Pirandello:Six Characters in Search of an Author

'Jennifer Lorch's splendid book, which recounts both Pirandello's own rewriting and the readings of the play made by directors in succeeding decades, is boldly dynamic in scope and intention, and constitutes not merely a history of productions but a pursuit, a recherche, into the very process of creation. … Lorch is superb on the inner history of rewriting and on the outer story of Italian and international productions. … Jennifer Lorch's researches have been exhaustive. … It is written in a sprightly style which allows her to carry her learning lightly, but it rests on extensive research and on delicately balanced judgements. This is a considerable achievement, and an enhancement of our knowledge of Pirandello.' Pirandello Studies

• Introduction; 1. The Play; 2. The first production (1921); 3. Two early productions in London and New York (1922); 4. Pitoëff's production in Paris (1923); 5. Reinhardt's production in Berlin (1924); 6. Pirandello's production of the 1925 text (1925); 7. Six Characters on the Italian stage (1936–93); 8. Two English productions (1929 and 1963); 9. Becoming part of national theatre in France and England; 10. Making Six Characters accessible: Robert Brustein and Richard Jones; 11. Pushing at the frontiers of theatre: Grüber and Vasiliev; 12. A brief look at Six Characters in other media; Conclusion; Select production chronology; Bibliography; Index.