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Modern British Playwriting: The 1950s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Modern British Playwriting: The 1950s: Voices, Documents, New Interpretations
Authors and Contributors      By (author) David Pattie
Contributions by Prof. John Bull
Contributions by Luc Gilleman
Contributions by Sarah Bay-Cheng
Series edited by Philip Roberts
SeriesDecades of Modern British Playwriting
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:352
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 135
Category/GenreLiterary studies - from c 1900 -
Literary studies - plays and playwrights
ISBN/Barcode 9781408129272
ClassificationsDewey:822.91409
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Professional & Vocational

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publication Date 25 October 2012
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

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.

Author Biography

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.

Reviews

My view of this book can be expressed simply. Put it on your course reading list immediately...It's a must for undergraduates and postgraduates studying British theatre... Clear, well-organised and packed with useful information. * Times Higher Education Textbook Guide *