Helen Lewis' acclaimed memoir, A Time to Speak (Blackstaff Press, Belfast, 1997), tells the story of the first thirty years of her life in Czechoslovakia, from childhood to her professional training as a choreographer and dancer. It also contains her devastating account of Nazi persecution, of loss and suffering in the Holocaust: Helen came very close to death. Maddy Tongue now completes the story of this extraordinary woman who overcame unimaginable suffering to become a creative force in Ireland. The author's friendship with Helen lasted for more than fifty years. As a dancer she performed in many of Helen's significant works. Shadows Behind the Dance describes Helen's creative approach, her struggle to overcome an Irish indifference to modern dance, her pursuit of perfection and her unshakeable belief in humanity. In Ireland today the presence of modern dance owes much to her innovative teaching and practice. Shadows Behind the Dance is supplemented with Chris Agee's 2002 interview with Helen, "An Irish Epilogue", and a folio of Holocaust poems and drawings by Michael Longley and Sarah Longley (who was a pupil of Helen's). Helen's sons, Robin and Michael, have also written a Foreword. The book has been generously funded through subscription by family, friends, colleagues and admirers of the unforgettable Helen Lewis.

Documents media studies by N.P.James in the collection of Cv/VAR archive. Beginning with split second scans of TV transmissions in 1976, the series progressed to xerox collages and carbon trace drawings. The studies are light and elusive, read slant-wise across images, texts and borders, like blind drawing that produced unpredictable results. From tabloid headlines of UK power shifts in 1977-79 the series moved through the Falklands War 1982, to catch the booming 1980s. Resumed in July 2003 a random trawl of 250 collages scanned fragments of newsprint: arenas of gossip, fashion, sport and celebrities with episodes of accident, loss and tragedy: which form a template for the general culture.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning movie critic and New York Times bestselling author Stephen Hunter comes a brilliant, freewheeling, and witty look at the movies. Evanston, Illinois, was an idyllic 1950s paradise with stately homes, a beautiful lake, a world-class university, two premier movie houses, and one very seedy movie theater--the Valencia. This was the site of Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter's misspent youth. Instead of going to school, picking up girls, or tossing a football, Hunter could be found sitting in the fifteenth row, right-hand aisle seat of the Valencia, sating himself on one B-list movie after another. The Valencia had a sticky floor, smelly bathrooms, ancient popcorn, and a screen set in a hideously tacky papier-mache castle wall. It was also the only place in town to see westerns, sci-fi pictures, cops 'n' robbers flicks, slapstick comedy, and Godzilla. In Now Playing at the Valencia, the bestselling thriller author Stephen Hunter has compiled his favorite movie reviews written between 1997 and 2003, bringing to the discussion the passionate feelings for cinema he discovered in the '50s, a time when genres were forming, mesmerizing stars played unforgettable characters, and enduring classics were made. While filmmaking has changed tremendously since Hunter first frequented the Valencia, the view from the fifteenth row, and the thrill of down and dirty entertainment, has remained the same.

What is Dance? What is Theatre? What is the boundary between enacting a character and narrating a story? When does movement become tinted with meaning? And when does beauty shine alone as if with no object? These universal aesthetic questions find a theoretically vibrant and historically informed set of replies in the oeuvre of the eleventh-century Kashmirian author Abhinavagupta. The present book offers the first critical edition, translation, and study of a crucial and lesser known passage of his commentary on the Natyasastra, the seminal work of Sanskrit dramaturgy. The nature of dramatic acting and the mimetic power of dance, emotions, and beauty all play a role in Abhinavagupta's thorough investigation of performance aesthetics, now presented to the modern reader.

During a remarkable lifetime, Andrew Sinclair has bridged the worlds of university and literature, art and cinema. A child of the Second World War, he has known many of the leading figures of the past seventy years - ranging from William Golding to Ted Hughes, Harold Pinter to Francis Bacon, Robert Lowell to Graham Greene, as well as publishing such classic screenplays as 'The Blue Angel', 'The Third Man' and 'Stagecoach'. He also directed a number of films including Dylan Thomas's 'Under Milk Wood' starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Peter O'Toole. This unique `anti-memoires' of episodes and encounters captures new insights into many of the leading creative talents and stars of their times. In his own adventures, Andrew became involved in the revolt against the Suez invasion and overground nuclear tests, the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, the 1968 global student uprisings and finally in the worldwide digital revolution in education and the arts. Now in his ninth decade, this author of some 40 books, including the much-lauded The Breaking of Bumbo and Gog, Andrew Sinclair in the tradition of John Aubrey's Brief Lives looks back on a rich life and fond memories of the people he has studied and known.

The number one bestseller and Sunday Times Humour Book of the Year by national treasure Bob Mortimer.'The most life-affirming, joyful read of the year' - Sunday Times 'Winningly heartfelt' - The Guardian 'A triumph' - Daily Mail Bob Mortimer's life was trundling along happily until suddenly in 2015 he was diagnosed with a heart condition that required immediate surgery and forced him to cancel an upcoming tour. The episode unnerved him, but forced him to reflect on his life so far. This is the framework for his hilarious and moving memoir, And Away... Although his childhood in Middlesbrough was normal on the surface, it was tinged by the loss of his dad, and his own various misadventures (now infamous from his appearances on Would I Lie to You?), from burning down the family home to starting a short-lived punk band called Dog Dirt. As an adult, he trained as a solicitor and moved to London. Though he was doing pretty well (the South London Press once crowned him 'The Cockroach King' after a successful verdict), a chance encounter in a pub in the 1980s with a young comedian going by the name Vic Reeves set his life on a different track. And now, six years on, the heart condition that once threatened his career has instead led to new success on BBC2's Gone Fishing. Warm, profound, and irrepressibly funny, And Away... is Bob's full life story (with a few lies thrown in for good measure.)

This book traces the cultural transformation of nostalgia on the Chinese screen over the past three decades. It explores how filmmakers from different generations have engaged politically with China's rapidly changing post-socialist society as it has been formed through three mutually constitutive frameworks: political discourse, popular culture and state-led media commercialisation. The book offers a new, critical model for understanding relationships between filmmakers, industry and the State.

A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from top 10 bestseller Portia MacIntoshWhen life goes off track sometimes the only thing you can do is go back to where it all began... Emmy Palmer is the star of Bragadon Forest, the biggest fantasy series on TV; adored by the public, living the life of glamour and luxury in London. But when scandal breaks, Emmy must escape the city and return to her seaside hometown to lie low and wait for the storm to pass. And as tragedy strikes for her family, it is good timing to go back to her roots. Emmy's agent decides it would be a good look to star in the community Christmas pantomime, but who else could be playing her leading man but her ex-boyfriend who she may or may not have ditched to move to London a decade ago... As the show approaches, love and friendships blossom and the real question is - Will they? Won't they? The brand new laugh-out-loud romantic comedy from top 10 bestseller Portia MacIntosh, guaranteed to put a smile on your face this winter. Praise for Portia MacIntosh:'A hilarious, roaringly fun, feel good, sexy read. I LOVED it!' Holly Martin 'This is a heartwarming fun story, perfect for several hours of pure escapism.' Jessica Redland 'Super-romantic and full of festive spirit. I loved it!' Mandy Baggot

*A memoir and self-help manual by one of the country's most treasured comedians - for anyone who feels stuck in a rut but doesn't have the tools or self-belief to shake things up* In his mid-twenties, Jimmy was bored, boring, unfulfilled and underachieving. He wasn't exactly depressed, but he was very sad. Think of a baby owl whose mum has recently died in a windmill accident. He was that sad. This book tells the story of how Jimmy turned it around and got happy, through the redemptive power of dick jokes. Written to take advantage of the brief window between the end of lockdown and Jimmy getting cancelled for saying something unforgivable to Lorraine Kelly, this book is as timely as it is unnecessary. Because you might be interested in Jimmy's life but he's damn sure you're a lot more interested in your own, Before & Laughter is about both of you. But mainly him. It tells the story of Jimmy's life - the transformation from white-collar corporate drone to fake-toothed donkey-laugh plastic-haired comedy mannequin - while also explaining how to turn your own life around and become the you you've always dreamt of being. At just GBP20, it's cheaper than Scientology, quicker than therapy, and significantly less boring than church. Before & Laughter contains the answers to all the big questions in life, questions like: * What's the secret to happiness? * Is Jimmy wearing a wig? * What happened with that tax thing? * What's the meaning of life? * Is Jimmy's laugh real? * Can those teeth bite through vibranium? And for readers in the West Country: yes, there are pictures (actually, sorry, there are no pictures, but there's a book about a hungry caterpillar you'll love). Because it's Jimmy Carr - recently scientifically proved to be the funniest comedian in the UK - there are jokes, jokes and more jokes throughout. If laughter really was the best medicine, the NHS would be handing out this book in Nightingale Hospitals. Fascinating, thoughtful and insightful - are all words that appear in the book.