Insightful, in-depth and evocative, this book is a collection of conversations with nine of the most innovative theatre directors of our time in Europe and North America: * Eugenio Barba * Lev Dodin * Declan Donnellan * Elizabeth LeCompte * Robert LePage * Simon McBurney * Katie Mitchell * Peter Sellars * Max Stafford-Clark. All these directors have developed their own highly individual theatre language and have been influential, nationally and internationally, across a wide range of theatre practices. The length, depth and scope of the discussions distinguishes this collection from others, each director providing a fascinating insight into his/her particular working processes. The book reveals the complex world of directors and their creative relationships with actors, in rehearsal and performance, and playwrights. Each conversation is framed by an introduction to the work of the director, a detailed chronology of productions and an indicative bibliography to inspire further reading and research.

Since Hedda Gabler exploded on to European and American stages in the 1890s, the play and its title character have troubled and transfixed audiences, performers and critics the world over. In this Routledge Literary Sourcebook, Christopher Innes balances essential reprinted texts with clear, incisive commentary to:
*set the play within the contexts of Norwegian nationalism, the women's movement and the cultural movement of Naturalism
*examine and emphasize the links between - the performance and criticism of the play, from 1890 to the present
*offer the ideal guide to key passages in the play, showing how a knowledge of the play's contexts, performance history and critical fortunes can give rise to exciting new readings of the text
*prepare readers for further study of the play, with suggestions for reading on specific issues of interest.
No student should be without this guide as they enter the fascinating world of Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen and Naturalist theater.

Since Hedda Gabler exploded on to European and American stages in the 1890s, the play and its title character have troubled and transfixed audiences, performers and critics the world over. In this Routledge Literary Sourcebook, Christopher Innes balances essential reprinted texts with clear, incisive commentary to:
*set the play within the contexts of Norwegian nationalism, the women's movement and the cultural movement of Naturalism
*examine and emphasize the links between - the performance and criticism of the play, from 1890 to the present
*offer the ideal guide to key passages in the play, showing how a knowledge of the play's contexts, performance history and critical fortunes can give rise to exciting new readings of the text
*prepare readers for further study of the play, with suggestions for reading on specific issues of interest.
No student should be without this guide as they enter the fascinating world of Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen and Naturalist theater.

Edward Gordon Craig's ideas regarding set and lighting have had an enormous impact on the development of the theatre we know today.
In this new and updated edition of his well-known study of Edward Gordon Craig, Professor Christopher Innes shows how Craig's stage work and theoretical writings were crucial to the development of modern theatre. This book contains extensive documentation and re-evaluates his significance as an artist, actor, director and writer. Craig is placed in historical context, and his productions are reconstituted from unpublished prompt-books, sketches, journals and correspondence. Most of the designs and photographs, and many of Craig's writings cited, are not available elsewhere in print. Readers will gain insight into a key period of theatrical history, the life of one of its most fascinating individuals, the nature of stage performance, and into revolutionary ideas that are still challenging today.

Unrivalled in its coverage of recent work and writers, The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights surveys and analyses the breadth, vitality and development of theatrical work to emerge from America over the last fifty years. This authoritative guide leads you through the work of 25 major contemporary American playwrights, discussing more than 140 plays in detail. Written by a team of 25 eminent international scholars, each chapter provides: * a biographical introduction to the playwright's work; * a survey and concise analysis of the writer's most important plays; * a discussion of their style, dramaturgical concerns and critical reception; * a bibliography of published plays and a select list of critical works. Among the many Tony, Obie and Pulitzer prize-winning playwrights included are Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, August Wilson, Paula Vogel and Neil LaBute. The abundance of work analysed enables fresh, illuminating conclusions to be drawn about the development of contemporary American playwriting.

The story of two legendary designers who made "modern America" From the 1920s through the 1950s, two individuals, Joseph Urban and Norman Bel Geddes, did more, by far, to create the image of "America" and make it synonymous with modernity than any of their contemporaries. Urban and Bel Geddes were leading Broadway stage designers and directors who turned their prodigious talents to other projects, becoming mavericks first in industrial design and then in commercial design, fashion, architecture, and more. The two men gave shape to the most quintessential symbols of the modern American lifestyle, including movies, cars, department stores, and nightclubs, along with private homes, kitchens, stoves, fridges, magazines, and numerous household furnishings. Illustrated with more than 130 photographs of their influential designs, this book tells the engrossing story of Urban and Bel Geddes. Christopher Innes shows how these two men with a background in theater lent dramatic flair to everything they designed and how this theatricality gave the distinctive modernity they created such wide appeal. If the American lifestyle has been much imitated across the globe over the past fifty years, says Innes, it is due in large measure to the designs of Urban and Bel Geddes. Together they were responsible for creating what has been called the "Golden Age" of American culture.

First published in 1999, this volume aims to develop the field of theatre studies by promoting the study of performative elements and thus fostering their consideration in the critical interpretation of dramatic literature. The authors additionally suggest ways of approaching and evaluating the work of individual performers, as well as of directors, designers and producers. It is an archival guide which covers manuscript and ephemera, rather than published texts, and attempts to indicate the potential value of the documentary material listed. This unique reference guide provides descriptions and evaluations of archive manuscript materials and ephemera relating to twentieth-century British and American theatre. Over 100 archives across Europe, North America and Britain were examined in the compilation of this volume. The documents include: unpublished playscripts; state and costume designs; directors' books; prompt books; lighting plots; stage photos; correspondence; theatre programmes. One hundred and seventy five entries are arranged alphabetically and cover playwrights, directors, designers and actors. By its nature, theatre is a collaborative enterprise, a facet which is recognised in the comprehensive cross-referencing of entries. The last twenty years has seen a shift in drama studies from text-based criticism to analysis of performance. The materials covered in this book have therefore become essential to future research in the field.

This Introduction is an exciting journey through the different styles of theatre that twentieth-century and contemporary directors have created. It discusses artistic and political values, rehearsal methods and the diverging relationships with actors, designers, other collaborators and audiences, and treatment of dramatic material. Offering a compelling analysis of theatrical practice, Christopher Innes and Maria Shevtsova explore the different rehearsal and staging principles and methods of such earlier groundbreaking figures as Stanislavsky, Meyerhold and Brecht, revising standard perspectives on their work. The authors analyse, as well, a diverse range of innovative contemporary directors, including Ariane Mnouchkine, Elizabeth LeCompte, Peter Sellars, Robert Wilson, Thomas Ostermeier and Oskaras Korsunovas, among many others. While tracing the different roots of directorial practices across time and space, and discussing their artistic, cultural and political significance, the authors provide key examples of the major directorial approaches and reveal comprehensive patterns in the craft of directing and the influence and collaborative relationships of directors.

First published in 1999, this volume aims to develop the field of theatre studies by promoting the study of performative elements and thus fostering their consideration in the critical interpretation of dramatic literature. The authors additionally suggest ways of approaching and evaluating the work of individual performers, as well as of directors, designers and producers. It is an archival guide which covers manuscript and ephemera, rather than published texts, and attempts to indicate the potential value of the documentary material listed. This unique reference guide provides descriptions and evaluations of archive manuscript materials and ephemera relating to twentieth-century British and American theatre. Over 100 archives across Europe, North America and Britain were examined in the compilation of this volume. The documents include: unpublished playscripts; state and costume designs; directors' books; prompt books; lighting plots; stage photos; correspondence; theatre programmes. One hundred and seventy five entries are arranged alphabetically and cover playwrights, directors, designers and actors. By its nature, theatre is a collaborative enterprise, a facet which is recognised in the comprehensive cross-referencing of entries. The last twenty years has seen a shift in drama studies from text-based criticism to analysis of performance. The materials covered in this book have therefore become essential to future research in the field.

A Sourcebook on Naturalist Theatre provides essential primary sources which document one of the key movements in modern theatre. Christopher Innes has selected three writers to exemplify the movement, and six plays in particular:
* Henrik Ibsen - A Dolls House and Hedda Gabler
* Anton Chekhov - The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard
* George Bernard Shaw - Mrs Warren's Profession and Heartbreak House.
Innes' introduction provides an overview of naturalist theatre. Key themes include: the representation of women, significant contemporary issues and the links between theory, play writing and stage practice. The primary sources explore many aspects of naturalism, giving information on:
* the playwrights' intentions when writing plays
* contemporary reviews
* literary criticism
* political and social background
* production notes from early performances of the plays.


eBook available with sample pages: 0203137418

A Sourcebook on Naturalist Theatre provides essential primary sources which document one of the key movements in modern theatre. Christopher Innes has selected three writers to exemplify the movement, and six plays in particular:
* Henrik Ibsen - A Dolls House and Hedda Gabler
* Anton Chekhov - The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard
* George Bernard Shaw - Mrs Warren's Profession and Heartbreak House.
Innes' illuminating introduction provides a fascinating overview of naturalist theatre. Key themes include:
* the representation of women
* significant contemporary issues
* the links between theory, play writing and stage practice.
The primary sources explore many aspects of naturalism, giving information on:
* the playwrights' intentions when writing plays
* contemporary reviews
* literary criticism
* political and social background
* production notes from early performances of the plays.

Examining the development of avant garde theatre from its inception in the 1890s to the present day, Christopher Innes exposes a central paradox of modern theatre; that the motivating force of theatrical experimentation is primitivism. What links the work of Strindberg, Artaud, Brook and Mnouchkine is an idealization of the elemental and a desire to find ritual in archaic traditions. This widespread primitivism, he argues, is the key to understanding both the political and aesthetic aspects of modern theatre and provides fresh insights into contemporary social trends.
The original text, first published in 1981 as "Holy Theatre," has been completely revised to take account of the most recent theoretical developments in anthropology, critical and intercultural theory and psychotherapy. Additional sections on Heiner Muller, Robert Wilson, Eugenio Barba, Ariane Mnouchkine and Sam Shepard have been added. As a result, the book now deals with all the major avant garde theatre practitioners.
"Avant Garde Theatre" is essential reading for anyone attempting to understand contemporary drama. Not only does it provide a coherent perspective on what is often seen as confusingly diverse, its analysis of performance and the relationship of staging to theory will interest a general audience.

Edward Gordon Craig's ideas regarding set and lighting have had an enormous impact on the development of the theatre we know today.
In this new and updated edition of his well-known study of Edward Gordon Craig, Professor Christopher Innes shows how Craig's stage work and theoretical writings were crucial to the development of modern theatre. This book contains extensive documentation and re-evaluates his significance as an artist, actor, director and writer. Craig is placed in historical context, and his productions are reconstituted from unpublished prompt-books, sketches, journals and correspondence. Most of the designs and photographs, and many of Craig's writings cited, are not available elsewhere in print. Readers will gain insight into a key period of theatrical history, the life of one of its most fascinating individuals, the nature of stage performance, and into revolutionary ideas that are still challenging today.

Examining the development of avant garde theatre from its inception in the 1890s to the present day, Christopher Innes exposes a central paradox of modern theatre; that the motivating force of theatrical experimentation is primitivism. What links the work of Strindberg, Artaud, Brook and Mnouchkine is an idealization of the elemental and a desire to find ritual in archaic traditions. This widespread primitivism, he argues, is the key to understanding both the political and aesthetic aspects of modern theatre and provides fresh insights into contemporary social trends.
The original text, first published in 1981 as "Holy Theatre," has been completely revised to take account of the most recent theoretical developments in anthropology, critical and intercultural theory and psychotherapy. Additional sections on Heiner Muller, Robert Wilson, Eugenio Barba, Ariane Mnouchkine and Sam Shepard have been added. As a result, the book now deals with all the major avant garde theatre practitioners.
"Avant Garde Theatre" is essential reading for anyone attempting to understand contemporary drama. Not only does it provide a coherent perspective on what is often seen as confusingly diverse, its analysis of performance and the relationship of staging to theory will interest a general audience.

This Introduction is an exciting journey through the different styles of theatre that twentieth-century and contemporary directors have created. It discusses artistic and political values, rehearsal methods and the diverging relationships with actors, designers, other collaborators and audiences, and treatment of dramatic material. Offering a compelling analysis of theatrical practice, Christopher Innes and Maria Shevtsova explore the different rehearsal and staging principles and methods of such earlier groundbreaking figures as Stanislavsky, Meyerhold and Brecht, revising standard perspectives on their work. The authors analyse, as well, a diverse range of innovative contemporary directors, including Ariane Mnouchkine, Elizabeth LeCompte, Peter Sellars, Robert Wilson, Thomas Ostermeier and Oskaras Kor unovas, among many others. While tracing the different roots of directorial practices across time and space, and discussing their artistic, cultural and political significance, the authors provide key examples of the major directorial approaches and reveal comprehensive patterns in the craft of directing and the influence and collaborative relationships of directors.

Insightful, in-depth and evocative, this book is a collection of conversations with nine of the most innovative theatre directors of our time in Europe and North America: * Eugenio Barba * Lev Dodin * Declan Donnellan * Elizabeth LeCompte * Robert LePage * Simon McBurney * Katie Mitchell * Peter Sellars * Max Stafford-Clark. All these directors have developed their own highly individual theatre language and have been influential, nationally and internationally, across a wide range of theatre practices. The length, depth and scope of the discussions distinguishes this collection from others, each director providing a fascinating insight into his/her particular working processes. The book reveals the complex world of directors and their creative relationships with actors, in rehearsal and performance, and playwrights. Each conversation is framed by an introduction to the work of the director, a detailed chronology of productions and an indicative bibliography to inspire further reading and research.

A revised and updated version of Modern British Drama, 1890-1990, is the first one-volume analysis of English playwriting over the twentieth century. Through detailed discussions of major dramatists and plays, Christopher Innes traces the evolution of modernism from Bernard Shaw to the present as well as theatrical developments over the period. The text includes information on the social and political environment surrounding the plays, first productions and critical reception, and chronology and illustrations from key performances, lists of playwrights and works, and selective bibliographies. It is an invaluable guide for students, theater-goers and theater historians.

A revised and updated version of Modern British Drama, 1890-1990, is the first one-volume analysis of English playwriting over the twentieth century. Through detailed discussions of major dramatists and plays, Christopher Innes traces the evolution of modernism from Bernard Shaw to the present as well as theatrical developments over the period. The text includes information on the social and political environment surrounding the plays, first productions and critical reception, and chronology and illustrations from key performances, lists of playwrights and works, and selective bibliographies. It is an invaluable guide for students, theater-goers and theater historians.

A pioneering collection of articles on fictionalized biographies of the Romantics in contemporary fiction and drama. It appears that the lives of the British Romantics and the myths surrounding them have a special appeal for contemporary writers.The present volume sets out to explore this renewed interest in Romantic artist-figures in the context of the current renaissance of 'life-writing'. The essays collected here deal with Romantic 'biofictions' by such authors as Peter Ackroyd, Adrian Mitchell, Ann Jellicoe, Liz Lochhead, Judith Chernaik, Amanda Prantera, Robert Nye, Tom Stoppard, Howard Brenton, Edward Bond, and others. Thomas Chatterton, William Blake, James Hogg, Sir Walter Scott, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, John Polidori, John Clare, and -- most prominently -- Lord Byron featureas the 'biographical subjects' in the works discussed.

The Cambridge Companion to George Bernard Shaw is an indispensable guide to one of the most influential and important dramatists of the theater. The volume offers a broad-ranging study of Shaw with essays by a team of leading scholars. The Companion covers all aspects of Shaw's drama, focusing both on the political and theatrical context, while the extensive illustrations showcase productions from the Shaw Festival in Canada. In addition to situating Shaw's work in its own time, the Companion demonstrates its continuing relevance, and applies some of the newest critical approaches.

This collection of essays, drawn from scholarship over the last forty years, explores the drama of four of the most influential proponents of modernism in European Drama: Ibsen, Strindberg, Pirandello, and Beckett. Although there are other dramatists who also contributed to Modernism, these four illustrate widely different and contrasting aspects to the movement. Since discussions of Modernism are generally restricted to poetry, novels, or the fine arts (painting, sculpture), examining theatre from this perspective covers new ground. The choice of these four dramatists as the subjects of the volume reflects the large percentage of essays dealing with their work published by Modern Drama, the leading scholarly journal in the field, which in turn is a measure of the centrality of these particular playwrights in critical discourse. The essays here have been selected to cover the main elements of the work of each of the four dramatists, with the aim of creating a useful teaching tool for university courses. Since some of the essays selected go back to the 1960s, while others are very contemporary, this volume also offers a perspective on the historical development of critical theory.

Unrivalled in its coverage of recent work and writers, The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights surveys and analyses the breadth, vitality and development of theatrical work to emerge from America over the last fifty years. This authoritative guide leads you through the work of 25 major contemporary American playwrights, discussing more than 140 plays in detail. Written by a team of 25 eminent international scholars, each chapter provides: · a biographical introduction to the playwright’s work; · a survey and concise analysis of the writer's most important plays; · a discussion of their style, dramaturgical concerns and critical reception; · a bibliography of published plays and a select list of critical works. Among the many Tony, Obie and Pulitzer prize-winning playwrights included are Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, August Wilson, Paula Vogel and Neil LaBute. The abundance of work analysed enables fresh, illuminating conclusions to be drawn about the development of contemporary American playwriting.

This Introduction is an exciting journey through the different styles of theatre that twentieth-century and contemporary directors have created. It discusses artistic and political values, rehearsal methods and the diverging relationships with actors, designers, other collaborators and audiences, and treatment of dramatic material. Offering a compelling analysis of theatrical practice, Christopher Innes and Maria Shevtsova explore the different rehearsal and staging principles and methods of such earlier groundbreaking figures as Stanislavsky, Meyerhold and Brecht, revising standard perspectives on their work. The authors analyse, as well, a diverse range of innovative contemporary directors, including Ariane Mnouchkine, Elizabeth LeCompte, Peter Sellars, Robert Wilson, Thomas Ostermeier and Oskaras Kor unovas, among many others. While tracing the different roots of directorial practices across time and space, and discussing their artistic, cultural and political significance, the authors provide key examples of the major directorial approaches and reveal comprehensive patterns in the craft of directing and the influence and collaborative relationships of directors.