This book offers a new perspective on the significant plays of a renowned twentieth-century dramatist, exploring both the critical reception and theatrical interpretations of his life and body of work. It delves into the influence and legacy of his contributions to drama, providing insights into how his plays have been perceived and performed over time.
Focusing on Noël Coward's significant plays, this book utilizes unpublished archival material to explore his creative process from manuscript to performance. It highlights Coward's unique working practices and his adaptations of traditional theatrical formulas, alongside his engagement with themes of social and sexual relationships. While he remained distanced from the more radical movements of his era, Coward's experimentation with form and content reveals a complex understanding of theatrical self-consciousness.
Exploring the intricate relationship between theatre and cinema, this book delves into their historical interplay, highlighting the tension between the two art forms. It examines how filmmakers have navigated the desire for independence while grappling with theatre's longstanding prestige. By analyzing various films and their theatrical influences, the work offers a fresh perspective on the evolution of both mediums, showcasing their interconnectedness and the ongoing dialogue between them.
Film adaptations of Shakespeare's plays are increasingly popular and now figure prominently in the study of his work and its reception. This Companion is a lively collection of critical and historical essays on the films adapted from, and inspired by, Shakespeare's plays. Chapters have been revised and updated from the first edition to include the most recent films and scholarship. An international team of leading scholars discuss Shakespearean films from a variety of perspectives: as works of art in their own right; as products of the international movie industry; and as the work of particular directors from Laurence Olivier and Orson Welles to Franco Zeffirelli and Kenneth Branagh. They also consider specific issues such as the portrayal of Shakespeare's women and the supernatural. The emphasis is on feature films for cinema, rather than television, with strong coverage of Hamlet, Richard III, Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare Films in the Making examines the production and reception of five feature-length Shakespeare films from the twentieth century, focusing on the ways in which they articulate visions of their Shakespearean originals, of the fictional worlds in which the films are set, and of the movie-makers' own society.
This is the third volume of essays by actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Thirteen actors describe the Shakespearean roles they played in productions between 1987 and 1991. The plays covered include Hamlet, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, Measure for Measure, and important theatrical rarities such as Cymbeline, Titus Andronicus, King John, and the Henry VI plays in the Royal Shakespeare Company's highly successful adaptation retitled The Plantagenets.
This is the second volume of essays by actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Fourteen actors describe the Shakespearean roles they played in productions between 1982 and 1987. A brief biographical note is provided for each of the contributors and an introduction places the essays in the context of the Stratford and London stages, and of the music and design for the particular productions.