Adaptation in Contemporary Theatre: Performing Literature

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Adaptation in Contemporary Theatre: Performing Literature
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Frances Babbage
SeriesMethuen Drama Engage
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:280
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 138
Category/GenreDrama
ISBN/Barcode 9781472531421
ClassificationsDewey:792
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Tertiary Education (US: College)

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publication Date 30 May 2019
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Why are so many theatre productions adaptations of one kind of another? Why do contemporary practitioners turn so frequently to non-dramatic texts for inspiration? This study explores the fascination of novels, short stories, children's books and autobiographies for theatre makers and examines what 'becomes' of such texts when these are filtered into contemporary practice that includes physical theatre, multimedia performance, puppetry, immersive and site-specific performance, and live art. Through its prologue and substantial first chapter, Adaptation in Contemporary Theatre sets out a series of fresh critical perspectives on the theory of adaptation in theatre-making. Subsequent chapters are devoted to the various literary sources for adaptation, with each chapter examining the characteristic features, restrictions and potency presented by the source material, before tracing the ways that they are played out in recent performance projects.

Author Biography

Frances Babbage is Reader in Theatre and Performance at the University of Sheffield, UK. She has published widely on performance, adaptation and rewriting and is the author of Re-Visioning Myth: Modern and Contemporary Drama by Women (2011) and Augusto Boal (2004).