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A Brief Guide to The Sound of Music: 50 Years of the Legendary Musical and the Family who Inspired It (Brief Histories)
by Paul SimpsonEveryone has heard the songs from The Sound of Music by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The stage show was a roaring success in New York and London, and the much-loved feature film, directed by Hollywood veteran Robert Wise, continues to be a staple of television schedules 50 years after its release in 1965. In this fascinating and wide-ranging book, Paul Simpson explores the incredible story of the Von Trapp family and their escape from the Third Reich in all its incarnations, from real-life adventure, to book, to stage, to award-winning film to cultural phenomenon. He discusses the stage show, the many differences that were incorporated into the fictionalisation of the tale, and how that story was brought to the screen. He also looks at the numerous other ways in which the Von Trapp’s story has been told, including the two West German movies from the 1950s and the extensive forty-part Japanese anime series from the 1990s, to explain why the story of the Von Trapp family has appealed to so many generations.Praise for A Brief Guide to Stephen King:'The best book about King and his work I have ever read' Books Monthly
A Brief Guide to William Shakespeare (Brief Histories)
by Peter AckroydAn accessible and entertaining journey through the life, times, and work of the Bard - Enigma. Master of language. The greatest comedian in history? The most famous writer in the world. But isn't he a little bit boring? This is an essential guide for anyone who has previously avoided the Bard, and is the perfect introduction for first time students or seasoned theatre lovers. The book contains a full commentary of all the plays by bestselling and reknowned writer Peter Ackroyd as well as full descriptions of the cast and the drama; not forgetting the best speeches, and the wit and wisdom from across the works. There is also an opportunity to explore the poems and a complete set of sonnets, as well as an investigation of who the dark lady might have been.Contains:The complete sonnets; the greatest speeches; the best lines.Perfect for students struggling through their first play or for theatre lovers anywhere.Entertaining, accessible, Shakespeare without the boring bits.
Briefe aus der Antarktis
by Federico RomanoDie Lebensreise eines selbstlosen und großzügigen Mannes durch Schmerz, Freude, Freundschaft, Liebe und Tod. "Briefe aus der Antarktis" Die Lebensreise eines selbstlosen und großzügigen Mannes durch Schmerz, Freude, Freundschaft, Liebe und Tod. Das ist "Briefe aus der Antarktis", Ein Roman, der auf einer Insel der Fantasie spielt, die mehr ein Ort der menschlichen Seele ist.Die menschliche Seele, die hier erzählt wird, ist Frederik Jonson. Seine Begegnungen, die harten Lebenserfahrungen, mit denen er fertig werden kann und mit denen er fertig werden kann, machen sein Leben von Anfang an zunichte. Er wurde von der Mutter verlassen, die er nie wieder sehen wird. Aber es ist genau der Traum der Mutter, die Sie noch nie getroffen hat, dass Sie sich ständig formt, dass sie für die, die sie braucht, "Mutter" wird, bis zum letzten Tag ihres Lebens, wenn Sie Ihr Baby holt, um es auf die letzte und wichtigste Reise zu bringen. Beispieltext: Die Lebensreise eines selbstlosen und großzügigen Mannes durch Schmerz, Freude, Freundschaft, Liebe und Tod. Das ist "Briefe aus der Antarktis", Ein Roman, der auf einer Insel der Fantasie spielt, die mehr ein Ort der menschlichen Seele ist. Die menschliche Seele, die hier erzählt wird, ist Frederik Jonson. Seine Begegnungen, die harten Lebenserfahrungen, mit denen er fertig werden kann und mit denen er fertig werden kann, machen sein Leben von Anfang an zunichte.
A Bright Room Called Day
by Tony KushnerFrom the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angels in America comes this powerful portrayal of individual dissolution and resolution in the face of political catastrophe."It's brash, audacious and...intoxicatingly visionary."--Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune
Brighton Beach Memoirs
by Neil SimonFourteen-year-old Eugene is preoccupied by his passion for the Yankees and his lust for his beautiful cousin, Nora. Eugene's comic growing pains contrast with the darker issues troubling his family: poverty, illness and the growing Nazi threat to relatives in Europe.
A Brimful of Asha
by Asha Jain Ravi JainIn 2007 Ravi Jain completed school and was itching to get his feet wet in the theatre scene. With plans to begin his own company, Ravi put off marriage for a few years, much to the disappointment of his mother, Asha, who was getting impatient with Ravi's non-traditional approach to life. In this autobiographical story of the Jain family, Ravi recalls a trip to India with his parents in tow, where they ambushed him with a series of prospective wives at every turn. Conveyed through storytelling, A Brimful of Asha is a comedic and heartwarming tale of a family caught between two cultures.
Bring it Back Home (Quick Reads Ser.)
by Niall GriffithsChased by a hit-man, a young man returns home from London to a small town in Wales. Reconciliation with his family is alternated with his pursuer’s progress. A long criminal connection is revealed but can he escape the sins of his fathers? This is a tense, tightly written drama that will captivate the reader with fast, gut-wrenching action.
Bring it Back Home (Quick Reads)
by Niall GriffithsChased by a hit-man, a young man returns home from London to a small town in Wales. Reconciliation with his family is alternated with his pursuer’s progress. A long criminal connection is revealed but can he escape the sins of his fathers? This is a tense, tightly written drama that will captivate the reader with fast, gut-wrenching action.
Bringing Set and Costume Designs to Fruition: Made by Teams
by Jennifer Dasher Lynne M. Koscielniak Jonathan ShimonBringing Set and Costume Designs to Fruition: Made by Teams dives into the collaborative working relationships between set and costume designers with their technical counterparts throughout the theatrical production process, from concept to execution. Set and costume designers render environments and characters for a wide array of performative events; skilled artisans and technologists bring these visions to life. This book explores the dynamic between those who decide what the set and costumes should look like and those who make them work, including scene designers, costume designers, scene shops, and costume shops. The book discusses how to identify resources, ask the right questions, and engage in healthy collaborations. Following these fundamentals are practical activities and interviews with industry professionals that demonstrate how these skills can be applied to a broad range of productions and other avenues for creative design and production. Bringing Set and Costume Designs to Fruition is written for emerging professionals in set and costume design, as well as students in courses across a theatre degree program, including stagecraft, costume construction, scene design, and introduction to theatrical design and production.
The Britannia Panopticon Music Hall and Cosmopolitan Entertainment Culture
by Paul MaloneyFocusing on Glasgow's earliest surviving music hall, the Britannia, later the Panopticon, this book explores the role of one of the city's most iconic cultural venues within the cosmopolitan entertainment market that emerged in British cities in the nineteenth century. Shedding light on the increasing diversity of commercial entertainment provided by such venues - offering everything from music hall, early cinema and amateur nights to waxworks, menageries and freak shows - this study also encompasses the model of community-based, working-class music hall which characterised the Panopticon's later years, challenging narratives of the primacy of city centre variety. Providing a comprehensive analysis of this dynamic popular theatre of the industrial age, Maloney examines the role of the hall's managers, marketing and promotional strategies, audiences, and performing genres from the hall's opening in 1859 until final closure in 1938. The book also explores stage representations of Irish and Jewish immigrant communities present in surrounding city centre areas, demonstrating the Britannia's diasporic links to other British cities and centres in North America, thus providing a multifaceted and pioneering account of this still extant Victorian music hall.
British and American Musical Theatre Exchanges in the West End: The “Americanization” of Drury Lane (Palgrave Studies in British Musical Theatre)
by Arianne Johnson QuinnThis monograph centres on the history of musical theatre in a space of cultural significance for British identity, namely the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which housed many prominent American productions from 1924-1970. It argues that during this period Drury Lane was the site of cultural exchanges between Britain and the United States that were a direct result of global engagement in two world wars and the evolution of both countries as imperial powers. The critical and public response to works of musical theatre during this period, particularly the American musical, demonstrates the shifting response by the public to global conflict, the rise of an American Empire in the eyes of the British government, and the ongoing cultural debates about the role of Americans in British public life. By considering the status of Drury Lane as a key site of cultural and political exchanges between the United States and Britain, this study allows us to gain a more complete portrait of the musical’s cultural significance in Britain.
British Avant-Garde Theatre
by Claire WardenThis book explores an under-researched body of work from the early decades of the twentieth century, connecting plays, performances and practitioners together in dynamic dialogues. Moving across national, generational and social borders, the book reads experiments in Britain during this period alongside theatrical innovations overseas.
British Drama of the Industrial Revolution
by Frederick BurwickBetween the advent of the French Revolution and the short-lived success of the Chartist Movement, overworked and underpaid labourers struggled to achieve solidarity and collective bargaining. That history has been told in numerous accounts of the age, but never before has it been told in terms of the theatre of the period. To understand the play lists of a theatre, it is crucial to examine the community which that theatre serves. In the labouring-class communities of London and the provinces, the performances were adapted to suit the local audiences, whether weavers, or miners, or field workers. Examining the conditions and characteristics of representative provincial theatres from the 1790s to 1830s, Frederick Burwick argues that the meaning of a play changes with every change in the performance location. As contributing factors in that change, Burwick attends to local political and cultural circumstances as well as to theatrical activities and developments elsewhere.
British Enlightenment Theatre: Dramatizing Difference
by Bridget OrrIn this ground-breaking work, Bridget Orr shows that popular eighteenth-century theatre was about much more than fashion, manners and party politics. Using the theatre as a means of circulating and publicizing radical Enlightenment ideas, many plays made passionate arguments for religious and cultural toleration, and voiced protests against imperial invasion and forced conversion of indigenous peoples by colonial Europeans. Irish and labouring-class dramatists wrote plays, often set in the countryside, attacking social and political hierarchy in Britain itself. Another crucial but as yet unexplored aspect of early eighteenth-century theatre is its connection to freemasonry. Freemasons were pervasive as actors, managers, prompters, scene-painters, dancers and musicians, with their own lodges, benefit performances and particular audiences. In addition to promoting the Enlightened agenda of toleration and cosmopolitanism, freemason dramatists invented the new genre of domestic tragedy, a genre that criticized the effects of commercial and colonial capitalism.
British Literature
by Ronald HortonBritish Literature (2nd ed.) discusses literature selections and cultural issues from eight literary periods in light of Scripture: Old English, Middle English, Tudor, Stuart, Neoclassical, Romantic, Victorian, and Modern. Traces English Christianity from its beginning to the present and studies the Shakespearean drama Macbeth.
British Nautical Melodramas, 1820–1850: Volume III
by Arnold SchmidtDuring the 1820s and 30s nautical melodramas "reigned supreme" on London stages, entertaining the mariners and maritime workers who comprised a large part of the audience for small theatres with the same sentimental moments and comic interludes of domestic melodrama mixed with patriotic images that communicated and reinforced imperial themes. However, generally the study of British theatre history moves from medieval and renaissance plays directly to the realism and naturalism of late Victorian and modern drama. Readers typically encounter a gap between Restoration and eighteenth-century plays like those of Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and late-nineteenth plays by Henrik Ibsen and Oscar Wilde. Nineteenth-century drama, with the possible exception of plays by Byron, Shelley, and Wordsworth, remains all but invisible. Until recently, melodramatic plays written and performed during this "gap" received little scholarly attention, but their value as reflections of Britain’s promulgation of imperial ideology — and its role in constructing and maintaining class, gender, and racial identities — have given discussions of melodrama force and momentum. The plays in included in these three volumes have never appeared in a critical anthology and most have not been republished since their original nineteenth-century editions. Each play is transcribed from the original documents and includes an author biography, a headnote about the play itself, full annotations with brief definitions of unfamiliar vocabulary, and explanatory notes. Comprehensive editorial apparatus details the nineteenth-century imperial, naval, political, and social history relevant to the plays’ nautical themes, as well as discussing nineteenth-century theatre history, melodrama generally, and the nautical melodrama in particular. Contemporary theatre practices — acting, audiences, staging, lighting, special effects — are also examined. An extensive bibliography of primary and secondary texts; a complete index; and contemporary images of the actors, theatres, stage sets, playbills, costumes, and locales have been compiled to aid study further. The appendices include maps of Britain, Europe, and the East and West Indies.
British Nautical Melodramas, 1820–1850: Volume II
by Arnold SchmidtDuring the 1820s and 30s nautical melodramas "reigned supreme" on London stages, entertaining the mariners and maritime workers who comprised a large part of the audience for small theatres with the same sentimental moments and comic interludes of domestic melodrama mixed with patriotic images that communicated and reinforced imperial themes. However, generally the study of British theatre history moves from medieval and renaissance plays directly to the realism and naturalism of late Victorian and modern drama. Readers typically encounter a gap between Restoration and eighteenth-century plays like those of Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and late-nineteenth plays by Henrik Ibsen and Oscar Wilde. Nineteenth-century drama, with the possible exception of plays by Byron, Shelley, and Wordsworth, remains all but invisible. Until recently, melodramatic plays written and performed during this "gap" received little scholarly attention, but their value as reflections of Britain’s promulgation of imperial ideology — and its role in constructing and maintaining class, gender, and racial identities — have given discussions of melodrama force and momentum. The plays in included in these three volumes have never appeared in a critical anthology and most have not been republished since their original nineteenth-century editions. Each play is transcribed from the original documents and includes an author biography, a headnote about the play itself, full annotations with brief definitions of unfamiliar vocabulary, and explanatory notes. Comprehensive editorial apparatus details the nineteenth-century imperial, naval, political, and social history relevant to the plays’ nautical themes, as well as discussing nineteenth-century theatre history, melodrama generally, and the nautical melodrama in particular. Contemporary theatre practices — acting, audiences, staging, lighting, special effects — are also examined. An extensive bibliography of primary and secondary texts; a complete index; and contemporary images of the actors, theatres, stage sets, playbills, costumes, and locales have been compiled to aid study further. The appendices include maps of Britain, Europe, and the East and West Indies.
British Nautical Melodramas, 1820–1850: Volume I
by Arnold SchmidtDuring the 1820s and 30s nautical melodramas "reigned supreme" on London stages, entertaining the mariners and maritime workers who comprised a large part of the audience for small theatres with the same sentimental moments and comic interludes of domestic melodrama mixed with patriotic images that communicated and reinforced imperial themes. However, generally the study of British theatre history moves from medieval and renaissance plays directly to the realism and naturalism of late Victorian and modern drama. Readers typically encounter a gap between Restoration and eighteenth-century plays like those of Oliver Goldsmith and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and late-nineteenth plays by Henrik Ibsen and Oscar Wilde. Nineteenth-century drama, with the possible exception of plays by Byron, Shelley, and Wordsworth, remains all but invisible. Until recently, melodramatic plays written and performed during this "gap" received little scholarly attention, but their value as reflections of Britain’s promulgation of imperial ideology — and its role in constructing and maintaining class, gender, and racial identities — have given discussions of melodrama force and momentum. The plays in included in these three volumes have never appeared in a critical anthology and most have not been republished since their original nineteenth-century editions. Each play is transcribed from the original documents and includes an author biography, a headnote about the play itself, full annotations with brief definitions of unfamiliar vocabulary, and explanatory notes. Comprehensive editorial apparatus details the nineteenth-century imperial, naval, political, and social history relevant to the plays’ nautical themes, as well as discussing nineteenth-century theatre history, melodrama generally, and the nautical melodrama in particular. Contemporary theatre practices — acting, audiences, staging, lighting, special effects — are also examined. An extensive bibliography of primary and secondary texts; a complete index; and contemporary images of the actors, theatres, stage sets, playbills, costumes, and locales have been compiled to aid study further. The appendices include maps of Britain, Europe, and the East and West Indies.
British Pirates in Print and Performance
by Frederick BurwickFictional or real, pirates haunted the imagination of the 18th and 19th century-British public during this great period of maritime commerce, exploration, and naval conflict. British Pirates in Print and Performanc e explores representations of pirates through dozens of stage performances, including adaptations by Byron, Scott, and Cooper.
British Realist Theatre: The New Wave in its Context 1956 - 1965
by Stephen LaceyThe British `New Wave' of dramatists, actors and directors in the late 1950s and 1960s created a defining moment in post-war theatre. British Realist Theatre is an accessible introduction to the New Wave, providing the historical and cultural background which is essential for a true understanding of this influential and dynamic era. Drawing upon contemporary sources as well as the plays themselves, Stephen Lacey considers the plays' influences, their impact and their critical receptions. The playwrights discussed include: * Edward Bond * John Osborne * Shelagh Delaney * Harold Pinter
British Socialist and Workers Theatre: Red Stages
by Robert LeachThis book provides an overview of the inception, development and achievements of British socialist and workers theatre – a feat which has not been attempted before. It explores the connections between politics and culture (specifically theatre) and between political theory and cultural (theatrical) expression. The book is organized chronologically and uncovers much in labour and theatre history which is in danger of being lost. It can also be seen as a way into different moments in its subject’s story (e.g. post-Ibsen naturalism; agitprop theatre; ‘fringe’ theatre of the 1970s) and the relationship of such forms to specific political events and ideas at specific points in history.
British Television Drama: Past, Present And Future
by Jonathan Bignell Stephen LaceyFeaturing leading scholars of British television drama and noted writers and producers from the television industry, this new edition of British Television Drama evaluates past and present TV fiction since the 1960s, and considers its likely future.
British Theatre and the Great War, 1914 - 1919: New Perspectives
by Andrew MaunderBritish Theatre and the Great War examines how theatre in its various forms adapted itself to the new conditions of 1914-1918. Contributors discuss the roles played by the theatre industry. They draw on a range of source materials to show the different kinds of theatrical provision and performance cultures in operation not only in London but across parts of Britain and also in Australia and at the Front. As well as recovering lost works and highlighting new areas for investigation (regional theatre, prison camp theatre, troop entertainment, the threat from film, suburban theatre) the book offers revisionist analysis of how the conflict and its challenges were represented on stage at the time and the controversies it provoked. The volume offers new models for exploring the topic in an accessible, jargon-free way, and it shows how theatrical entertainment of the time can be seen as the `missing link’ in the study of First World War writing.
'Broadsword Calling Danny Boy': Watching 'Where Eagles Dare'
by Geoff DyerGeoff Dyer's earlier book on film, Zona, was about Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker, so it was perhaps inevitable that he should next devote his unique critical and stylistic energies to Brian G. Hutton's Where Eagles Dare. A thrilling Alpine adventure starring a magnificent, bleary-eyed Richard Burton and a dynamically lethargic Clint Eastwood, Where Eagles Dare is the apex of 1960s war movies, by turns enjoyable and preposterous.'Broadsword Calling Danny Boy' is Geoff Dyer's hilarious tribute to a film he has loved since childhood: it's a scene-by-scene analysis—or should that be send-up?—taking us from it's snowy, Teutonic opening credits to its vertigo-inducing climax.
The Broadview Anthology Of British Literature: Volume 1: The Medieval Period
by BroadviewIn all six of its volumes The Broadview Anthology of British Literature presents British literature in a truly distinctive light. Fully grounded in sound literary and historical scholarship, the anthology takes a fresh approach to many canonical authors, and includes a wide selection of work by lesser-known writers. The anthology also provides wide-ranging coverage of the worldwide connections of British literature, and it pays attention throughout to issues of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. It includes comprehensive introductions to each period, providing in each case an overview of the historical and cultural as well as the literary background. It features accessible and engaging headnotes for all authors, extensive explanatory annotations, and an unparalleled number of illustrations and contextual materials. Innovative, authoritative and comprehensive, The Broadview Anthology of British Literature has established itself as a leader in the field. <p><p> The full anthology comprises six bound volumes, together with an extensive website component; the latter has been edited, annotated, and designed according to the same high standards as the bound book component of the anthology, and is accessible by using the passcode obtained with the purchase of one or more of the bound volumes. <p> For the third edition of this volume a number of changes have been made. The Old English material has been substantially revised and expanded, including new translations by Roy Liuzza of “Deor,” “Wulf and Eadwacer,” and “The Battle of Brunanburh.” A selection from Adrienne Williams Boyarin’s new translation of “The Miracles of the Virgin” will be included, along with Sian Echard’s translation of selections from Y Gododdin. Matthieu Boyd’s translation of the first two branches of the Mabinogi is also new to this edition, together with several Early Irish lyrics. <p> The “Love and Marriage” Contexts section has been expanded to include additional material by Christine de Pizan and excerpts from Holy Maidenhood, and the “Religious and Spiritual Life” Contexts section now includes excerpts from Wycliffite writings. The selection of material by Sir Thomas Malory has also been substantially revised and expanded. In addition, the online component of the anthology includes several new selections, including “The Gifts of Men,” “The Fortunes of Men,” “The Feast of Bricriu,” material by Robert Henryson, and a broader selection of medieval drama.