A CONCISE COMPANION TO CONTEMPORARY BRITISH AND IRISH DRAMA

A Concise Companion to Contemporary British and Irish Drama investigates key issues in British and Irish theatre since 1979. Covering topics from globalisation, genocide and terrorism to the use of new technologies, and physical and verbatim theatre practices, this volume illustrates the extraordinary diversity of contemporary drama and performance.



Examines established and emerging playwrights, theatre companies, processes and ideological frameworks

Analyses influential social, political, cultural and institutional contexts, among them globalization, genocide, and national identity, the use of new technologies, and the practice of physical theatre

Challenges received ideas of the traditional canon, exploring work by Welsh, Scottish and Irish playwrights, as well as Black British Theatre, and Queer Theatres

Chapters include notes, references, and guides to further reading

Nadine Holdsworth is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Warwick. She has recently published Joan Littlewood as part of the Routledge Performance Practitioners series and previously edited John McGrath’s collected writings on theatre, Naked Thoughts That Roam About (Nick Hern, 2002) and his Plays for England (Exeter University Press, 2005).

Mary Luckhurst is Senior Lecturer in Modern Drama at the University of York. She has edited A Companion to Modern British and Irish Drama (Blackwell 2006) and is the author of Dramaturgy: A Revolution in Theatre (2006), co-author of The Drama Handbook: A Guide to Reading Plays (2002), and co-editor of Theatre and Celebrity in Britain, 1660-2000 (2005). She has also edited The Creative Writing Handbook: Techniques for New Writers (1996), On Directing: Interviews with Directors (1999), and On Acting: Interviews with Actors (2002). In 2006 she was awarded a University of York teaching award and made a National Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in recognition of her outstanding contributions to drama teaching and research.

List of Illustrations.
Notes on Contributors.
Acknowledgements.
Introduction: Nadine Holdsworth (University of Warwick) and Mary Luckhurst (University of York).
Part I: National Politics and Identities:.
1. Europe in Flux: Exploring Revolution and Migration in British Plays of the 1990s: Geoff Willcocks (Coventry University).
2. ‘I’ll See You Yesterday’: Brian Friel, Tom Murphy and the Captivating Past: Claire Gleitman (Ithaca College).
3. Black British Drama and the Politics of Identity: D. Keith Peacock (University of Hull).
4. Northern Irish Drama: Speaking the Peace: Tom Maguire (University of Ulster).
Part II: Sites, Cities and Landscapes:.
5. The Production of ‘Site’: Site-Specific Theatre: Fiona Wilkie (Roehampton University).
6. Staging an Urban Nation: Place and Identity in Contemporary Welsh Theatre: Heike Roms (University of Wales, Aberystwyth).
7. The Landscape of Contemporary Scottish Drama: Place, Politics and Identity: Nadine Holdsworth (University of Warwick).
Part III: The Body, Text and the Real:.
8. The Body's Cruel Joke: The Comic Theatre of Sarah Kane: Ken Urban (Harvard University).
9. Physical Theatre: Complicite and the Question of Authority: Helen Freshwater (Birkbeck College, University of London).
10. Verbatim Theatre, Media Relations and Ethics: Mary Luckhurst (University of York).
Part IV: Science, Ethics and New Technologies:.
11. Theatre and Science: David Higgins (University of Leeds).
12. From the State of the Nation to Globalization: Shifting Political Agendas in Contemporary British Playwriting: Dan Rebellato (Royal Holloway, University of London).
13. Theatre for a Media-Saturated Age: Sarah Gorman (Roehampton University).
Index