Stuart Ashens, a YouTube celebrity who reviews cheap electronic products, co-writes and stars in this independent British adventure comedy. Accompanied by his friend Chef Excellence (Dan Tomlinson), Ashens sets out in search of the elusive and not particularly magical Gamechild, a rip-off of the original Nintendo Gameboy. However, with all manner of unexpected friends and foes including The Professor (Robert Llewellyn) and Nemesis (Chris Kendall) standing between them and their goal, Ashens and Excellence will have to have their wits about them if they are to complete their quest. Warwick Davis also stars.

Here, the Hierophant becomes the High Priest, Wheel of Fortune becomes Wheel of the Year, and Judgement becomes Karma.

Based on the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith deck and filled with images that speak to today's magickal practitioner, witchcraft takes center stage in this stunning deck designed by highly respected Witch and Tarot reader Ellen Dugan. Featuring the vibrant artwork of award-winning artist Mark Evans, Witches Tarot is the perfect combination of Tarot and the Craft.

In addition to card descriptions and meanings, Dugan's companion guide features spell-enhancing spreads―such as the Triple Goddess Spread, the Four Elements Spread, and the Wheel of the Year Spread―that you can use in both Tarot readings and magickal practice.

(Includes a 78-card deck and 312-page book.)

The only comprehensive and in-depth history of mime and physical theatre in the UK, from its roots, influences and early pioneers, to the leading lights and international successes of today. Includes original interviews with pioneers in the field, including: Joseph Seelig, Helen Lannaghan, Steven Berkoff, Julian Chagrin, Annabel Arden, Nola Rae, Denise Wong, David Glass, Justin Case and Toby Sedgwick. A one-stop shop for anyone studying contemporary UK theatre and its physical innovators, including Forced Entertainment, DV8, and Improbable.

Frantic Assembly have had a powerful and continuing influence on the popularisation of devising practices in contemporary theatre-making. Their work blends brave and bold physical theatre with exciting new writing, and they have collaborated with some of the leading theatre-makers in the UK. The company's impact reaches throughout the world, particularly through their extensive workshop and education programmes, as well as their individual and collective impact as movement directors on landmark, internationally successful productions such as Black Watch and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This volume reveals the background to, and work of, a major influence on twentieth and twenty-first century performance. Frantic Assembly is the first book to combine: an overview of the history of the company since its foundation in 1994 an analysis of the key ideas underpinning the company's work a critical commentary on two key productions - Hymns by Chris O'Connell (1999) and Stockholm by Bryony Lavery (2007) a detailed description of a Frantic Assembly workshop, offering an introduction to how the company works. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners offer unbeatable value for today's student.

Policy transfer analysis seeks to make sense of the cross-cultural transfer of knowledge about institutions, policies or delivery systems in an era of globalization. The purpose of this volume is to evaluate how useful policy transfer analysis is as a descriptive, explanatory and prescriptive theory of policy change. It provides both a response to its critics and it presents a variety of new directions for studying processes of policy transfer. The chapters proceed from an underlying assumption about the field of enquiry; that policy transfer analysis alone cannot provide a general explanatory theory of policy change but when combined with other approaches an empirically grounded account of policy change can be developed. Hence each of the chapters adopt a methodological pluralism in which complementary theories of policy development are combined in order to develop a theory of policy change that accounts for the role of particular agents of policy transfer in forging policy change. This is an important contribution to our understanding of the impact of globalization on domestic policy formulation. This book was previously published as a special issue of Policy Studies.

The only comprehensive and in-depth history of mime and physical theatre in the UK, from its roots, influences and early pioneers, to the leading lights and international successes of today. Includes original interviews with pioneers in the field, including: Joseph Seelig, Helen Lannaghan, Steven Berkoff, Julian Chagrin, Annabel Arden, Nola Rae, Denise Wong, David Glass, Justin Case and Toby Sedgwick. A one-stop shop for anyone studying contemporary UK theatre and its physical innovators, including Forced Entertainment, DV8, and Improbable.

Upper level undergraduate and postgraduate students of sociology.

Time and Performer Training addresses the importance and centrality of time and temporality to the practices, processes and conceptual thinking of performer training. Notions of time are embedded in almost every aspect of performer training, and so contributors to this book look at: age/aging and children in the training context how training impacts over a lifetime the duration of training and the impact of training regimes over time concepts of timing and the 'right' time how time is viewed from a range of international training perspectives collectives, ensembles and fashions in training, their decay or endurance. Through focusing on time and the temporal in performer training, this book offers innovative ways of integrating research into studio practices. It also steps out beyond the more traditional places of training to open up time in relation to contested training practices that take place online, in festival spaces and in folk or amateur practices. Ideal for both instructors and students, each section of this well-illustrated book follows a thematic structure and includes full-length chapters alongside shorter provocations. Featuring contributions from an international range of authors who draw on their backgrounds as artists, scholars and teachers, Time and Performer Training is a major step in our understanding of how time affects the preparation for performance.

Policy transfer analysis seeks to make sense of the cross-cultural transfer of knowledge about institutions, policies or delivery systems in an era of globalization. The purpose of this volume is to evaluate how useful policy transfer analysis is as a descriptive, explanatory and prescriptive theory of policy change. It provides both a response to its critics and it presents a variety of new directions for studying processes of policy transfer. The chapters proceed from an underlying assumption about the field of enquiry; that policy transfer analysis alone cannot provide a general explanatory theory of policy change but when combined with other approaches an empirically grounded account of policy change can be developed. Hence each of the chapters adopt a methodological pluralism in which complementary theories of policy development are combined in order to develop a theory of policy change that accounts for the role of particular agents of policy transfer in forging policy change. This is an important contribution to our understanding of the impact of globalization on domestic policy formulation. This book was previously published as a special issue of Policy Studies.

Despite the ups and downs of his personal life and professional career-even in the face of deafness-Beethoven remained remarkably consistent in his most basic convictions about his art. This inner consistency, the music historian Mark Evan Bonds argues, provides the key to understanding the composer's life and works. Beethoven approached music as he approached life, weighing whatever occupied him from a variety of perspectives: a melodic idea, a musical genre, a word or phrase, a friend, a lover, a patron, money, politics, religion. His ability to unlock so many possibilities from each helps explain the emotional breadth and richness of his output as a whole, from the heaven-storming Ninth Symphony to the eccentric Eighth, and from the arcane Great Fugue to the crowd-pleasing Wellington's Victory. Beethoven's works, Bonds argues, are a series of variations on his life. The iconic scowl so familiar from later images of the composer is but one of many attitudes he could assume and project through his music. The supposedly characteristic furrowed brow and frown, moreover, came only after his time. Discarding tired myths about the composer, Bonds proposes a new way of listening to Beethoven by hearing his music as an expression of his entire self, not just his scowling self.

This fun mini-edition of the bestselling Witches Tarot is perfect for on-the-go readings. Small enough to fit in a pocket or a purse, you can carry your deck everywhere. It also makes a great gift or stocking stuffer for tarotists. Whether you are an expert reader or just starting your tarot journey, a tarot mini will be an exciting and practical addition to your collection. Based on the traditional Rider-Waite-Smith deck and filled with images that speak to today's magickal practitioner, witchcraft takes center stage in this stunning deck designed by highly respected Witch and Tarot reader Ellen Dugan. Here, the Hierophant becomes the High Priest, Wheel of Fortune becomes Wheel of the Year, and Judgement becomes Karma. Featuring the vibrant artwork of award-winning artist Mark Evans, Witches Tarot is the perfect combination of Tarot and the Craft. This is a mini edition of the Witches Tarot (9780738728001). Cards measure approximately 1.7 x 3 inches. Please note that this deck does not come with an instructional booklet.

The Actor Training Reader is an invaluable resource for students and teachers of acting, offering access to a wide range of key texts that identify, explore, illuminate and interrogate the challenges, practices and processes involved in training the modern actor. A companion volume to the highly-acclaimed Actor Training (Hodge 2010), this book collects key writings by influential actor training practitioners of the twentieth century, introduced with essays from leading academics in the field of actor training. Key practitioners included are: Eugenio Barba; Anne Bogart; Bertolt Brecht; Peter Brook; Michael Chekhov; and Konstantin Stanislavsky. The book sets established, widely used texts alongside less well-known ones in order to trace the development of actor training from the pioneering advances of Eastern Europe to the acting games of Augusto Boal. The texts are grouped into thematic sections rather than chronologically in order to encourage a comparison of different approaches to similar aspects of the craft. Each section will have a specially commissioned introductory essay by an expert in that area of actor training, which will bring context, critical engagement and contemporary relevance to the extracts and offer provocations for further discussion.

Frantic Assembly have had a powerful and continuing influence on the popularisation of devising practices in contemporary theatre-making. Their work blends brave and bold physical theatre with exciting new writing, and they have collaborated with some of the leading theatre-makers in the UK. The company's impact reaches throughout the world, particularly through their extensive workshop and education programmes, as well as their individual and collective impact as movement directors on landmark, internationally successful productions such as Black Watch and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This volume reveals the background to, and work of, a major influence on twentieth and twenty-first century performance. Frantic Assembly is the first book to combine: an overview of the history of the company since its foundation in 1994 an analysis of the key ideas underpinning the company's work a critical commentary on two key productions - Hymns by Chris O'Connell (1999) and Stockholm by Bryony Lavery (2007) a detailed description of a Frantic Assembly workshop, offering an introduction to how the company works. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners offer unbeatable value for today's student.

This book is the first critical analysis of the key principles and practices informing the movement training of actors in the modern era. Focusing on the cultural history of modern movement training for actors, Evans traces the development of the 'neutral' body as a significant area of practice within drama school training and the relationship between movement pedagogy and the operation of discipline and power in shaping the professional identity of the actor.

The volume looks in detail at the influence of the leading figures in movement training - Laban, Alexander, Copeau and Lecoq - on twentieth century professional actor training, and is informed by interviews with students and staff at leading English drama schools. Mark Evans re-evaluates the significance of movement training in the professional drama school, offering a new understanding of the body as a site for performative resistance to industrialization. Despite the publication of a number of 'how to' books on movement training for the professional acting student, this is the first text to look behind the curtain and write the unseen biography of the actor's body.

The Routledge Companion to Jacques Lecoq presents a thorough overview and analysis of Jacques Lecoq's life, work and philosophy of theatre. Through an exemplary collection of specially commissioned chapters from leading writers, specialists and practitioners, it draws together writings and reflections on his pedagogy, his practice, and his influence on the wider theatrical environment. It is a comprehensive guide to the work and legacy of one of the major figures of Western theatre in the second half of the twentieth century. In a four-part structure over fifty chapters, the book examines: The historical, artistic and social context out of which Lecoq's work and pedagogy arose, and its relation to such figures as Jacques Copeau, Antonin Artaud, Jean-Louis Barrault, and Dario Fo. Core themes of Lecoq's International School of Theatre, such as movement, play, improvisation, masks, language, comedy, and tragedy, investigated by former teachers and graduates of the School. The significance and value of his pedagogical approaches in the context of contemporary theatre practices. The diaspora of performance practice from the School, from the perspective of many of the most prominent artists themselves. This is an important and authoritative guide for anyone interested in Lecoq's work.

This book examines Jacques Copeau, a leading figure in the development of twentieth-century theatre practice, a pioneer in actor-training, physical theatre and ensemble acting, and a key innovator in the movement to de-centralize theatre and culture to the regions. Noe reissued, Jacques Copeau combines: an overview of Copeau's life and work an analysis of his key ideas a detailed commentary of his 1917 production of Moliere's late farce Les Fourberies de Scapin - the opening performance of his influential New York season a series of practical exercises offering an introduction to Copeau's working methods. As a first step towards critical understanding, and as an initial exploration before going on to further, primary research, Routledge Performance Practitioners are unbeatable value for today's student.

The Routledge Companion to Jacques Lecoq presents a thorough overview and analysis of Jacques Lecoq's life, work and philosophy of theatre. Through an exemplary collection of specially commissioned chapters from leading writers, specialists and practitioners, it draws together writings and reflections on his pedagogy, his practice, and his influence on the wider theatrical environment. It is a comprehensive guide to the work and legacy of one of the major figures of Western theatre in the second half of the twentieth century. In a four-part structure over fifty chapters, the book examines: The historical, artistic and social context out of which Lecoq's work and pedagogy arose, and its relation to such figures as Jacques Copeau, Antonin Artaud, Jean-Louis Barrault, and Dario Fo. Core themes of Lecoq's International School of Theatre, such as movement, play, improvisation, masks, language, comedy, and tragedy, investigated by former teachers and graduates of the School. The significance and value of his pedagogical approaches in the context of contemporary theatre practices. The diaspora of performance practice from the School, from the perspective of many of the most prominent artists themselves. This is an important and authoritative guide for anyone interested in Lecoq's work.

The world of public policy is becoming increasingly small due to dramatic changes in global communications, political and economic institutional structures, and to nation states themselves. This book evaluates the implications of these changes and challenges for both the study and the practice of policy transfer, and provides a unique understanding of the relationship between systemic globalizing forces and the increasing scope and intensity of policy transfer activity. It provides: an explanation of policy transfer as a process of organizational learning; an insight into how and why such processes are studied by policy scientists; an evaluation of its use by policy practitioners; and the first published collection of policy transfer case studies between developed countries, from developed to developing countries, and from developing countries.

The V&A's collection of more than 800 Dutch and Flemish sheets, made between the 15th and late 19th centuries, is among the largest in the world and includes masterpieces by Rembrandt, Rubens, and van Dyck, as well as designs for tapestries, stained glass, prints, portraits, and topographical views. This systematic catalog is the result of seven years of research by two leading authorities and includes an essay on the history of the collection by Mark Evans, senior curator of paintings and drawings at the V&A. All works are illustrated in full color, with full catalog data, as well as illustrations of watermarks and comparative works.

This inspiring collection of 70 essays by notable achievers who have reached 70 includes a wide diversity of people who have taken on exciting challenges and have found fun, intriguing, and surprising ways to mek their lives rewarding.

John Constable is one of the greatest painters of the English weather. His depictions of the sky are essential components of all his landscape paintings, from famous works such as The Hay Wain and Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows to his numerous cloud studies painted on Hampstead Heath, culminating in paintings in which the landscape beneath the ever-changing sky is completely absent. Constable kept a weather diary and was endlessly fascinated by the sky. In a letter written in 1821 to friend John Fisher, Bishop of Salisbury, Constable commented, 'That landscape painter who does not make his skies a very material part of his composition, neglects to avail himself of one of his greatest aids ... It will be difficult to name a class of landscape in which the sky is not the key note, the standard of scale, and the chief organ of sentiment.' Written by Mark Evans, a leading authority on the work of John Constable, Constable's Skies captures the artist's fascination with the sky and brings together his depictions of the English weather from throughout his career. It will appeal to a broad readership of museum visitors and art lovers, as well as practising landscape painters keen to learn new skills by studying the work of one of the most enduringly popular English artists of all time.

The Actor Training Reader is an invaluable resource for students and teachers of acting, offering access to a wide range of key texts that identify, explore, illuminate and interrogate the challenges, practices and processes involved in training the modern actor. A companion volume to the highly-acclaimed Actor Training (Hodge 2010), this book collects key writings by influential actor training practitioners of the twentieth century, introduced with essays from leading academics in the field of actor training. Key practitioners included are: Eugenio Barba; Anne Bogart; Bertolt Brecht; Peter Brook; Michael Chekhov; and Konstantin Stanislavsky. The book sets established, widely used texts alongside less well-known ones in order to trace the development of actor training from the pioneering advances of Eastern Europe to the acting games of Augusto Boal. The texts are grouped into thematic sections rather than chronologically in order to encourage a comparison of different approaches to similar aspects of the craft. Each section will have a specially commissioned introductory essay by an expert in that area of actor training, which will bring context, critical engagement and contemporary relevance to the extracts and offer provocations for further discussion.

Time and Performer Training addresses the importance and centrality of time and temporality to the practices, processes and conceptual thinking of performer training. Notions of time are embedded in almost every aspect of performer training, and so contributors to this book look at: age/aging and children in the training context how training impacts over a lifetime the duration of training and the impact of training regimes over time concepts of timing and the 'right' time how time is viewed from a range of international training perspectives collectives, ensembles and fashions in training, their decay or endurance. Through focusing on time and the temporal in performer training, this book offers innovative ways of integrating research into studio practices. It also steps out beyond the more traditional places of training to open up time in relation to contested training practices that take place online, in festival spaces and in folk or amateur practices. Ideal for both instructors and students, each section of this well-illustrated book follows a thematic structure and includes full-length chapters alongside shorter provocations. Featuring contributions from an international range of authors who draw on their backgrounds as artists, scholars and teachers, Time and Performer Training is a major step in our understanding of how time affects the preparation for performance.

This book is the first critical analysis of the key principles and practices informing the movement training of actors in the modern era. Focusing on the cultural history of modern movement training for actors, Evans traces the development of the 'neutral' body as a significant area of practice within drama school training and the relationship between movement pedagogy and the operation of discipline and power in shaping the professional identity of the actor. The volume looks in detail at the influence of the leading figures in movement training - Laban, Alexander, Copeau and Lecoq - on twentieth century professional actor training, and is informed by interviews with students and staff at leading English drama schools. Mark Evans re-evaluates the significance of movement training in the professional drama school, offering a new understanding of the body as a site for performative resistance to industrialization. Despite the publication of a number of 'how to' books on movement training for the professional acting student, this is the first text to look behind the curtain and write the unseen biography of the actor's body.

This volume focuses on the singing voice in contemporary cinema from 1945 to the present day, and rather than being restricted to one particular genre, considers how the singing voice has helped define and/or confuse genre classification. Typically heard in song, the singing voice is arguably the most expressive of all musical instruments. This volume celebrates the ways in which singing features in film. This includes the singing voice as protagonist, as narrator, as communicator, as entertainer, and as comedic interlude. Whether the singing voice in film is personally expressive, reflexive and distant, or synchronized for entertainment, there is typically interplay between the voice and visual elements. Extending beyond the body of literature on 'the musical', the volume is not about musicals per se. Rather, The Singing Voice in Contemporary Cinema discusses the singing voice as a distinct genre that focuses on the conceptualization and synchronization of the singing voice in the post-War era. It explores the relationship between screen, singing, singer and song; it celebrates the intersection of the singing voice and popular culture. In doing so, the volume will cross multiple disciplines including vocal studies, film studies, film sound studies, and music production (vocal processing).