Bergman is a most versatile director who has devoted himself to several muses in a variety of media. Apart from being a writer of plays and screenplays, he has over the past 50 years directed about a hundred stage performances, 50 films, and many works for radio and television. During this time, all the production equipment used have undergone significant changes (allowing, just for instance, a more varied and subtle use of light and sound). But by his own admission, Bergman's texts have often lacked a clear orientation toward a specific medium. This book focuses on Bergman's way of tackling the problems inherent in each art form he has dealt with, giving a penetrating picture of his craftsmanship and the intimate relationship between his work on stage and in film, as well as the possibilities and limitations of the various forms. With the varied media at his disposal, Bergman is internationally the most versatile author-cum-director presently at work, well aware of what each medium can and cannot do and, most importantly, eager to test its borders. The book addresses itself not only to Bergman fans but also to all those interested in the aesthetic problems related to different presentational forms.

Ibsen's A Doll's House is one of the most widely debated plays, but which version of the play do we refer to--the original text, translations, stage presentation, radio, film or television adaptations? This study addresses these questions and examines how the choice of medium and directorial approaches have influenced the meaning of the play text. Comparative analysis of the text and performance is framed by biographical background to the play and its impact on later dramatists such as Strindberg and Shaw.

Ibsen's A Doll's House is one of the most widely debated plays, but which version of the play do we refer to--the original text, translations, stage presentation, radio, film or television adaptations? This study addresses these questions and examines how the choice of medium and directorial approaches have influenced the meaning of the play text. Comparative analysis of the text and performance is framed by biographical background to the play and its impact on later dramatists such as Strindberg and Shaw.

Eugene O'Neill wrote his plays for a theatre in which the playwright would take a central position. He presented himself as a controlling personality both in the texts -- in the form of ample stage directions -- and in performances based on these texts. His plays address several audiences -- reader, spectator, and production team -- and scripts were often different from the published versions. This study examines O'Neill's multiple roles as a writer for many audiences. After a description of O'Neill's working conditions and the multiple audiences of the plays, this study examines the various formal aspects of the plays: titles, settings in time and place, names and addresses, language, and connections and allusions to other works. An examination of the plays follows, with particular emphasis on Bound East for Cardiff, Long Day's journey into Night, and A Touch of the Poet.