Mid-Century Drama
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
At the crossroads of theatrical innovation and social upheaval, Mid-Century Drama stands as an authoritative and incisive survey of the revolutionary forces that reshaped the English-speaking stage in the postwar decades. Laurence Kitchin chronicles the seismic shift in dramatic writing and performance that emerged from the rubble of the mid-twentieth century, examining the landmark works of playwrights who tore down the drawing-room conventions of an earlier era and replaced them with raw, urgent, and politically charged theatre. From the kitchen-sink realism of the British New Wave to the existential provocations of the European avant-garde, Kitchin maps the full landscape of a stage in ferment, detailing the works of figures such as Osborne, Beckett, Brecht, and Wesker with critical precision and theatrical authority. Written with the assurance of a seasoned critic and the insider knowledge of a working theatre professional, Mid-Century Drama argues that the theatre of this era was nothing less than a mirror held up to a society undergoing profound transformation. Kitchin's prose is lucid and persuasive, balancing close textual analysis with a broader cultural and historical perspective that illuminates why these plays mattered — and still matter — to audiences beyond the footlights. A foundational text for students of drama and anyone captivated by the theatre's power to unsettle and provoke, this volume leaves one wondering: if the mid-century stage was this explosive, what embers are still smouldering today?
Author: Laurence Kitchin
Format: Paperback
Genre: Plays
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Good
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
At the crossroads of theatrical innovation and social upheaval, Mid-Century Drama stands as an authoritative and incisive survey of the revolutionary forces that reshaped the English-speaking stage in the postwar decades. Laurence Kitchin chronicles the seismic shift in dramatic writing and performance that emerged from the rubble of the mid-twentieth century, examining the landmark works of playwrights who tore down the drawing-room conventions of an earlier era and replaced them with raw, urgent, and politically charged theatre. From the kitchen-sink realism of the British New Wave to the existential provocations of the European avant-garde, Kitchin maps the full landscape of a stage in ferment, detailing the works of figures such as Osborne, Beckett, Brecht, and Wesker with critical precision and theatrical authority. Written with the assurance of a seasoned critic and the insider knowledge of a working theatre professional, Mid-Century Drama argues that the theatre of this era was nothing less than a mirror held up to a society undergoing profound transformation. Kitchin's prose is lucid and persuasive, balancing close textual analysis with a broader cultural and historical perspective that illuminates why these plays mattered — and still matter — to audiences beyond the footlights. A foundational text for students of drama and anyone captivated by the theatre's power to unsettle and provoke, this volume leaves one wondering: if the mid-century stage was this explosive, what embers are still smouldering today?