.29
University of Minnesota Press Igniting Wonder Plays for Preschoolers
Book Synopsis Young children love to explore their world through drama—characters, dialogue, story arcs, and props are all standard elements of a child’s play. It is no surprise then that professional theatre has long been regarded as a way to support children’s social-emotional, cognitive, and creative development. Increasingly, there is an international interest in theatre for very young audiences, and the Wall Street Journal reported on a “baby boom” in American theatre, with a marked upswing in the number of stage plays being written and produced for toddlers and preschoolers. Fueled by ongoing research into developmental psychology and theatre arts, the Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) of Minneapolis presents in this book four of its newly commissioned plays for preschoolers. CTC is widely recognized as the leading theatre for young people and families in North America; it received the 2003 Tony award for regional theatre, and Time magTrade Review Congratulations to the Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis on this book of wonderful plays for preschoolers. We applaud the CTC for their continual commitment to the arts, for inspiring young children, and for encouraging new adventures in theater for the entire family.—Peter van Roden, Vice President Themed Entertainment, Sesame Workshop Table of ContentsContents PrefaceAmy Susman-Stillman IntroductionPeter Brosius Bert and Ernie, Goodnight!Barry Kornhauser The Biggest Little House in the ForestRosanna Staffa The Cat’s JourneyFabrizio Montecchi Mercy Watson to the Rescue!Victoria Stewart Contributors
£12.34
Ohio University Press The Complete Works of Robert Browning Volume V
Book SynopsisIn seventeen volumes, copublished with Baylor University, this acclaimed series features annotated texts of all of Robert Browning’s known writing. The series encompasses autobiography as well as influences bearing on Browning’s life and career and aspects of Victorian thought and culture.Volume
£59.50
Duke University Press Toussaint Louverture
Book SynopsisA new critical edition of Toussaint Louverture, the play written by the Trinidadian intellectual and activist C. L. R. James in 1934, performed at London's Westminster Theatre in 1936, and then presumed lost until its rediscovery in 2005.Trade Review“[T]horoughly researched and intelligently prepared. . . .Toussaint Louverture is easily one of the two or three most important publications of C.L.R. James’s work in decades – and the best-edited, by a very large margin.” -- Scott McLemee * Inside Higher Ed *“This present volume . . . contains the play itself among an array of fascinating accompanying texts. These include an enlightening introduction by Høgsbjerg, a series of notices and reviews of the performances, which featured the most renowned black actor of his generation, Paul Robeson, as the Haitian revolutionary leader, plus other writings by James, Robeson and George Padmore, which pitch the play within its vital contemporary context: all in all, a profoundly engaging, original and epochal document.” -- Chris Searle * Race & Class *(Starred Review) “This script is from a bygone age; its value lies not only in its importance as a document of theater history but also as a crucial addition to the canon of works about the Caribbean. This work would be difficult to stage these days (it boasts an especially large cast), but it should not be ignored by groups that can marshal the resources. Historians of the Caribbean will find it essential.” -- Larry Schwartz * Library Journal *“Highly recommended.” -- A.J. Guillaume Jr * Choice *“Why should we pay attention to this long-lost and largely forgotten play? We should do so because it is among the first efforts of one of history’s great anti-colonial voices, wrestling with the distinctive aesthetic quandaries of form and performance, to show that freedom from imperialism is just a phrase if it does not entail direct democracy and universal rights. James was nothing if not ambitious.” -- Robert Spencer * Journal of Postcolonial Writing *“We all owe much to the expert salvage operation Christian Høgsbjerg has performed here. As long as the world wilts with oppression, is awash with crisis, and punctuated by resistance this play, its subject matter, and now this book, will have to be read, watched and pondered on over and over again.” -- Gaverne Bennett * London Socialist Historians Group *"More than any other contemporary writer on James, Christian Høgsbjerg appreciates how provisional and incomplete our understanding of this intellectual agenda has actually been. . . . The publication of James’s foray into theatrical prose is not only a delightful literary event in its own right but provides a welcome opportunity to revisit the historical and intellectual context in which James produced his landmark work of comparative historical analysis, The Black Jacobins: Toussaint Louverture and the San Domingo Revolution (1938). " -- Kent Worcester * New Politics *“[T]he many people interested in James, and the many admirers in particular of his The Black Jacobins, will welcome this first publication of his 1934 play. It includes Christian Hogsbjerg’s well researched introduction and annotations, and several other pieces related to the play which form the appendix to this volume.” -- Bridget Brereton * Trinidad Express *"It would be hard to overstate the importance of Christian Høgsbjerg’s new critical edition of C.L.R. James’s Toussaint Louverture.... Publication of Toussaint Louverture is such a resource for all readers. There could be no better work with which to launch the important new C.L.R. James Archives Series, edited by Robert A. Hill for Duke University Press." -- Rachel Douglas * Anthurium *Table of ContentsForeword / Laurent Dubois vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction / Christian Høgsbjerg 1 Editorial Note / Christian Høgsbjerg 41 Author's Note (1936) / C. L. R. James 45 Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History The Complete Playscript (1934) 47 Act II, Scene I, of Toussaint Louverture (1936) 135 The Production and Performance of Toussaint Louverture Notices 155 The Programme (1936) 160 Reviews 164 Appendix "The Intelligence of the Negro" / C. L. R. James 189 "A Century of Freedom" / C. L. R. James 199 "Slavery Today: A Shocking Exposure" / C. L. R. James 206 "I Want Negro Culture" / Paul Robeson 212 "'Civilising' the 'Blacks': Why Britain Needs to Maintain Her African Possessions" / C. L. R. James 214 Letter from George Padmore to Dr. Alain Locke 217 ["The Maverick Club"] / C. L. R. James 218 "A Unique Personality" / C. L. R. James 219 "Paul Robeson" / C. L. R. James 221
£72.25
Jewish Publication Society Cain v. Abel
Book SynopsisCome, take your seat as a juror on the Cain v. Abel trial. The prosecution and defense attorneys-angels from Jewish legend-will soon call Cain, Abel, Sin, Adam, Eve, great commentators of Jewish tradition, and God to the witness stand to unpack the emotional, societal, and spiritual influences underlying the world's first murder.Trade Review"This is an engaging book that readers will enjoy as they are introduced to patterns of Jewish biblical interpretation. . . . [The] discussion guide [is] helpful for group Bible study."—Leslie J. Hoppe, Bible Today"Rabbi Dan Ornstein searches within the barebones biblical text for something that could bring us closer to understanding Cain’s motives and character, and the result is this book, a strikingly conceived courtroom drama. . . . Rich, compelling. . . . A literary tour de force."—Merrill Leffler, Jewish Book Council"The alternating courtroom transcripts and commentary by Rabbi Ornstein is an engaging way to learn about the story and its paradoxes that have been vigorously debated for millennia."—Ira S. Slavit, Nassau Lawyer"This is a book that would bring a fresh approach to Torah study groups. It would also make for a fun introduction to the study of sacred text to Hebrew School and Confirmation classes. For those who work with Jewish conversion students, this would also make for an interesting way to introduce Torah study."—heidislowinski.com“What a compelling piece of legitimate courtroom theater! I know the biblical story inside out. If challenged, I could possibly recite it by heart. And yet, as I read Cain v. Abel, it felt almost as though I hadn’t ever encountered it before—that’s how clever and interesting this way of reading the text struck me.”—Rabbi Martin S. Cohen, Shelter Rock Jewish Center, Roslyn, New York“How do you make an ancient story come to life? By making the human drama live. Bringing us the testimony and perspective of every participant, Rabbi Dan Ornstein offers us a riveting read and a chance to expand our own humanity at the same time.”—Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, American Jewish University“Cain v. Abel masterfully leads us to contemplate the essential question by which we live: ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’”—Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies, Jewish Theological Seminary“An engaging, provocative study of the first murder in the Torah, Cain v. Abel will have readers, like its characters, debating the human condition and how to assess human agency and responsibility.”—Marilyn Francus, professor of English, West Virginia UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Reintroducing One of the World’s Oldest Crime Stories 1. Reading Cain and Abel The “Crime Report”: Genesis 4:1–16 2. Balancing Justice and Mercy An Admonition to the Jury Justice and Mercy 3. Introducing Our Expert Witnesses The Talmudic Masters The Medieval Bible Scholars 4. Competent to Stand Trial? Faith, Fate, and Forensics A Forensic Moral Health Assessment for the Heavenly and Earthly Courts 5. Interrogating the Interrogator A Deposition of God Commentary on God’s Deposition 6. Day One of the Trial Opening Arguments of the Prosecution and Defense First Witness of the Day: Cain Commentary on Cain’s Testimony I: Courtroom Poetry Commentary on Cain’s Testimony II: Looking at Cain Commentary on Cain’s Testimony III: What Is in a Name? Second Witness of the Day: Rabbi Yonatan ben Uzziel Commentary on Rabbi ben Uzziel’s Testimony Third Witness of the Day: Rashi Commentary on Rashi’s Testimony Fourth Witnesses of the Day: Rabbi Stama, Rabbi Joshua, and Rabbi Judah Second Witness Rabbi Yonatan ben Uzziel Returns to the Stand Commentary on the Testimonies of Rabbis Stama, Joshua, Judah, and ben Uzziel Fifth Witness of the Day: Rabbi Tanḥuma Commentary on Rabbi Tanḥuma’s Testimony and Cain’s Response to God Final Witness of the Day: Rabbi Eliezer Finkelman Commentary on Rabbi Finkelman’s Testimony Commentary: Wrapping Up Day One of the Trial 7. Day Two of the Trial First (and Only) Witness of the Day: Sin Commentary on Sin’s Testimony 8. Day Three of the Trial First Witness of the Day: Eve Commentary on Eve’s Testimony Second Witness of the Day: Adam Commentary on Adam’s Testimony 9. Day Four of the Trial A Statement by the Blood of Adam Abelson (Recording) 10. Day Four Continues The Tables Turned as God Is Put on Trial Commentary on God’s Testimony I: What Did Cain Really Ask God? Commentary on God’s Testimony II: Preparing for Cain’s Sentence Sentencing of Cain 11. Beyond Cain Commentary on Cain in Exile: Cain Rebuilds Epilogue: Two Dreams Notes Bibliography Discussion and Activity Guide
£18.04
Liverpool University Press Aristophanes Wasps
Book SynopsisFirst produced in 422 BC, Wasps is at once a political satire and also, like Clouds and the lost Banqueters, a comedy on the theme of the conflict of generations. First published in 1983, this edition contains addenda and a new bibliography. Greek text with facing English translation, commentary and notes.Trade Review‘For an overall series of the entire corpus, including critical text, commentary, translation, and full introduction, all subsumed to one man’s intelligent analysis and wide-ranging scholarship, Sommerstein stands triumphantly alone. […] Aristophanes is lucky to have so devoted, erudite, and witty a modern celebrant.’ ScholiaTable of ContentsPREFACE REFERENCES AND ABBREVIATIONS WASPS Introductory Note Note on the Text Sigla Addenda including Bibliography Text and Translation Notes
£34.88
