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.

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.

Absolute Hell

Absolute Hell
Author: Rodney Ackland
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 176
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.

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.

After October

After October
Author: Rodney Ackland
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2016-11-21
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1786820552

Hampstead, 1936. In a shabby basement flat, aspiring playwright Clive Monkhams dreams of a West End hit and winning Francie’s heart. With opening night approaching and finances fast running out, everything rides on the success of the play and, for Clive, the future looks all too glittering...

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.

A Companion to Modern British and Irish Drama, 1880 - 2005

A Companion to Modern British and Irish Drama, 1880 - 2005
Author: Mary Luckhurst
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 608
Release: 2008-04-15
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0470751479

This wide-ranging Companion to Modern British and Irish Drama offers challenging analyses of a range of plays in their political contexts. It explores the cultural, social, economic and institutional agendas that readers need to engage with in order to appreciate modern theatre in all its complexity. An authoritative guide to modern British and Irish drama. Engages with theoretical discourses challenging a canon that has privileged London as well as white English males and realism. Topics covered include: national, regional and fringe theatres; post-colonial stages and multiculturalism; feminist and queer theatres; sex and consumerism; technology and globalisation; representations of war, terrorism, and trauma.