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 biogr...

'An exultant night - a man in total command of his talent.' Observer'The most intense expression of compressed violence to be found anywhere in Pinter's plays.' The TimesWhen Teddy, a professor in an American university, brings his wife Ruth to visit his old home in London, he finds his family still living in the house. In the conflict that follows, it is Ruth who becomes the focus of the family's struggle for supremacy.

Wycherley's four comedies are admired for their satirical wit, farcical humour, vivid characterization, and social criticism.Love in a Wood, a lively comedy of intrigue, established him as a brilliant new dramatist.The Gentleman Dancing-Master, in contrast, disappointed contemporary audiences, but the central relationship between Hippolyta and Gerrard features an original and sympathetic study of a young woman's attitudes and feelings. The Country Wife is a sharp but also highly amusing at...

In this version of the story of Joan of Arc, Brecht transforms her into 'Joan Dark', a member of the 'Black Straw Hats' (a Salvation Army-like group) in twentieth century Chicago. The play charts Joan's battle with Pierpont Mauler, the unctuous owner of a meat-packing plant. Like her predecessor, Joan is a doomed woman, a martyr and (initially, at least) an innocent in a world of strike-breakers, fat cats, and penniless workers. Like many of Brecht's plays it is laced with humor and songs ...

Its government has declared a vicious class war. A one-sided war . . . We have started to fight back . . . with bombs.Against a backdrop of Tory cuts, high unemployment and the deregulated economy of 1970s Britain, a young urban guerrilla group mobilises: The Angry Brigade. Their targets: MPs, embassies, police, pageant queens. A world of order is shattered by anarchy and the rules have changed. An uprising has begun. No one is exempt.As a special police squad hunt...

In this clear and detailed reading guide, we’ve done all the hard work for you!Waiting for Godot is one of Samuel Beckett’s most famous plays. It shows how Vladimir and Estragon wait for a mysterious character called Godot. Nothing happens aside from the dialogue between the two protagonists, yet the implications of this very successful play are numerous.Find out everything you need to know about Waiting for Godot in just a few minutes!

This carefully crafted ebook: “The Death of Olivier Becaille (Unabridged)” is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents.Zola’s horrific short story depicts a man, Olivier Becaille, in a temporary coma and paralytic state. This condition leads his wife to believe he is dead. It even fools the doctor. Funeral and burial arrangements are made and carried out. Readers’ will experience their worst fear through the eyes of Olivier Becaille.Émile ...

His uniform is picturesque; a hat with triple plumeDoublet, cape, and sword - worn like a peacock's tail.From the eyebrows up, he's all feathersFrom the neck down, it's buckle and swash -But squeezed between is a nose – a nose...A modest poet such as I must fail entirelyTo describe this gross, immodest, monstrous nose.Cyrano de Bergerac, a brilliant poet and swordsman, is deeply in love with his brilliant and beautiful cousin Roxan...

When Dr Stockmann discovers that the water in the small Norwegian town in which he is the resident physician has been contaminated, he does what any responsible citizen would do: reports it to the authorities. But Stockmann's good deed has the potential to ruin the town's reputation as a popular spa destination, and instead of being hailed as a hero, Stockmann is labelled an enemy of the people. Arthur Miller's adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's classic drama is a classic in itself, a penetratin...

Since the premiere of his play FOB in 1979, the Chinese American playwright David Henry Hwang has made a significant impact in the U. S. and beyond. The Theatre of David Henry Hwang provides an in-depth study of his plays and other works in theatre.Beginning with his "Trilogy of Chinese America", Esther Kim Lee traces all major phases of his playwriting career. Utilizing historical and dramaturgical analysis, she argues that Hwang has developed a unique style of m...

Susan Glaspell and Sophie Treadwell presents critical introductions to two of the most significant American dramatists of the early twentieth century. Glaspell and Treadwell led American Theatre from outdated melodrama to the experimentation of great European playwrights like Ibsen, Strindberg and Shaw.This is the first book to deal with Glaspell and Treadwell’s plays from a theatrical, rather than literary, perspective, and presents a comprehensive overview of their work ...

Written specifically for GCSE students by academics in the field, the Methuen Drama GCSE Student Editions provide in-depth explanatory material alongside the play texts frequently studied at Key Stage 4.Whether for use in the classroom or independent study, these editions offer a fully comprehensive and lightly glossed play text with accompanying notes specifically directed towards readers of this age, which unravel essential topics and challenge all students to delve further into ...