Essential for students of theatre studies, Methuen Drama's Decades of Modern British Playwriting series provides a comprehensive survey and study of the theatre produced in each decade from the 1950s to 2009 in six volumes. Each volume features a critical analysis and reevaluation of the work of four key playwrights from that decade authored by a team of experts, together with an extensive commentary on the period .
Modern British Playwriting: The 1950s provides an authoritative and stimulating reassessment of the theatre of the decade together with a detailed study of the work of T.S Eliot (by Sarah Bay-Cheng) , Terence Rattigan (David Pattie), John Osborne (Luc Gilleman) and Arnold Wesker (John Bull). The volume sets the context by providing a chronological survey of the 1950s, a period when Britain was changing rapidly and the very fabric of an apparently stable society seemed to be under threat. It explores the crisis in the theatrical climate and activity in the first part of the decade and the shift as the theatre began to document the unease in society, before documenting the early life of the four principal playwrights studied in the volume.
Four scholars provide detailed examinations of the playwrights' work during the decade, combining an analysis of their plays with a study of other material such as early play drafts, interviews and the critical receptions of the time. An Afterword reviews what the writers went on to do and provides a summary evaluation of their contribution to British theatre from the perspective of the twenty-first century.
Recenzijos
My view of this book can be expressed simply. Put it on your course reading list immediatelyIts a must for undergraduates and postgraduates studying British theatre Clear, well-organised and packed with useful information. * Times Higher Education Textbook Guide *
Daugiau informacijos
A critical study of the theatre produced in the 1950s with an in-depth analysis of the work of four key playwrights from the decade.
General Preface |
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ix | |
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Acknowledgements |
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xi | |
Introduction to the 1950s |
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1 | (26) |
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Britain 1945-60: managing the peace |
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4 | (11) |
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Britain 1945-60: culture and society |
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15 | (12) |
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1 The British Theatre 1945-60 |
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27 | (47) |
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The British stage 1945-60: the theatre industry |
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28 | (8) |
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The state and the theatre |
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31 | (2) |
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Repertory theatre in the 1950s |
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33 | (3) |
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The British stage 1945-60: the writers' revolution |
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36 | (18) |
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38 | (5) |
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Before the revolution: 1945-56 |
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43 | (4) |
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47 | (2) |
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49 | (2) |
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51 | (3) |
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The main engagement 1955-60: Beckett and Brecht |
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54 | (4) |
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54 | (2) |
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56 | (2) |
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The main engagement 1955-60: new British theatres |
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58 | (10) |
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58 | (6) |
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64 | (4) |
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The situation is confused: entering the 1960s |
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68 | (6) |
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2 Introducing the Playwrights |
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74 | (21) |
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74 | (1) |
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T. S. Eliot (1888-1949): faith, fragmentation and tradition |
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75 | (6) |
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Terence Rattigan (1911-46): the commercial stage |
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81 | (4) |
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John Osborne (1929-56): the fatality of hatred |
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85 | (5) |
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Arnold Wesker (1932-58): `I could add to what was happening' |
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90 | (5) |
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95 | (103) |
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T. S. Eliot: plays of the 1950s by Sarah Bay-Cheng |
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95 | (24) |
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98 | (7) |
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105 | (8) |
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113 | (5) |
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118 | (1) |
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Terence Rattigan: private lives and public lives |
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119 | (27) |
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119 | (3) |
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The private and the public |
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122 | (5) |
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127 | (3) |
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130 | (5) |
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135 | (5) |
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140 | (5) |
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145 | (1) |
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John Osborne: the drama of emotions by Luc Gilleman |
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146 | (25) |
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146 | (2) |
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148 | (8) |
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156 | (7) |
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163 | (7) |
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In the anguish of his spirit |
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170 | (1) |
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Arnold Wesker: the trilogy by John Bull |
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171 | (27) |
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171 | (4) |
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175 | (7) |
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182 | (6) |
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I'm Talking About Jerusalem |
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188 | (5) |
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193 | (5) |
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198 | (31) |
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198 | (10) |
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208 | (4) |
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212 | (3) |
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The Royal Court and the new drama |
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215 | (7) |
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222 | (7) |
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229 | (20) |
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Terence Rattigan (1956-77): I have tried to keep pace |
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231 | (5) |
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John Osborne (1961-94): watch it come down |
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236 | (7) |
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Arnold Wesker (1960-): what could be my crime? |
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243 | (6) |
Notes |
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249 | (14) |
Select Bibliography |
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263 | (8) |
Index |
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271 | (10) |
Notes on Contributors |
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281 | |
David Pattie is Professor of Drama at the University of Chester, UK. Series editors: Richard Boon, Emeritus Professor of Drama, the University of Hull, UK, and Philip Roberts, Emeritus Professor in the School of English, University of Leeds, UK.