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Beginning in Roman Britain and ending with Charles II's restoration to the throne, the nineteen essays that comprise this volume are written by leading British and American scholars.
The modern era in the theatre is remarkable for the extraordinary role and influence of theoretical practitioners, whose writings have shaped our sense of the possibilities and objectives of performance. This study offers a critical exploration of the theoretical writings of key modern practitioners from Stanlislavski to Boal. Designed to be read alongside primary source material, each chapter offers not only a summary and exposition of these theories, but a critical commentary on their composition as discourses. Close scrutiny of the cultural context and figurative language of these important, and sometimes difficult, texts yields fresh insight into the ideas of these practitioners.
Modern British Playwriting: The 1980s equips readers with a fresh assessment of the theatre and principle playwrights and plays from a decade when political and economic forces were changing society dramatically. It offers a broad survey of the context and of the playwrights and companies such as Complicité and DV8 that rose to prominence at this time. Alongside this it provides a detailed examination based on fresh research of four of the most significant playwrights of the era and considers the influence they had on later work. The 1980s volume features a detailed study by four scholars of the work of four of the major playwrights who came to prominence: Howard Barker (by Sarah Goldingay)...
The Basset Table follows the fortunes of Lady Reveller, who runs a table where her friends play the card game basset, and her struggle to avoid marrying Lord Worthy. Meanwhile, Lady Reveller’s cousin, Valeria, spends her time conducting scientific experiments and dissections, but her father intends to marry her off to the bluff sea-captain Hearty. How can Lady Reveller be persuaded to forego the delights of gambling? And how can Valeria avoid an unwanted marriage? This witty play paints a seductive picture of the thrills of the Restoration gaming table and challenges contemporary stereotypes of the learned lady. Appendices to this Broadview Edition include materials on female education, gambling, and writing for the stage, as well as eighteenth- and nineteenth-century critical writing on Centlivre and The Basset Table.
Volume Two begins in 1660 with the restoration of King Charles II to the throne and the reestablishment of the professional theater. It follows the far-reaching development of the form over more than two centuries to 1895.
This book is the first major study of amateur theatre, offering new perspectives on its place in the cultural and social life of communities. Historically informed, it traces how amateur theatre has impacted national repertoires, contributed to diverse creative economies, and responded to changing patterns of labour. Based on extensive archival and ethnographic research, it traces the importance of amateur theatre to crafting places and the ways in which it sustains the creativity of amateur theatre over a lifetime. It asks: how does amateur theatre-making contribute to the twenty-first century amateur turn?
What is the history of devised theatre? Why have theatre-makers, since the 1950s, chosen to devise performances? What different sorts of devising practices are there? What are the myths attached to devising, and what are the realities? First published in 2005, Devising Performance remains the only book to offer the reader a history of devising practice. Charting the development of collaboratively created performances from the 1950s to the early 21st century, it presents a range of case studies drawn from Britain, America and Australia. Companies discussed include The Living Theatre, Open Theatre, Australian Performing Group, People Show, Teatro Campesino, Théâtre de Complicité, Legs on the Wall, Forced Entertainment, Goat Island and Graeae. Providing a history of devising practice, Deirdre Heddon and Jane Milling encourage us to look more carefully at the different modes of devising and to consider the implications of our use of these practices in the 21st century.
The extraordinary performers collected here have altered the history of popular entertainment in America and Europe. Some have rarely had their story told, others are familiar figures. The essays explore what made these performers extraordinary.
Volume Two of The Cambridge History of British Theatre begins in 1660 with the restoration of King Charles II to the throne and the reestablishment of the professional theatre, interdicted since 1642, and follows the far-reaching development of the form over two centuries and more to 1895. Descriptions of the theatres, actors and actresses, acting companies, dramatists and dramatic genres over the period are augmented by accounts of the audiences, politics and morality, scenography, provincial theatre, theatrical legislation, the long-drawn-out competition of major and minor theatres, and the ultimate revocation of the theatrical monopoly of Drury Lane and Covent Garden, initiating a new era. Chapters on two representative years, 1776 and 1895, are complemented by chapters on two phenomenal productions, The Beggar's Opera and The Bells, as well as by studies of popular theatre, including music hall, sexuality on the Victorian stage and other social and cultural contexts.
This volume equips readers with a fresh assessment of the theatre and principle playwrights and plays from a decade when political and economic forces were changing society dramatically. It offers a broad survey of the context and of the playwrights and companies such as Complicite and DV8 that rose to prominence at this time.