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Four Great Restoration Comedies (Dover Thrift Editions Ser.)
by William WycherleyWhen England's theaters reopened in 1660, 18 years after being closed by an act of Parliament, audiences embraced the witty and satirical dialogue spoken by "plain folks" characters--it was a new era in drama. The four comedy classics featured in this one convenient collection are typical of the works popularized during one of the most exciting and innovative periods in English theater.Brimming with bawdy and satirical comedies and rampant with notorious womanizers, amorous adventure, and marital discord are works by William Wycherley (The Country Wife), Sir George Etherege (The Man of Mode), Aphra Behn (The Rover), and Sir John Vanbrugh (The Relapse).
Restoration Plays and Players
by David RobertsIntroducing readers to the key texts, theatrical practice and context of late seventeenth-century drama, David Roberts combines literary and theatrical approaches to show how Restoration plays were written, performed, received and printed. Structured according to the 'life cycle' of the dramatic text, this book reproduces extracts from twenty-four of the most influential Restoration plays to provide readers with a comprehensive and colourful introduction to the period's drama. Roberts encourages readers to look beyond a limited canon of established plays and practice, and to see how Restoration Drama has been revived and adapted on the modern stage. Restoration Plays and Players is of great interest to undergraduate and non-specialist readers of seventeenth-century drama, Restoration literature and theatre studies.
The Two Noble Kinsmen
by William ShakespeareConsidered by Thomas de Quincey to be 'perhaps the most superb work in the language', The Two Noble Kinsmen is set in Athens and was co-written by Shakespeare with John Fletcher. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by N. W. Bawcutt with an introduction by Peter Swaab.'Once, he kissed me. I loved my lips the better ten days after'When Theseus, Duke of Athens, learns that the ruler of Thebes has killed three noble kings he swears to take revenge. But after Athens triumphs over the rival city, Theseus is struck by the bravery of two Theban cousins and orders his surgeons to attend to them. Soon, the cousins' lifelong friendship is threatened, as both become overwhelmed with love for the duke's beautiful sister.This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to the play, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.
The Tragedies Volume Two: Othello, Macbeth, Henry IV Part One, and Henry IV Part Two
by William ShakespeareFour plays by the revered Elizabethan dramatist tell of men driven to evil by ambition and jealousy—and of one who escapes the dangers of bad influence.Othello: A powerful general in the Venetian army, Othello the Moor is despised by his scheming ensign, Iago, who devises a plan to destroy him. Newly married to Desdemona, Othello is led to believe she has been unfaithful—and his jealous rage leads to tragic consequences.Macbeth: When three witches foretell that Macbeth will be king of Scotland, he does not wait for destiny to run its course. Instead, he and his wife plot to kill the presiding king, an act that will realize their ambitions—and bring them to ruin.Henry IV Part One: This historical play chronicles the rebellions faced by the medieval king of England Henry IV, as well asthe maturation of his son, Prince Hal.The prince indulges in a carefree life with the comical rogue Falstaff but must eventually cast aside his recklessness and live up to his royal destiny.Henry IV Part Two: As Henry IV&’s health grows weaker, Prince Hal&’s ability to assume the crown remains in doubt. The prince&’s friendship with the drunk and thieving Falstaff threatens to be his undoing. Now he faces a choice that will determine not only his own future, but also that of England
The Tragedies Volume One: Richard III, Coriolanus, King Lear, and Julius Caesar (The\complete Works Of Shakespeare Ser.)
by William ShakespeareThese timeless plays by the great Bard of Elizabethan drama explore the hubris of four powerful men who ultimately bring about their own undoing.Richard III: Through coldblooded guile, hunchbacked royal Richard III assumes the throne of England and will stop at nothing to maintain his rule. But he will pay a price for his machinations in this historical play set in the era of the Wars of the Roses.Coriolanus: The common people of the Roman Republic are rebelling against the elite, but war hero Coriolanus has no patience for those he considers beneath him. When this contempt leads to his exile, his thirst for revenge threatens the very state he once served.King Lear: An aged king attempts to shake off his responsibilities while retaining his stature. Rewarding the flattery of his two elder daughters even as he banishes his youngest for speaking the truth, Lear is led into exile and madness as his country descends into civil war.Julius Caesar: Roman generalJulius Caesar is basking in the glow of military triumph—but his friend Brutus has fallen in with a band of conspirators who argue the general&’s ambitions may soon give way to tyranny. Agreeing to join in Caesar&’s assassination, Brutus&’s betrayal unleashes tragic consequences.
The Comedies Volume One: The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, and A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William ShakespeareLove, enchantment, and misadventure abound in four timeless comedies by the great Bard of Elizabethan England.The Taming of the Shrew: After a battle of wits, the suitor Petruchio marries the headstrong lady Katherina and brings her to his home in Verona, where he sets about &“taming&” his willful bride into an obedient wife.The Merchant of Venice: In the most dramatic of Shakespeare&’s comedies, a wealthy Venetian merchant is unable to repay a loan from the moneylender Shylock—who demands a pound of the borrower&’s flesh.Twelfth Night: In this comedy of unrequited love and mistaken identity, Viola disguises herself as a man in the service of the lovesick Duke Orsino—whom she adores. The duke sends Viola to woo Countess Olivia who, in turn, falls in love with Viola&’s male persona.A Midsummer Night&’s Dream: The mischievous wood sprite Puck wreaks havoc on the romantic pursuits of four young lovers while a hapless actor is transformed into a fairy queen&’s monstrous consort in this beloved comic fantasia.
Kennedy
by Allan Jay Friedman Leslie BricusseThis is the story of John F. Kennedy, starting in 1959 with his bid for the US presidency and following events through to his assassination in November 1963. The casting is very flexible - the original production was performed entirely by young people - and large TV screens are used around the stage to display and rear project photos, film of the Kennedys, America and the world. 2013 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of President Kennedy.
Modern Drama and the Rhetoric of theater
by W. B. WorthenThe history of drama is typically viewed as a series of inert "styles. " Tracing British and American stage drama from the 1880s onward, W. B. Worthen instead sees drama as the interplay of text, stage production, and audience. How are audiences manipulated? What makes drama meaningful? Worthen identifies three rhetorical strategies that distinguish an O'Neill play from a Yeats, or these two from a Brecht. Where realistic theater relies on the "natural" qualities of the stage scene, poetic theater uses the poet's word, the text, to control performance. Modern political theater, by contrast, openly places the audience at the center of its rhetorical designs, and the drama of the postwar period is shown to develop a range of post-Brechtian practices that make the audience the subject of the play. Worthen's book deserves the attention of any literary critic or serious theatergoer interested in the relationship between modern drama and the spectator.