David Bradby - Böcker

The first collection of plays by one of France's most prominent playwrights Overboard: "Combines Shakespearian tragedy, Aristophanic farce and a Chekhovian drama of lives consumed and memories that fade." Le Progres, Situation Vacant: "The play builds to a climax which powerfully captures a mind under siege, bombarded by a cacophony of voices and tormented by guilt." (Independent); Dissident, Goes Without Saying and Nina, That's Something Else: "These two plays bring to a summit the art of suggestions...Two fables in which prosaic everyday life is captured, at times fraught with pathos, often compassionate." (L'Humanite ); A Smile on the End of the Line: "A six-part invention which interweaves half a dozen plot lines to bring life and speed into the manufacturing sector." (Daily Telegraph)

The second collection of plays by one of France's most prominent playwrights High Places: "A drama which, from second to second, maintains the spectator in suspense, and which, by the same stroke, achieves the dimension of pure, great metaphysical theatre." (Le Monde); The Neighbours " bizarre contemporary vaudeville, biting, disturbing, very subtle and wildly funny" (Le Figaro); Portrait of a Woman: "An intriguing challenging piece." (Financial Times); The Television Programme: "The piece is beautifully plotted and written from the heart." (Independent on Sunday)The translators are Gideon Y. Schein (High Places); Paul Antal (The Neighbours); Donald Watson (Portrait of a Woman); David and Hannah Bradby (The Television Programme)

‘This volume is a gem. Written by two experts in modern French theater, whose stated objective is to render the complexity of Genet's work exhilarating rather than intimidating, the book bears witness to the continued political relevance and artistic power of one of the most controversial and influential authors of the 20th century.’ – CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2012Jean Genet’s significance within twentieth-century theatre has long been understated. This timely book, the only introductory text in English to Genet’s plays in production, presents an overview of an influential and controversial writer whose work prefigured many recent postmodern and post-colonial developments in theatre and performance studies.The volume offers philosophical, historical, political and aesthetic readings of Genet’s plays in order to render the complexity of his theatre exhilarating, rather than intimidating. It goes on to explore ways in which different directors, designers and actors have approached his writing. A spectrum of productions spanning 60 years, from 1947 to 2007, illustrates the sheer range of theatrical styles that Genet’s texts inspire.Reflecting on his early life and later political activism as well as the key plays, David Bradby and Clare Finburgh provide a comprehensive discussion of a playwright and theorist whose work caused riots in France, and whose writing represents a unique synthesis of life and art.

‘This volume is a gem. Written by two experts in modern French theater, whose stated objective is to render the complexity of Genet's work exhilarating rather than intimidating, the book bears witness to the continued political relevance and artistic power of one of the most controversial and influential authors of the 20th century.’ – CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for 2012Jean Genet’s significance within twentieth-century theatre has long been understated. This timely book, the only introductory text in English to Genet’s plays in production, presents an overview of an influential and controversial writer whose work prefigured many recent postmodern and post-colonial developments in theatre and performance studies.The volume offers philosophical, historical, political and aesthetic readings of Genet’s plays in order to render the complexity of his theatre exhilarating, rather than intimidating. It goes on to explore ways in which different directors, designers and actors have approached his writing. A spectrum of productions spanning 60 years, from 1947 to 2007, illustrates the sheer range of theatrical styles that Genet’s texts inspire.Reflecting on his early life and later political activism as well as the key plays, David Bradby and Clare Finburgh provide a comprehensive discussion of a playwright and theorist whose work caused riots in France, and whose writing represents a unique synthesis of life and art.

This book examines one of the most influential modern theatre companies, 7:84 (Scotland), under the directorship of John McGrath. 7:84 (Scotland) has been a vital contributor to the place and importance of alternative theatre on the modern British stage. DiCenzo explores the development of this company, the growth of popular theatre in general within the last twenty years and offers a methodology for analysing records and materials found in theatre company archives and illustrates the many issues inherent in running a theatre company, including venues, practitioners and the politics of funding. The book includes valuable primary source material and informative production photographs and company posters.

This volume provides a theoretical framework for some of the most important play-writing in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century. Examining representative plays by Arnold Wesker, John Arden, Trevor Griffith, Howard Barker, Howard Brenton, Edward Bond, David Hare, John McGrath and Caryl Churchill, the author analyses their respective strategies for persuading audiences of the need for a radical restructuring of society. The book begins with a discussion of the way that theatre has been used to convey a political message. Each chapter is then devoted to an exploration of the engagement of individual playwrights with left-wing political theatre, including a detailed analysis of one of their major plays. Despite political change since the 1980s, political play-writing continues to be a significant element in contemporary play-writing, but in a very changed form.

This volume provides a theoretical framework for some of the most important play-writing in Britain in the second half of the twentieth century. Examining representative plays by Arnold Wesker, John Arden, Trevor Griffith, Howard Barker, Howard Brenton, Edward Bond, David Hare, John McGrath and Caryl Churchill, the author analyses their respective strategies for persuading audiences of the need for a radical restructuring of society. The book begins with a discussion of the way that theatre has been used to convey a political message. Each chapter is then devoted to an exploration of the engagement of individual playwrights with left-wing political theatre, including a detailed analysis of one of their major plays. Despite political change since the 1980s, political play-writing continues to be a significant element in contemporary play-writing, but in a very changed form.

Since the beginning of the nineteenth-century, many forms of theatre have been called 'popular', but in the twentieth-century the term 'popular drama' has taken on definite political overtones, often indicating a repudiation of 'commercial theatre'. Does this mean that political theatre is or tries to be more attractive to more people than commercial theatre? Does it conversely mean that commercial theatre has no political effects? The articles in this book were submitted as papers for a conference on the theme of 'popular' theatre, film and television. Contributions came from people with very different types of experience: from an ex-animal trainer to a lecturer in film studies; from playwrights, directors and actors to professional critics and academics. Each author focused on a particular problem of defining drama in performance, drawing together the conditions of performance, the types of audience and the political effects of the plays or films in question. The result was a series of fruitful connections and juxtapositions that shows the remarkable continuity of the problems raised in attempts to create a popular political drama.

This is an updated account and comparison of all the major traditions and tendencies in the French theatre from the outbreak of the Second World War to the opening of the 1990s. In the fifty-year period covered by this book, French theatre has undergone profound changes, at both the institutional and artistic level. In this book David Bradby assesses these developments in styles of writing, criticism, acting, directing and stage design. Bradby does not confine his account to events in Paris but also considers the work of the Centres Dramatiques and Maisons de la Culture. While giving due attention to the work of well-known playwrights such as Beckett, Ionesco, Adamov and Genet among others, Bradby also shows that the period has been a rich one for experimentation in French theatre. The book also contains an introductory survey of the French theatre of the inter-war years and concludes with a bibliography and an historical table of productions. It is illustrated with black and white photographs and is intended for students of drama as well as French literature; the political and cultural background is explained and all quotations are in English.

The Royal Court Theatre is one of the primary forums in the development of post-war drama. Under the title of the English Stage Company the theatre's house actors and dramatists commissioned and produced some of the most influential plays in modern theatre history, including the works of Brenton, Churchill, Bond and Osborne. The story of the Royal Court is also the history of the contemporary stage. In this absorbing account of the theatre's history from 1956 to 1998, Philip Roberts draws on previously unpublished archives in both public and private collections and a series of interviews with people prominent in the Court's life. The book also includes a Foreword by the former Director of the Royal Court, Max Stafford-Clark. The result is an intimate account of the working of the foremost house of modern drama and its relationships to the world of the theatre in Britain and abroad.

A detailed introduction to Molière and his plays, this Companion evokes his own theatrical career, his theatres, patrons, the performers and theatre staff with whom he worked, and the various publics he and his troupes entertained with such success. It looks at his particular brands of comedy and satire. L'École des femmes, Le Tartuffe, Dom Juan, Le Misanthrope, L'Avare and Les Femmes savantes are examined from a variety of different viewpoints, and through the eyes of different ages and cultures. The comedies-ballets, a genre invented by Molière and his collaborators, are re-instated to the central position which they held in his œuvre in Molière's own lifetime; his two masterpieces in this genre, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and Le Malade imaginaire, have chapters to themselves. Finally, the Companion looks at modern directors' theatre, exploring the central role played by productions of his work in successive 'revolutions' in the dramatic arts in France.

In this book Brian Crow and Chris Banfield provide an introduction to post-colonial theatre by concentrating on the work of major dramatists from the Third World and subordinated cultures in the first world. Crow and Banfield consider the plays of such writers as Wole Soyinka and Athol Fugard and his collaborators from Africa; Derek Walcott from the West Indies; August Wilson and Jack Davis, who write from and about the experience of Black communities in the USA and Australia respectively; and Badal Sircar and Girish Karnad from India. Although these dramatists reflect diverse cultures and histories, they share the common condition of cultural subjection or oppression, which has shaped their theatres. Each chapter contains an informative list of primary source material and further reading about the dramatists. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of theatre and cultural history.

This work gives an 'inside' view of Chinese theatre and the actor in performance. In doing so it also challenges Western theatre artists such as Brecht, Grotowski, Barba and Schechner, who have extracted from Chinese theatre elements which might enrich their own theatres. Jo Riley writes from her personal observations of, and dialogue with, Chinese actors and her first-hand experiences of the theatre world of China in general, none of which was possible before 1980. She uses not only jingju (so misrepresented as Peking opera) but also exorcism, puppet theatre and ancient animation rites at the tomb to provide models for exploring the process of creating presence on the Chinese stage. Her study is well illustrated with photographs and diagrams and is accessible to anyone interested in theatre, even those with no knowledge of Chinese or Chinese theatre.

Waiting for Godot is a byword in every major world language. No other twentieth-century play has achieved such global currency. His innovations have affected not only the writing of plays, but all aspects of their staging. In this book David Bradby explores the impact of the play and its influence on acting, directing, design, and the role of theatre in society. Bradby begins with an analysis of the play and its historical context. After discussing the first productions in France, Britain and America, he examines subsequent productions in Africa, Eastern Europe, Israel, America, China and Japan. The book assesses interpretations by actors such as Bert Lahr, David Warrilow, Georges Wilson, Barry McGovern and Ben Kingsley, and directors Roger Blin, Susan Sontag, Sir Peter Hall, Luc Bondy, Yukio Ninagawa and Beckett himself. It also contains an extensive production chronology, bibliography and illustrations from major productions.

Waiting for Godot is a byword in every major world language. No other twentieth-century play has achieved such global currency. His innovations have affected not only the writing of plays, but all aspects of their staging. In this book David Bradby explores the impact of the play and its influence on acting, directing, design, and the role of theatre in society. Bradby begins with an analysis of the play and its historical context. After discussing the first productions in France, Britain and America, he examines subsequent productions in Africa, Eastern Europe, Israel, America, China and Japan. The book assesses interpretations by actors such as Bert Lahr, David Warrilow, Georges Wilson, Barry McGovern and Ben Kingsley, and directors Roger Blin, Susan Sontag, Sir Peter Hall, Luc Bondy, Yukio Ninagawa and Beckett himself. It also contains an extensive production chronology, bibliography and illustrations from major productions.

In this book Nicholas Grene explores political contexts for some of the outstanding Irish plays from the nineteenth century to the contemporary period. The politics of Irish drama have previously been considered primarily the politics of national self-expression. Here it is argued that Irish plays, in their self-conscious representation of the otherness of Ireland, are outwardly directed towards audiences both at home and abroad. The political dynamics of such relations between plays and audiences is the book's multiple subject: the stage interpretation of Ireland from The Shaughraun to Translations; the contentious stage images of Yeats, Gregory and Synge; reactions to revolution from O'Casey to Behan; the post-colonial worlds of Purgatory and All that Fall; the imagined Irelands of Friel and Murphy, McGuinness and Barry. With its fundamental reconception of the politics of Irish drama, this book represents an alternative view of the phenomenon of Irish drama itself.

Feminist Views on the English Stage, first published in 2003, is an exciting and insightful study on drama from a feminist perspective, one that challenges an idea of the 1990s as a 'post-feminist' decade and pays attention to women's playwriting marginalized by a 'renaissance' of angry young men. Working through a generational mix of writers, from Sarah Kane, the iconoclastic 'bad girl' of the stage, to the 'canonical' Caryl Churchill, Elaine Aston charts the significant political and aesthetic changes in women's playwriting at the century's end. Aston also explores writing for the 1990s in theatre by Sarah Daniels, Bryony Lavery, Phyllis Nagy, Winsome Pinnock, Rebecca Prichard, Judy Upton and Timberlake Wertenbaker.

A detailed introduction to Molière and his plays, this Companion evokes his own theatrical career, his theatres, patrons, the performers and theatre staff with whom he worked, and the various publics he and his troupes entertained with such success. It looks at his particular brands of comedy and satire. L'École des femmes, Le Tartuffe, Dom Juan, Le Misanthrope, L'Avare and Les Femmes savantes are examined from a variety of different viewpoints, and through the eyes of different ages and cultures. The comedies-ballets, a genre invented by Molière and his collaborators, are re-instated to the central position which they held in his œuvre in Molière's own lifetime; his two masterpieces in this genre, Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and Le Malade imaginaire, have chapters to themselves. Finally, the Companion looks at modern directors' theatre, exploring the central role played by productions of his work in successive 'revolutions' in the dramatic arts in France.

Paris has always exerted a magnetic force on artists; it has historically offered safety to those escaping oppressive regimes in Europe and farther afield. In recent years it has welcomed performers, artists and intellectuals from all over the world, offering strategies for the practice of theatre in a new Europe of ever-shifting boundaries.This book, once again available in paperback, examines the creation and development of communities of actors, directors, designers and playwrights in Paris over the past thirty years. It shows how the willingness of the city to welcome international influences has enriched its creative life. Many of the most important trends and new developments in the art of theatre have been the direct result of the creative combination of influences from all over the world.This study demonstrates how the pioneering work of Brook, Boal, Mnouchkine, Lecoq and many others has been able to draw on this vibrant, multi-cultural mix, in turn creating new work that has enriched theatre’s potential to enlarge our thinking and our imagination.

John McGrath's plays are compulsory reading and viewing for students of drama, film and television courses in many University and Further Education departments and yet despite recognition of the central importance of McGrath's work, very little has been written about him. This is the first full-length study of his work.This book illuminates the importance of John McGrath's role in the development of theatre, film and television in the last four decades of the twentieth century. Through play and script-writing, through directing, producing and co-ordinating work, and through his critical, political and philosophical reflections, McGrath exerted a powerful influence over developments and innovations in all three art forms.The contributors include film and television directors, actors, designers, writers, university researchers and journalists, many of whom worked with McGrath. Questions of day-to-day working practice are addressed alongside broader political and aesthetic concerns, and the question of McGrath's relationship to and influence on the arts in Scotland receives careful consideration.

John McGrath's plays are compulsory reading and viewing for students of drama, film and television courses in many University and Further Education departments and yet despite recognition of the central importance of McGrath's work, very little has been written about him. This is the first full-length study of his work.This book illuminates the importance of John McGrath's role in the development of theatre, film and television in the last four decades of the twentieth century. Through play and script-writing, through directing, producing and co-ordinating work, and through his critical, political and philosophical reflections, McGrath exerted a powerful influence over developments and innovations in all three art forms.The contributors include film and television directors, actors, designers, writers, university researchers and journalists, many of whom worked with McGrath. Questions of day-to-day working practice are addressed alongside broader political and aesthetic concerns, and the question of McGrath's relationship to and influence on the arts in Scotland receives careful consideration.

This extended new edition of a seminal text marks the 30th anniversary of the original book’s major intervention in the discipline. Bradby and Williams' field-defining book introduced the continental-European approach to directing, recognising the work of the modern stage director as an artist in his or her own right for the first time. Now edited by Peter M. Boenisch in collaboration with David Williams, this new edition includes an additional four chapters by leading contemporary experts on theatre direction. Covering recent practices and developments, as well as new trends in the academic research on directing, Directors' Theatre interrogates working ethics and performance aesthetics, directors' work with actors as a central creative source and their responses to the ongoing reassessment of theatre's role and function in contemporary culture. This long-awaited reissue will make a classic, authoritative study on directors and directing accessible to a new generation of students, scholars and artists. It is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Theatre, Performance Studies and Directing.New to this Edition:- Includes four new chapters written by leading contemporary experts on theatre direction: Patrice Pavis, Katalin Trencsényi, the research team of Luk Van den Dries, and DuškaRadosavljevic- New chapters discuss recent approaches and developments in theatre directing as well as research on directing, including artists such as Luk Perceval, Daniel Jeanneteau, Improbable and Ivo van Hove, while also introducing the development of theatre direction in Eastern Europe- The original text has been carefully revised by David Williams and chapters have been supplemented with new introductions and conclusions