How did drama reflect Scottish devolution in 1999? What does it now mean to be British, Black and on stage? This collection of 13 essays focuses on playwrights, institutions and theater practices since 1979 as they all responded to major social and political issues. Topics include the effects of revolution and migration in British plays of the 1990s, Friel and Murphy and the past as it should have been, the politics of identity in Black British drama, Northern Irish drama and the inherent political and social issues, site-specific theater, the roles of place and identity in Welsh and Scottish drama, Sarah Kane's comic bodies, physical theater and authority, ethics and media relations in verbatim theater, theater and science, shifting political agendas in British play writing under globalization, and conducting theater in a media-saturated world. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
A Concise Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Drama investigates key issues in British and Irish theatre since 1979. Covering topics from globalisation, genocide and terrorism to the use of new technologies, and physical and verbatim theatre practices, this volume illustrates the extraordinary diversity of contemporary drama and performance.
- Examines established and emerging playwrights, theatre companies, processes and ideological frameworks
- Analyses influential social, political, cultural and institutional contexts, among them globalization, genocide, and national identity, the use of new technologies, and the practice of physical theatre
- Challenges received ideas of the traditional canon, exploring work by Welsh, Scottish and Irish playwrights, as well as Black British Theatre, and Queer Theatres
- Chapters include notes, references, and guides to further reading
