Ian Stuart – författare

From his emergence as a young writer at London's Royal Court Theatre to being hailed as "the greatest living English playwright" (The Independent), this first volume of the notebooks of Edward Bond reveals the mind behind some of the most provoc Exploring the meeting point between politics and the art of the writer, Bond's notes offer a rare insight into one of the theatre's foremost thinkers whilst charting the creative progress of his work between 1959 and 1980. As well as providing a detailed commentary on his plays, the notebooks also contain early play drafts, poems and stories, his thoughts on life, art, Brecht, dramatic method and censorship."1 August 1965: I would do almost anything to prevent my play [Saved] being banned except alter one comma at the request of the Lord Chamberlain."Edward Bond is "a great playwright - many, particularly in continental Europe, would say the greatest living English playwright" (Independent)

This second volume of Edward Bond's notebooks covers the period from Restoration, his historic drama with songs, to Eleven Vests, his play for young people written for Big Brum Theatre-in-Education "There is a cliche - which is also false - that all creative writing is autobiographical. If I were to be asked when you write do you write about your life I would answer when I write I am living my life."Including first drafts of plays, ideas and thoughts on characters, themes, actions and dramatic technique, this selection of notes provides a glimpse into the working mind of one of the world's most provocative playwrights. Alongside the commentaries on the plays, Bond's notes also contain stories and poems. His philosophy on theatre and art and his views on the role of the writer in society are included. Emphasis is given to Bond's critical response to political and moral issues such as Thatcherism, the monarchy, nuclear war, Britain's social classes and our definitions of good and evil.

First Published in 1997. Edward Bond Letters, Volume III, includes sections on the important areas of writing and translating as well as continuing to trace Bond's interest in productions of his work. Focusing on The Pope's Wedding and Saved, a radio production of The Fool (1990), In the Company of Men (1992) and the television plays – Olly's Prison (1993) and Tuesday (1993) – this lively and thought-provoking volume of Edward Bond's letters provides useful background information for both the student and the general reader.

First Published in 1994. Edward Bond Letters, Volume V, contains over thirty letters and papers covering Bond's controversial views on violence and justice, plays, writers and directors, and a postscript that is Bond's discussion of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. The explosive content of these letters applies to Bond's plays and society as a whole; Bond believes that all violence is the manifestation of an unbalanced and dangerous society. As with the four preceding volumes in this collection, Edward Bond is critical of present theatre, but at the same time his observations are useful in indicating how theatre can be changed. Bond's illustrations provide accompaniment to the letters.

First Published in 1996. Contemporary Theatre Studies is a book series of special interest to everyone involved in theatre. It consists of monographs on influential figures, studies of movements and ideas in theatre, as well as primary material consisting of theatre-related documents, performing editions of plays in English, and English translations of plays from various vital theatre traditions worldwide. Complementing the first volume of Edward Bond's letters, which provided a theoretical introduction to many of the social and political issues in his plays, Edward Bond Letters Volume II is organized into seven chapters which explore Bond's approach to some of the plays in performance.

First Published in 1996. Contemporary Theatre Studies is a book series of special interest to everyone involved in theatre. It consists of monographs on influential figures, studies of movements and ideas in theatre, as well as primary material consisting of theatre-related documents, performing editions of plays in English, and English translations of plays from various vital theatre traditions worldwide. Complementing the first volume of Edward Bond's letters, which provided a theoretical introduction to many of the social and political issues in his plays, Edward Bond Letters Volume II is organized into seven chapters which explore Bond's approach to some of the plays in performance.

First Published in 1997. Edward Bond Letters, Volume III, includes sections on the important areas of writing and translating as well as continuing to trace Bond's interest in productions of his work. Focusing on The Pope's Wedding and Saved, a radio production of The Fool (1990), In the Company of Men (1992) and the television plays – Olly's Prison (1993) and Tuesday (1993) – this lively and thought-provoking volume of Edward Bond's letters provides useful background information for both the student and the general reader.

Edward Bond Letters, Volume IV, focuses on four significant areas of Edward Bond's work: education, imagination and the child; theatre-in-education; At the Inland Sea; language and imagery. The letters represent a coruscating attack on our present society, as well as offering insights into how the situation might be improved. Bond's letters attack modern education, arguing that "children are being educated to sell themselves" and suggesting that social problems are caused by an oppression of the imagination. Many letters refer directly to a play - for instance Tuesday, which presents an assessment of the many difficulties faced by contemporary society. The language and imagery of one of Bond's most recent plays, In the Company of Men, is animatedly discussed, and Bond reminds us in a final description that "the good image is always absent, because it is present in the mind.