Rodney Ackland: Plays Two

Rodney Ackland: Plays Two
Author: Rodney Ackland
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2016-03-02
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1783192186

Includes the plays Smithereens, Strange Orchestra, Before The Party and The Old Ladies With an Introduction by Michael Hastings. No other major British playwright of the last 50 years has undergone such a radical reappraisal as Rodney Ackland. Interest in his work renewed in the 1990s, starting at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, with further revivals at many theatres, including the Chichester Festival Theatre and the Royal National Theatre. In Plays Two, we are reminded once again of Ackland's unique and dangerous gift.

Rodney Ackland: Plays One

Rodney Ackland: Plays One
Author: Rodney Ackland
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016-03-02
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1783192178

Includes the plays The Dark River and After October Rodney Ackland is belatedly acknowledged as a master of the British stage, now captivating new audiences. In The Dark River, set in the late thirties, the flamboyant characters are cocooned in a Thames backwater ignoring the turbulent events of a politically unstable Europe. After October introduces us to Clive, a young playwright struggling to make ends meet, find love and complete his masterpiece. Not easy whilst being hounded by bailiffs and a feckless family.

Absolute Hell

Absolute Hell
Author: Rodney Ackland
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2017-03-22
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1783192194

Condemned as a "libel on the British people" when it was first produced in 1951, Absolute Hell is set in a decaying West End drinking club at the end of the Second World War. The 1995 production at the Royal National Theatre starred Judi Dench and was directed by Anthony Page.

Before the Party

Before the Party
Author: Rodney Ackland
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 121
Release: 2017-03-22
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 178319216X

Based on a short story by Somerset Maugham, Before The Party tells the story of a family attempting to return to normal in the wake of the Second World War. With daughter Laura returned from Africa, widowed but not alone, they prepare for the latest social gathering. Amidst the never-ending whirl of hats and dresses and below stairs skirmishes, Laura reveals a shocking secret that threatens to ruin more than one party on the climb to social success.

Strange Orchestra

Strange Orchestra
Author: Rodney Ackland
Publisher: London : V. Gollancz
Total Pages: 120
Release: 1932
Genre: English drama
ISBN:

Rootless young ninnies assemble in Vera's Chelsea apartment. Vera - a broken down baggage of a woman of uncertain moral standards - ekes out a modest income renting rooms.

English Drama Since 1940

English Drama Since 1940
Author: David Ian Rabey
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2014-10-13
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1317875397

English Drama Since 1940 considers the bids of successive post-war dramatists to find language and images of remorseless disclosure, appropriate to the public manifestation of sensed crisis and the interrogation of the ideal of renewal. This book introduces the period and its discourse whilst redefining them, to give proper consideration to developments of themes, styles, concerns and contexts from the 80s to the present. The book offers succinct and analytical introductions to the work of 60 dramatists, whilst arguing for (re)appraisal of many dates critical perspectives, in order to stimulate further argument in the field.

Rodney Ackland: Plays One

Rodney Ackland: Plays One
Author: Rodney Ackland
Publisher: Oberon Books
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1997
Genre: Drama
ISBN:

Two plays by this master of the British stage.

Judi Dench

Judi Dench
Author: John Miller
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Total Pages: 462
Release: 2013-05-23
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1780226446

The first full biography of Britain's leading actress of her time. Whether it is her sunny temperament, her gift of laughter, her wide-ranging abilities, or all three, Judi Dench is without doubt a star. Shortlisted for a 1998 Oscar for her performance as Queen Victoria in MRS BROWN, she then won one for her role as Queen Elizabeth in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE. Judi Dench is widely loved, and not only among the theatrical profession. Her long-running appearance opposite Geoffrey Palmer in the TV situation comedy AS TIME GOES BY has run to four series and gained her a TV TIMES readers' award as ¿the actress we most wish see more often on television¿. She juggles the National Theatre (a sell-out season in Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC and David Hare's AMY'S VIEW) with TV and films (she is now established as 'M' in the latest James Bond series). Since the paperback edition was published, John Miller has written a new chapter, bringing what is fast becoming a classic biography completely up-to-date.

Encyclopedia of Television

Encyclopedia of Television
Author: Horace Newcomb
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 2730
Release: 2014-02-03
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1135194726

The Encyclopedia of Television, second edtion is the first major reference work to provide description, history, analysis, and information on more than 1100 subjects related to television in its international context. For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Encyclo pedia of Television, 2nd edition website.