This issue examines how performance curators are responding to today's crises both within the world of theater and performance and in the broader spheres of politics, economics, and history. Interviews with four leading performance curators-Boris Charmatz, Sodja Lotker, Florian Malzacher, and Miranda Wright-explore the evolution of their work in response to changes in funding, audience demographics, and creative practices. A special section, coedited by Sigrid Gareis, features essays from a convening at the 2015 SpielART festival that consider the role of the curator in transnational exchange and in response to issues of postcolonialism. Contributors. Tilmann Broszat, Boris Charmatz, Kenneth Collins, Thomas F. DeFrantz, Sigrid Gareis, Andre Lepecki, Sodja Lotker, Florian Malzacher, Jay Pather, Suely Rolnik, Tom Sellar, Miranda Wright

In eighteenth-century Europe, artistic production was characterised by significant geographical and cultural transfer. For innumerable musicians, composers, singers, actors, authors, dramatists and translators - and the works they produced - state borders were less important than style, genre and canon. Through a series of multinational case studies a team of authors examines the mechanisms and characteristics of cultural and artistic adaptability to demonstrate the complexity and flexibility of theatrical and musical exchanges during this period. By exploring questions of national taste, so-called cultural appropriation and literary preference, contributors examine the influence of the French canon on the European stage - as well as its eventual rejection -, probe how and why musical and dramatic materials became such prized objects of exchange, and analyse the double processes of transmission and literary cross-breeding in translations and adaptations. Examining patterns of circulation in England, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, Russia, Bohemia, Austria, Italy and the United States, authors highlight: the role of migrant musicians in breaching national boundaries and creating a 'musical cosmopolitanism'; the emergence of a specialised market in which theatre agents and local authorities negotiated contracts and productions, and recruited actors and musicians; the translations and rewritings of major plays such as Sheridan's The School for scandal, Schiller's Die Rauber and Kotzebue's Menschenhass und Reue; the refashioning of indigenous and 'national' dramas in Europe under French Revolutionary and imperial rule.

Whether you judge by box office receipts, industry awards, or critical accolades, science fiction films are the most popular movies now being produced and distributed around the world. Nor is this phenomenon new. Sci-fi filmmakers and audiences have been exploring fantastic planets, forbidden zones, and lost continents ever since George Melies' 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. In this highly entertaining and knowledgeable book, film historian and pop culture expert Douglas Brode picks the one hundred greatest sci-fi films of all time. Brode's list ranges from today's blockbusters to forgotten gems, with surprises for even the most informed fans and scholars. He presents the movies in chronological order, which effectively makes this book a concise history of the sci-fi film genre. A striking (and in many cases rare) photograph accompanies each entry, for which Brode provides a numerical rating, key credits and cast members, brief plot summary, background on the film's creation, elements of the moviemaking process, analysis of the major theme(s), and trivia. He also includes fun outtakes, including his top ten lists of Fifties sci-fi movies, cult sci-fi, least necessary movie remakes, and "so bad they're great" classics-as well as the ten worst sci-fi movies ("those highly ambitious films that promised much and delivered nil"). So climb aboard spaceship Brode and journey to strange new worlds from Metropolis (1927) to Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

Follow the wisdom of Buffy, Willow, Xander, Spike, and others with this beautifully illustrated tarot deck inspired by the beloved series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In every generation, there is a chosen one--explore your destiny like Buffy the Vampire Slayer with this magical and bold take on the traditional 78-card tarot deck. This set features the heroes you love, casting Buffy, Willow, Angel, Spike, Xander, Giles, and more in gorgeous original illustrations based on classic tarot iconography. Featuring both major and minor arcana, the set also includes a helpful guidebook explaining each card's meaning and simple instructions for easy readings. Packaged in a sturdy, decorative gift box, this alluring tarot deck is the perfect gift for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan or tarot enthusiast.

*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.

With an exclusive focus on text-based theatre-making, Inside the Rehearsal Room is both an instructional and conceptual examination of the rehearsal process. Drawing on professional practice and underpinned by theory, this book moves through each stage of rehearsals, considering the inter-connectivity between the actor, director, designers and the backstage team, and how the cumulative effect of the weeks in rehearsal influences the final production. The text also includes: - Auto-ethnographic and fully ethno-graphic case study approaches to different rehearsal rooms - Interviews with directors, actors, designers and actor trainers - A consideration of the ethics of the rehearsal room and material selected for production - Practical exercises on how to creatively read a text from an acting and directing perspective Informed by over 20 years of directing experience in the UK and Europe, Robert Marsden's book offers a practical guide that ultimately demystifies the rehearsal process and challenges how the rehearsal room should be run in the twenty-first century.