Search results for ""Author Naomi Paxton""

Stage rights! explores the work and legacy of the first feminist political theatre group of the twentieth century, the Actresses' Franchise League. Formed in 1908 to support the suffrage movement through theatre, the League and its membership opened up new roles for women on stage and off, challenged stereotypes of suffragists and actresses, created new work inspired by the movement and was an integral part of the performative propaganda of the campaign. Introducing new archival material to both suffrage and theatre histories, this book is the first to focus in detail on the Actresses' Franchise League, its membership and its work. The volume is formulated as a historiographically innovative critical biography of the organisation over the fifty years of its activities, and invites a total reassessment of the League within the accepted narratives of the development of political theatre in the UK.

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Since 1660 when actresses first began performing on the English stage, women have forged bright careers in theatre, while men called the shots. Four hundred years of women playwrights, from Aphra Behn to Caryl Churchill, yet plays by women make up less than a quarter of staged productions in the UK, leading to a scarcity of roles for women. With women buying most of the tickets, theatre productions risk losing their relevance to modern culture if they fail to represent the many and varied lives of women. With an overview of post-war theatre and 25 exclusive interviews with leading women theatre-makers, this book inspires us to create a truly equal and inclusive theatre today. Including interviews with: Nina Lee Aquino Sudha Buchar Moira Buffini Paule Constable Denise Gough Jill Greenhalgh Vicky Ireland Jude Kelly Bryony Lavery Rachel Maza Kumiko Mendl Katie Mitchell Marsha Norman Lynn Nottage Kate O'Donnell Winsome Pinnock Emma Rice Daryl Roth Jenny Sealey Saviana Stanescu Michelle Terry Kate Waters and more...

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Explores modernism's complex relationship with contemporary theatre Includes consideration of canonical as well as lesser-known theatre artists Offers an expansive range of case studies, featuring examples of theatre from around the world Connects modernist studies with theatre and performance studies Methodologically varied, including historiography, performance analysis, textual analysis, and practice as research Includes essays by leading theatre scholars, modernist specialists, and theatre practitioners, providing an eclectic mix of essay formats and approaches, including creative contributions This volume highlights modernism as an impulse that can be carried forward to the present, re-embodied and re-encountered in theatrical performance. It demonstrates how modernist impulses spark contemporary theatre in dynamic ways, continuing the modernist imperative to 'make it new' and to engage meaningfully with the complicated situation of living in the contemporary world. A diverse set of contributions from scholars and theatre practitioners examines the legacy of modernism on the world stage in acts of remembrance, restaging, transmission and slippage. It investigates both well-known and less familiar aspects of modernist theatre history, engaging topics such as the revival of the first Black American musical, feminist and disability-led reinterpretations of canonical modernist plays, the use of modernist-inspired performance practice in contemporary university arts education and the continually contested meaning and importance of the avant-garde.

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