Contemporary Adaptations of Greek Tragedy: Auteurship and Directorial Visions

Contemporary Adaptations of Greek Tragedy: Auteurship and Directorial Visions provides a wide-ranging analysis of the role of the director in shaping adaptations for the stage today. Through its focus on a wide range of international productions by Katie Mitchell, Theodoros Terzopoulos, Peter Sellars, Jan Fabre, Ariane Mnouchkine, Tadashi Suzuki, Yukio Ninagawa, Andrei Serban, Nikos Charalambous, Bryan Doerries and Richard Schechner, among others, it offers readers a detailed study of the ways directors have responded to the original texts, refashioning them for different audiences, contexts and purposes. As such the volume will appeal to readers of theatre and performance studies, classics and adaptation studies, directors and theatre practitioners, and anyone who has ever wondered 'why they did it like that' when watching a stage production of an ancient Greek play. The volume Contemporary Adaptations of Greek Tragedy is divided in three sections: the first section - Global Perspectives - considers the work of a range of major directors from around the world who have provided new readings of Greek Tragedy: Peter Sellars and Athol Fugard in the US, Katie Mitchell in the UK, Theodoros Terzopoulos in Greece and Tadashi Suzuki and Yukio Ninagawa in Japan. Their work on a wide range of plays is analysed, including Electra , Oedipus the King , The Persians , Iphigenia at Aulis , and Ajax . Parts Two and Three – Directing as Dialogue with the Community and Directorial Re-Visions - focus on a range of productions of key plays from the repertoire, including Prometheus Landscape II, Les Atrides, The Trojan Women, The Bacchae, Antigone and The Suppliants , among others. In each, the varying approaches of different directors are analysed, together with a detailed investigation of the mise-en-scene. In considering each stage production, the authors raise issues of authenticity, contemporary resonances, translation, directorial control/auteurship and adaptation. This Book Presents A Selection Of Over Seventy Of The Most Important Historical Essays On Comedy, Ranging From Antiquity To The Present, Divided Into Historical Periods And Arranged Chronologically. Across Its Span It Traces The Development Of Comic Theory, Highlighting The Relationships Between Comedy, Politics, Economics, Philosophy, Religion, And Other Arts And Genres. General Introduction -- Chapter 1: Antiquity And The Middle Ages. Introduction -- Texts -- Ancient Views Of Comedy -- 1. Plato, Philebus (the Basis Of Comedy Is Malice) -- 2. Aristotle On The Origins And Function Of Comedy -- A. Poetics -- B. On The Qualities Of Character That Are Moderate From Nicomachean Ethics -- C. Tractatus Coislinianus -- 3. Horace, Remarks On Comedy From Epistles, Satires -- 4. Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria (a.d. 95) -- Medieval Views Of Comedy -- 5. Evanthius, On Drama (ca. A.d. 350) -- 6. Donatus, On Comedy (ca. A.d. 350) -- 7. Hrotsvita Of Gandersheim, Prologue To The Comedies (ca. A.d. 935-972) -- 8. Dante Alighieri, De Vulgari Eloquentia (on Eloquence In The Vernacular) (1302-1305) -- 9. Definitions Of Comedy (john Of Garland, Dante, John Lydgate) -- 10. Attitudes To The Comic Theater (john Of Salisbury, Honorius Of Autun, Liuprand Of Cremona) -- Chapter 2: The Renaissance. Introduction -- Texts --^ 1. Erasmus, Collected Works Of Erasmus (1512) -- 2. Gian Giorgio Trissino, Division Vi: Comedy, Poetica (1529) -- 3. Sir Thomas Elyot, Xii: The Second And Third Decay Of Leaning The Governor The Boke Named The Gouernour / Deuised By Thomas Elyot Knight (1531) -- 4. Nicholas Udall, Prologue To Ralph Roster Doister (1538) -- 5. Thomas Wilson, Of Delighting The Hearers And Stirring Them To Laughter From The Arte Of Rhetorique (1560) -- 6. George Gascoigne, Prologue To The Glasse Of Governement (1575) -- 7. Stephen Gosson, The School Of Abuse: Containing A Pleasant Invective Against Poets, Pipers, Players, Jesters, Etc (1579) -- 8. Sir Philip Sidney, Comedy, Tragicomedy, The Nature Of Laughter From The Defence Of Poesie (1595) -- 9. Ben Jonson, Every Man Out Of His Humour (1599) -- 10. Battista Guarini, Compendium Of Tragicomic Poetry (1601) -- Chapter 3: Restoration To Romanticism. Introduction -- Texts -- 1. Samuel Butler, Characters And Passages From Notebooks (ca. 1650) --^ 2. Molière, Preface To Tartuffe (1667) -- 3. William Congreve, Dedication To The Double-dealer (1693) -- 4. John Dryden, Of Dramatick Poesie, An Essay(1668) -- 5. Aphra Behn Epistle To The Reader, From The Dutch Lover (1673) -- 6. John Dryden, A Discourse Concerning The Original And Progress Of Satire (1693) -- 7. Jeremy Collier, A Short View Of The Immorality And Profaneness Of The English Stage (1698) -- 8. Anthony Ashley Cooper, Third Earl Of Shaftesbury, The Freedom Of Wit And Humour From Sensus Communis: An Essay On The Freedom Of Wit And Humour (1709) -- 9. Richard Blackmore, Essay Upon Wit (1716) -- 10. Henry Fielding, Selections From The Preface To Joseph Andrews (1742) -- 11. Samuel Johnson, The Difficulty Of Defining Comedy, The Rambler (1751) -- 12. Oliver Goldsmith, A Comparison Between Laughing And Sentimental Comedy (1773) -- 13. Immanuel Kant, Comparison Of The Aesthetic Value Of The Various Fine Arts From Critique Of Judgment, --^ 14. Jean Paul Richter, On The Ridiculous (1804) -- 15. William Hazlitt, On Wit And Humour (1819) -- 16. Charles Lamb, On The Artificial Comedy Of The Last Century (1822) -- Chapter 4: The Industrial Age. Introduction -- Texts -- 1. Søren Kierkegaard, The Reality Of Suffering (humor); Humor As An Incognito For Religiosity; Humor -- The Religiosity Of Hidden Inwardness From Concluding Unscientific Postscript (1846) -- 2. W. M. Thackeray, The English Humourists Of The Eighteenth Century (1853) -- 3. Charles Baudelaire, On The Essence Of Laughter (1855) -- 4. George Meredith, An Essay On Comedy And The Uses Of The Comic Spirit (1897) -- 5. George Bernard Shaw, Meredith On Comedy (1897) -- 6. Mark Twain, How To Tell A Story (1897) -- 7. Henri Bergson, Laughter (1901) -- 8. Sigmund Freud, Wit And The Various Forms Of The Comic (1905) -- Chapter 5: The Twentieth Century And Early-twenty-first Century. Introduction -- Texts --^ 1. Luigi Pirandello, On Humor (1908, 1920) -- 2. Virginia Woolf, Pure English (1920) -- 3. Constance Rourke, American Humor: A Study Of The National Character (1931) -- 4. Kenneth Burke, Comic Correctives From Attitudes Toward History (1937) -- 5. Susanne Langer, The Comic Rhythm From Feeling And Form (1953) -- 6. Georges Bataille, Un-knowing: Laughter And Tears (1953) -- 7. Northrop Frye Comic Fictional Modes From Anatomy Of Criticism: Four Essays (1965) -- 8).jacques Derrida, From Restricted To General Economy: A Hegelianism Without Reserve From Writing And Difference (1967) -- 9. Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais In The History Of Laughter From Rabelais And His World (1965) -- 10. René Girard, Perilous Balance: A Comic Hypothesis (1972) -- 11. Gerald Mast, Comic Films-categories And Definitions From The Comic Mind: Comedy And The Movies (1973) -- 12. Stanley Cavell, Pursuits Of Happiness: The Hollywood Comedy Of Remarriage (1981) --^ 13. Mahadev L. Apte, Sexual Inequality In Humor From Humor And Laughter: An Anthropological Approach (1984) -- 14. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory Of Parody (1985) -- 15. Henry Jenkins, Agee, Mast, And The Classical Tradition And Early Sound Comedy And The Vaudeville Aesthetic From What Made Pistachio Nuts?: Early Sound Comedy And The Vaudeville Aesthetic (1992) -- 16. Simon Critchley, On Humour (2002) -- 17. Glenda R. Carpio, Black Humor In The Fictions Of Slavery (2008) -- 18. Michael North, Machine-age Comedy (2009) -- 19. Ruth Wisse, No Joke: Making Jewish Humor (2013) -- 20.magda Romanska, Disability In Tragic And Comic Frame (2015). [edited By] Magda Romanska And Alan Ackerman. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Tracing the history of tragedy and comedy from their earliest beginnings to the present, this book offers readers an exceptional study of the development of both genres, grounded in analysis of landmark plays and their context. It argues that sacrifice is central to both genres, and demonstrates how it provides a key to understanding the grand sweep of Western drama. For students of literature and drama the volume serves as an accessible companion to over two millennia of drama organised by period, and reveals how sacrifice represents a through-line running from classical drama to today's reality TV and blockbuster movies.Across the chapters devoted to each period, Day explores how the meanings of sacrifice change over time, but never quite disappear. He charts the influences of religion, social change and politics on the status and purposes of theatre in each period, and on the drama itself. But it is through a close study of key plays that he reveals the continuities centred around sacrifice that persist and which illuminate aspects of human psychology and social organisation.Among the many plays and events considered are Aeschylus'trilogy The Oresteia, Aristophanes'Women at the Thesmorphia, Menander's The Bad-Tempered Man, the spectacles of the Roman Games, Seneca's The Trojan Women, Plautus's The Rope, the Cycle plays and Everyman from the Middle Ages, Shakespeare's King Lear and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy, Jonson's Every Man in His Humour, Thomas Otway's The Orphan, William Wycherley's The Country Wife, Wilde's A Woman of No Importance, Beckett'Waiting for Godot, Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire, Suzan-Lori Parks's Topdog/Underdog, Sarah Kane's Blasted and Charlotte Jones'Humble Boy. A conclusion examines the persistence of ideas of sacrifice in today's reality TV and blockbuster movies. This unique anthology presents a selection of over seventy of the most important historical essays on comedy, ranging from antiquity to the present, divided into historical periods and arranged chronologically. Across its span it traces the development of comic theory, highlighting the relationships between comedy, politics, economics, philosophy, religion, and other arts and genres. Students of literature and theatre will find this collection an invaluable and accessible guide to writing from Plato and Aristotle through to the twenty-first century, in which special attention has been paid to writings since the start of the twentieth century. 0'Reader in Comedy' is arranged in five sections, each featuring an introduction providing concise and informed historical and theoretical frameworks for the texts from the period: * Antiquity and the Middle Ages * The Renaissance * Restoration to Romanticism * The Industrial Age * The Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Centuries. Among the many authors included are: Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Donatus, Dante Alighieri, Erasmus, Trissino, Sir Thomas Elyot, Thomas Wilson, Sir Philip Sidney, Ben Jonson, Battista Guarini, Moliere, William Congreve, John Dryden, Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Jean Paul Richter, William Hazlitt, Charles Lamb, Soren Kierkegaard, Charles Baudelaire, Bernard Shaw, Mark Twain, Henri Bergson, Constance Rourke, Northrop Frye, Jacques Derrida, Mikhail Bakhtin, Georges Bataille, Simon Critchley and Michael North. As the selection demonstrates, from Plato and Aristotle to Henri Bergson and Sigmund Freud, comedy has attracted the attention of serious thinkers. Bringing together diverse theories of comedy from across the ages, the Reader reveals that, far from being peripheral, comedy speaks to the most pragmatic aspects of human life This unique anthology presents a selection of over seventy of the most important historical essays on comedy, ranging from antiquity to the present, divided into historical periods and arranged chronologically. Across its span it traces the development of comic theory, highlighting the relationships between comedy, politics, economics, philosophy, religion, and other arts and genres. Students of literature and theatre will find this collection an invaluable and accessible guide to writing from Plato and Aristotle through to the twenty-first century, in which special attention has been paid to writings since the start of the twentieth century.Reader in Comedy is arranged in five sections, each featuring an introduction providing concise and informed historical and theoretical frameworks for the texts from the period:• Antiquity and the Middle Ages• The Renaissance• Restoration to Romanticism• The Industrial Age• The Twentieth and Early Twenty-First CenturiesAmong the many authors included are: Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Donatus, Dante Alighieri, Erasmus, Trissino, Sir Thomas Elyot, Thomas Wilson, Sir Philip Sidney, Ben Jonson, Battista Guarini, Molière, William Congreve, John Dryden, Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Jean Paul Richter, William Hazlitt, Charles Lamb, Søren Kierkegaard, Charles Baudelaire, Bernard Shaw, Mark Twain, Henri Bergson, Constance Rourke, Northrop Frye, Jacques Derrida, Mikhail Bakhtin, Georges Bataille, Simon Critchley and Michael North.As the selection demonstrates, from Plato and Aristotle to Henri Bergson and Sigmund Freud, comedy has attracted the attention of serious thinkers. Bringing together diverse theories of comedy from across the ages, the Reader reveals that, far from being peripheral, comedy speaks to the most pragmatic aspects of human life. FC 1 Half title 2 Related titles from Bloomsbury Methuen Drama 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of figures 9 Acknowledgements 10 Contributors 12 Introduction: The contemporary director in Greek tragedy George Rodosthenous 16 Part One Global Perspectives 44 1 American directorial perspectives: Independence Day meets Greek tragedy Marianne McDonald 46 2 Greek contemporary approaches to tragedy: Terzopoulos’ revisions of Aeschylus Avra Sidiropoulou 68 3 British auteurship and the Greeks: Katie Mitchell Andrew Haydon 88 4 Tadashi Suzuki and Yukio Ninagawa: Reinventing the Greek classics; reinventing Japanese identity after Hiroshima Penelope Chatzidimitriou 108 Part Two Directing as Dialogue with the Community 124 5 Directing Greek tragedy as a ritual: Mystagogy, religion and ecstasy Magdalena Zira 126 6 La MaMa’s Trojan Women: Forty-two years of suffering rhythms from New York to Guatemala Adam Strickson 142 7 Theater of War: Ancient Greek drama as a forum for modern military dialogue Sophie Klein 162 Part Three Directorial Re-Visions 180 8 Jan Fabre’s Prometheus Landscape II: [De]territorialization of the tragic and transgressive acts of arson Demetris Zavros 182 9 Dionysus the destroyer of traditions: The Bacchae on stage George Sampatakakis 204 10 Ariane Mnouchkine’s Les Atrides: Uncovering a classic Dominic Glynn 228 11 Re-imagining Antigone: Contemporary resonances in the directorial revisioning of character, chorus and staging Sue Hamstead 242 Exodus, Ἔξοδος: In search of a contemporary catharsis George Rodosthenous 266 Notes 268 Index 286 Verse Drama in England, 1900-2015 provides a critical and historical exploration of a tradition of modern dramatic creativity that has received very little scholarly attention. Exploring the emergence of a distinctly modern verse drama at the turn of the century and its development into the twenty-first, it counters common assumptions that the form is a marginal, fundamentally outdated curiosity. Through an examination of the extensive and diverse engagement of literary and theatrical writers, directors and musicians, Irene Morra identifies in modern verse drama a consistent and often prominent attempt to expand upon, revitalize, and redefine the contemporary English stage.Dramatists discussed include Stephen Phillips, Gordon Bottomley, John Masefield, James Elroy Flecker, T. S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, Ronald Duncan, Christopher Fry, John Arden, Anne Ridler, Tony Harrison, Steven Berkoff, Caryl Churchill, and Mike Bartlett. The book explores the negotiation of these dramatists with the changing position of verse drama in relation to constructions of national and communal audience, aesthetic challenge, and dramatic heritage. Key to the study is the self-conscious positioning of many of these dramatists in relation to an assumed mainstream tradition – and the various critical responses that that positioning has provoked. The study advocates for a scholarly revaluation of what must be identified as an influential and overlooked tradition of aesthetic challenge and creativity. "What does it mean for a play to be political in the 21st century? Does it require explicit engagement with events and situations with the aim of bringing about change or highlighting social wrongs? Is it purely a matter of content or is it also a matter of structure? The Contemporary Political Play: Rethinking Dramaturgical Structure examines the politics of contemporary 'political' drama. It traces the origins of the contemporary British political play to the emergence of the idea of 'serious drama' in the late 19th century through the work of Bernard Shaw, and argues that a Shavian version of serious drama was inextricably linked to the social and political structures of British society at the time. While political drama is still often thought of as adhering to a Shavian model in which social issues are presented through a dialectical structure, Grochala argues that the different political structures of contemporary Britain give rise to formally inventive dramaturgies that are no less 'serious' or political than their Shavian forebears. Through analysing the experimental dramaturgies of contemporary plays by playwrights including Caryl Churchill, Simon Stephens, Anthony Neilson, debbie tucker green and Mark Ravenhill, among others, it offers a set of new principles for understanding how a play functions politically and reveals how today the dramaturgical structure of a play is as political as its content"-- Provided by publisher This Critical Introduction To British Musical Theatre Since 1950 Is The First Book To Discuss Its Post-war Developments From The Perspective Of British - As Opposed To American - Popular Culture. The Genre Is Situated Within The Historical Context Of Post-war British Society In Order To Explore The Range Of Forms Through Which Significant Sociocultural Moments Are Represented. Introductory Chapters Analyse The Way British Musicals Have Responded To Social Change, The Forms Of Popular Theatre And Music From Which They Have Developed And Their Originality In Elaborating New Narrative Strategies Since The Seventies. A Key Feature Of The Book Is Its Close Readings Of Twelve Key Works, From Salad Days (1954) And Oliver! (1960) To Global Smash Hits Such As Les Miserables (1985) And The Phantom Of The Opera (1986) And Beyond, Including The Latest Critical And Box-office Success Matilda (2011). Also Analysed Are British Favourites (blood Brothers, 1983), Cult Shows (the Rocky Horror Show, 1975) And Musicals With A Pre-existing Fan-base, Such As Mamma Mia! (1999). Part I: Musicals And Social Change / Robert Gordon -- Part Ii: British Popular Culture And Musical Theatre / Millie Taylor -- Part Iii: Narrative And Story-telling In The British Musical Since 1970 / Olaf Jubin. Robert Gordon, Olaf Jubin And Millie Taylor. Includes Bibliographical References, Discography, Filmography And Index. "Contemporary Clowning as Social Performance in Colombia brings to light the emergence of new kinds of clowning in everyday life in Colombia, focusing particularly on the pervasive presence of clowns in the urban landscape of Bogota. In doing so it brings a fresh and updated perspective on what clowning is as well as what it does in the 21st century. Featuring descriptions of more than 24 distinct clown performers, Barnaby King provides an engaging and lively account of the performative moment in which clowning transpires, analyzing the techniques and processes at work in producing what is commonly named as "clowning". In contrast with their North American and European counterparts, clowns in Latin America are seen every day in public settings, are popular cultural figures and sometimes claim to exercise real political influence. Drawing on five years of co-performative ethnography, the book argues that clown artists have thrived by adapting their craft to changing social and economic conditions, in some cases by allying themselves with authority and power, and in others by generating spaces for creativity and resistance in adverse circumstances. By applying performance theory to clowning in a specific cultural context this is the first work to propose an appropriate scholarly response to the diversity and ingenuity of clowning beyond Europe and North America." Cover page 4 Contemporary Clowning as Social Performance in Colombia brings to light the emergence of new kinds of clowning in everyday life in Colombia, focusing particularly on the pervasive presence of clowns in the urban landscape of Bogotá. In doing so it brings a fresh and updated perspective on what clowning is as well as what it does in the 21st century. Featuring descriptions of more than 24 distinct clown performers, Barnaby King provides an engaging and lively account of the performative moment in which clowning transpires, analyzing the techniques and processes at work in producing what is commonly named as “clowning”.In contrast with their North American and European counterparts, clowns in Latin America are seen every day in public settings, are popular cultural figures and sometimes claim to exercise real political influence. Drawing on five years of co-performative ethnography, the book argues that clown artists have thrived by adapting their craft to changing social and economic conditions, in some cases by allying themselves with authority and power, and in others by generating spaces for creativity and resistance in adverse circumstances. By applying performance theory to clowning in a specific cultural context this is the first work to propose an appropriate scholarly response to the diversity and ingenuity of clowning beyond Europe and North America. This series of three volumes provides a groundbreaking study of the work of many of the most innovative and important British theatre companies from 1965 to the present. Each volume provides a survey of the political and cultural context; an extensive survey of the variety of theatre companies from the period, and detailed case studies of six of the major companies drawing on the Arts Council Archives to trace the impact of funding on the work produced.1965–1979, covers the period often accepted as the'golden age'of British Fringe companies, looking at the birth of companies concerned with touring their work to an ever-expanding circuit of'alternative'performance venues. Leading academics provide case studies of six of the most important companies, including:• CAST, by Bill McDonnell (University of Sheffield, UK)• The People Show, by Grant Tyler Peterson (Brunel University London, UK)• Portable Theatre, by Chris Megson (Royal Holloway, University of London, UK)• Pip Simmons Theatre Group, by Kate Dorney (The Victoria and Albert Museum, UK)• Welfare State International, by Gillian Whitely (Loughborough University, UK)• 7:84 Theatre Companies, by David Pattie (University of Chester, UK). This critical introduction to British musical theatre since 1950 is the first book to discuss its post-war developments from the perspective of British – as opposed to American – popular culture. The genre is situated within the historical context of post-war British society in order to explore the range of forms through which significant sociocultural moments are represented. Introductory chapters analyse the way British musicals have responded to social change, the forms of popular theatre and music from which they have developed and their originality in elaborating new narrative strategies since the seventies. A key feature of the book is its close readings of twelve key works, from Salad Days (1954) and Oliver! (1960) to global smash hits such as Les Misérables (1985) and The Phantom of the Opera (1986) and beyond, including the latest critical and box-office success Matilda (2011). Also analysed are British favourites (Blood Brothers, 1983), cult shows (The Rocky Horror Show, 1975) and musicals with a pre-existing fan-base, such as Mamma Mia! (1999). __Contemporary Adaptations of Greek Tragedy: Auteurship and Directorial Visions__The volume is divided in three sections: the first section - Global Perspectives - considers the work of a range of major directors from around the world who have provided new readings of Greek Tragedy: Peter Sellars and Athol Fugard in the US, Katie Mitchell in the UK, Theodoros Terzopoulos in Greece and Tadashi Suzuki and Yukio Ninagawa in Japan. Their work on a wide range of plays is analysed, including , , , , and . Parts Two and Three – Directing as Dialogue with the Community and Directorial Re-Visions - focus on a range of productions of key plays from the repertoire, including and , among others. In each, the varying approaches of different directors are analysed, together with a detailed investigation of the mise-en-scene. In considering each stage production, the authors raise issues of authenticity, contemporary resonances, translation, directorial control/auteurship and adaptation. Modern Verse Drama explores the emergence of the form at the turn of the century and its development into the twenty-first, offering key case studies of well-known verse dramatists alongside explorations of less-discussed but equally influential writers within the form. Dramatists discussed include T. S. Eliot, Gordon Bottomley, Charles Williams, W. H. Auden, Christopher Isherwood, Ronald Duncan, Christopher Fry, John Arden, Anne Ridler, Tony Harrison, Ted Hughes, and Caryl Churchill. The book explores the negotiation of these dramatists with the changing position of verse drama in relation to constructions of national and communal audience, aesthetic challenge, and dramatic heritage. Key to the study is the self-conscious positioning of many of these dramatists in relation to an assumed mainstream tradition {u2013} and the various critical responses that that positioning has provoked "This unique anthology presents a selection of over seventy of the most important historical essays on comedy, ranging from antiquity to the present, divided into historical periods and arranged chronologically. Across its span it traces the development of comic theory, highlighting the relationships between comedy, politics, economics, philosophy, religion, and other arts and genres. Students of literature and theatre will find this collection an invaluable and accessible guide to writing from Plato and Aristotle through to the twenty-first century, in which special attention has been paid to writings since the start of the twentieth century."--Page 4 de la couverture FC -- Half title -- In the same series from Bloomsbury Methuen Drama: -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Series Editors' Preface -- Preface to the Volume -- Chapter 1 by John Bull Historical, Political and Cultural Context -- In the Beginning -- Whose History are we Talking About? -- A Musical Interlude -- The Establishment and its Discontents -- Never Had It So Good -- The 1964 General Election and Extra-Parliamentary Activity -- May 1968 and its Aftermath -- 1966-70: The Ups -- 1966-70: The Downs -- The 1970 General Election -- The Troubles FC -- Half title -- Related Titles from Bloomsbury Methuen Drama: -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: The Politics of the Ridiculous -- 1 Happy Families: Clowns in the Circus -- 2 Mangos and Salsa: Clowning the Marketplace -- 3 Acts of Faith: Clown Theatre and the New Wave -- 4 Neo-Clowns: Culture, Citizenship and Public Space -- 5 Dialogues and Divides: Humanitarian Clowning -- 6 Unruly Play: Clowns in Hospital -- Conclusion: A New Map of Clowning -- Notes -- References -- Index Cover page -- Halftitle page -- Series page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Dedication -- CONTENTS -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- INTRODUCTION MODERN VERSE DRAMA IN ENGLAND: THE FORGOTTEN TRADITION -- The origins of modern verse drama -- Culture of reform -- Into oblivion -- National Theatre as English theatre -- CHAPTER 1 NINETEENTH-CENTURY LEGACIES: SPECTACLE, SONORITY AND ROMANTIC REFORM IN THE THEATRE OF STEPHEN PHILLIPS AND JAMES ELROY FLECKER -- Romantics and Victorians: the Shakespearean ideal -- Stephen Phillips -- James Elroy Flecker's Hassan "This series of three volumes provides a groundbreaking study of the work of many of the most innovative and important British theatre companies from 1965 to the present. It charts the movement of much of this work from the fringe to the mainstream of British theatre culture. Each volume provides an overview of the political and cultural context, an extensive survey of the variety of theatre companies from the period, and detailed case studies of six of the major companies."--Publisher Tracing the histories of tragedy and comedy from their earliest beginnings to the present, The Story of Drama offers a lively account of the development of each genre, illustrated by close analysis of landmark plays in their contexts. It argues that sacrifice is central to both forms, and demonstrates how its various operations provide a key to understanding a broad swathe of Western drama from Ancient Athens to Hollywood