Oberon Masters Series – serie

Just Adrian is a patchwork tour of a legendary playwright, poet and activist’s life in the theatre. It is a fascinating first-hand account of groundbreaking productions featuring figures like Kenneth Tynan, Peter Brook and Peter Hall as well as adventures in alternative theatre. These writings explore Adrian’s many interests, from drama for children to musical theatre, in a voice that combines playful irreverence with compassion and insight. Taken together, they are a funny, moving testament to a great theatre lover.

Mr Modernsky tells a story about two heavyweights of twentieth-century classical music: Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg.It traces the gradual change there has been in the way these two great rivals are perceived, looks in their music for the reasons and reflects on the nature of modernity in art and the sometimes pernicious effects of ideology. Meredith Oakes explores the tension between futuristic and historical elements in the work of these parallel artists and asks: is modernity merely about technical innovation? Must progress always mean exclusion of the past?

It seems a long way from Moliere to Ray Cooney. There are immense distances between the worlds of Aristophanes, Plautus, Georges Feydeau, Ben Travers, Joe Orton and Basil Fawlty. But as one of the oldest genres in the history of the theatre, farce bridges the gaps by generating gales of helpless belly laughter across the generations.Inspired by John Mortimer’s observation that farce is 'tragedy played at a thousand revolutions a minute', theatre critic Roger Foss embarks on a lightning tour of the rib-tickling world of confused characters, absurd situations, ruined reputations, sexual innuendo and bravura comic acting and finds out if farce really is a force to be reckoned with in the 21st century. The latest addition to the Oberon Masters series, May The Farce Be With You celebrates the great creators and performers of farce, notably master farceur Ray Cooney, who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2012, in essays that will inform and entertain both the aficionado and anyone with a sense of humour.

"A thoughtful and considered kick up the arse to conspiracy theorists and to patriarchy" – Michael Boyd, Artistic Director RSCCleopatra, La Pucelle, Ophelia, Shaw’s St. Joan and Ibsen’s Hedda – a handful of seminal roles for women in the classical canon. Janet Suzman has played them all and directed some. Here she examines their complexity and explores why only Cleopatra has an independence that allows her to speak to modern women. None of these, regrettably, matches up to a Hamlet, but as she is grateful for the parts he did write, Suzman feels a lightly-barbed attack on those who doubt Shakespeare’s authorship is way overdue. She also takes issue with received ideas on boy-actors playing mature women in Shakespeare’s company, and reflects on how female characters in classical drama have not been on a level with their male counterparts. Today, on TV, film and the stage, this remains the case. Not Hamlet but Hamlette, please.

Peter Bowles invites us backstage to witness the job of acting as it really is. This is a warm-hearted look at the lived experience of a jobbing actor – and a survival guide to anyone thinking of entering this most emotionally gruelling of industries.Behind the Curtain is the inside scoop on ‘the profession’as told by a master raconteur – one who has trodden the boards in the West End for five decades. Armed with an array of classic anecdotes, Bowles shares some of the infamous ad-libs, opening night disasters and dressingroom dramas that he has been party to over the years. Full of sage advice about the pitfalls of celebrity and thefluctuating fortunes of an actor – and his own journey fromTV stardom to the labour exchange and back again.With tales of some biggest personalities in the historyof showbiz such as Michael Gambon, Noel Coward,Rex Harrison, Laurence Olivier & John Gielgud, this is a book that captures the acting professionin all its eccentric glory.

'Craftsmanship has again become fashionable in high places, just as it did in the last few recessions.'The concept of craftsmanship has never been as relevant and timely as it is today. Assailed on all sides by – among many other tendencies - flexible working, short-termism, portfolio careers, quick-fix training and the cult of celebrity, it has recently re-entered public debate with a new sense of urgency. Why?A bestseller in hardback, this series of linked essays by the man who ran the Royal College of Art for many years is now available in paperback, and explores the crafts in education, in history and literature, in the contemporary arts landscape, in the language, in the digital age, taking an unsentimental, hard-headed look at craftsmanship today. Only when the romantic cobwebs have been blown away, it argues, can the key importance of the crafts be fully understood.

Drawing is perhaps the most immediate medium through which an idea can be articulated. Illustration takes drawing into the narrative realm. The illustrations that we see as children stay with us forever; they play a seminal role in the development of our imagination.On Illustration argues that this unassuming artistic discipline can enrich a person's experience of cultural life provided the illustrator's talent is matched by the courage and intelligence of the client.The book is an insight into Andrzej Klimowski's practice, and will help define the role and status of the illustrator in today's creative industries.

Nicholas Dromgoole has been a prominent and respected drama and dance critic for most of his adult life. Who better therefore to take the reader through the role of this often misunderstood animal?This concise guide to the role of the critic will surely prove to be a great addition to the bookshelves of all theatre lovers.

The world of musicals is beautiful, complex, hilarious, hard-headed, and improbable. It is as hard to make a great musical as it is to fly a spaceship to the moon and there are at least as many moving parts. Why is a great musical as significant a theatrical achievement as, say, King Lear?In this entertaining new title in Oberon Masters Series, Ruth Leon tells all about the composers, the lyricists, the directors and the pioneers of the stage musical on both sides of the Atlantic while trying to reveal the truth behind the eternal question - what are musicals and why do we love them?

Ninette de Valois was an extraordinary woman. Not only did she create The Royal Ballet, The Royal Ballet School and the company that has become Birmingham Royal Ballet – in themselves great achievements – but she was a gifted choreographer, dancer, teacher, administrator, speaker and writer. She also identified and developed so many of the talented dancers, choreographers and teachers who went onto make Britain a world leader in ballet and dance.During the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of The Royal Ballet in 1981, Ninette de Valois accepted an invitation to speak to the Yorkshire Ballet Seminars. In that illuminating talk, printed here for the first time, she focuses on what ‘English Ballet’ is. Combined with her 1955 article, Some Problems of Ballet Today, and Sir Peter Wright’s fascinating Madam’s Memorial Address, this volume raises questions as meaningful today as they were when de Valois first addressed them. In an increasingly connected dance world, what does it mean to have a national style? Why is a national style important? How might a national style be identified, developed and nurtured? This volume provides thought-provoking and fascinating reading for all lovers of ballet, dance and art.

"Sound theatre is a performance art of special purity, cousin to music."A meditation on the nature of sound how it shapes and colours our daily experiences. Sound Theatre is a series of short missives, both whimsical and profound, that collectively form an intimate portrait of the award-winning playwright and his artistic philosophy, providing a great insight into writing drama for the radio, a unique and much cherished medium.

“I try to follow the rule laid down by perhaps the greatest translator of all, John Dryden, who maintained that a translator should – and I paraphrase – make the version as entertaining as possible, while at the same time remaining as faithful as possible to the spirit of the original” – Ranjit Bolt.In this book, Ranjit Bolt takes what is essentially a practitioner's view of the art of literary translation. His observations are born of a quarter of a century's experience of translating for a living, especially for the theatre. While rooted in practice, however, this survey does not shy away from theory, but is packed with allusion to great translation theorists such as Walter Benjamin and John Dryden, as well as adumbrating Bolt's own theoretical stance.

Just Adrian is a patchwork tour of a legendary playwright, poet and activist’s life in the theatre. It is a fascinating first-hand account of groundbreaking productions featuring figures like Kenneth Tynan, Peter Brook and Peter Hall as well as adventures in alternative theatre. These writings explore Adrian’s many interests, from drama for children to musical theatre, in a voice that combines playful irreverence with compassion and insight. Taken together, they are a funny, moving testament to a great theatre lover.

In 2007 Anthony Grayling wrote Against All Gods, a collection of polemical essays attacking religion. Now in To Set Prometheus Free he develops those themes more comprehensively, unpicking the claims and arguments of religious apologists, summarising the views of his fellow secularist (Bertrand Russell in particular detailing the controversy over 'Intelligent Design' and outlining his personal, naturalistic world-view.He robustly calls for humanity to choose deliverance from religion because, as he puts it, 'large portions of mankind remain in some degree in thrall to myths dating from an ignorant and illiterate past.'

Mr Modernsky tells a story about two heavyweights of twentieth-century classical music: Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg.It traces the gradual change there has been in the way these two great rivals are perceived, looks in their music for the reasons and reflects on the nature of modernity in art and the sometimes pernicious effects of ideology. Meredith Oakes explores the tension between futuristic and historical elements in the work of these parallel artists and asks: is modernity merely about technical innovation? Must progress always mean exclusion of the past?

Wesker On Theatre is a collection of essays by one of Britain's most well-known, prolific and controversial writers, which explores his thoughts on drama and the theatre gained from a writing career that spans fifty years.Wesker brings together for the first time an assortment of theatre pieces exploring such subjects as The DNA of a Play; The Nature of Dialogue; The Nature of Development; Can Playwrights be Taught to Write Plays; Interpretation - To Explain or Impose, and many others that attempt to elucidate the shifts of thought he has negotiated throughout his long career. Often controversial, Wesker On Theatre is a challenging and thought-provoking volume.

'The most compelling, original, charismatic and poetic guide to poetry that I can remember. A handbook written from the heart by one of the true modern masters of the craft.' Simon ArmitageA collection of short essays and reflections on poetry from the acclaimed British poet Glyn Maxwell. These essays illustrate Maxwell's poetic philosophy, that the greatest verse arises from a harmony of mind and body, and that poetic forms originate in human necessities – breath, heartbeat, footstep, posture. He speaks of his inspirations, his models, and takes us inside the strange world of the Creative Writing Class, where four young hopefuls grapple with love, sex, cheap wine and hard work. With examples from canonical poets, this is a beautiful, accessible guide to the most ancient and sublime of the realms of literature.

Peter Bowles invites us backstage to witness the job of acting as it really is. This is a warm-hearted look at the lived experience of a jobbing actor – and a survival guide to anyone thinking of entering this most emotionally gruelling of industries.Behind the Curtain is the inside scoop on ‘the profession’as told by a master raconteur – one who has trodden the boards in the West End for five decades. Armed with an array of classic anecdotes, Bowles shares some of the infamous ad-libs, opening night disasters and dressingroom dramas that he has been party to over the years. Full of sage advice about the pitfalls of celebrity and thefluctuating fortunes of an actor – and his own journey fromTV stardom to the labour exchange and back again.With tales of some biggest personalities in the historyof showbiz such as Michael Gambon, Noel Coward,Rex Harrison, Laurence Olivier & John Gielgud, this is a book that captures the acting professionin all its eccentric glory.

"A thoughtful and considered kick up the arse to conspiracy theorists and to patriarchy" – Michael Boyd, Artistic Director RSCCleopatra, La Pucelle, Ophelia, Shaw’s St. Joan and Ibsen’s Hedda – a handful of seminal roles for women in the classical canon. Janet Suzman has played them all and directed some. Here she examines their complexity and explores why only Cleopatra has an independence that allows her to speak to modern women. None of these, regrettably, matches up to a Hamlet, but as she is grateful for the parts he did write, Suzman feels a lightly-barbed attack on those who doubt Shakespeare’s authorship is way overdue. She also takes issue with received ideas on boy-actors playing mature women in Shakespeare’s company, and reflects on how female characters in classical drama have not been on a level with their male counterparts. Today, on TV, film and the stage, this remains the case. Not Hamlet but Hamlette, please.

It seems a long way from Moliere to Ray Cooney. There are immense distances between the worlds of Aristophanes, Plautus, Georges Feydeau, Ben Travers, Joe Orton and Basil Fawlty. But as one of the oldest genres in the history of the theatre, farce bridges the gaps by generating gales of helpless belly laughter across the generations.Inspired by John Mortimer’s observation that farce is 'tragedy played at a thousand revolutions a minute', theatre critic Roger Foss embarks on a lightning tour of the rib-tickling world of confused characters, absurd situations, ruined reputations, sexual innuendo and bravura comic acting and finds out if farce really is a force to be reckoned with in the 21st century. The latest addition to the Oberon Masters series, May The Farce Be With You celebrates the great creators and performers of farce, notably master farceur Ray Cooney, who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2012, in essays that will inform and entertain both the aficionado and anyone with a sense of humour.

In this collection of seven provocative essays, acclaimed theatre director and playwright Mick Gordon argues that the theatre represents a physical corollary of the invisible workings of our minds.In this publication the award-winning Gordon draws upon his five years experience working with leading neurologists and cognitive psychologists, a period during which he produced two plays exploring the neurological basis of identity and emotion. Gordon contends that the narratives and archetypes common to the theatre reflect the hidden paradigms of our minds, and that theatrical exploration echos our subconscious urge for morality.