Secondhand Modern and Classic Plays Bargain Book Box DSH1121

Secondhand Modern and Classic Plays Bargain Book Box

This compelling collection of 23 secondhand books offers a dramatic journey through the world of theatre, spanning 17th-century Restoration comedy to 20th-century Russian realism and contemporary American and British experimental drama. The box includes seminal plays by Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, and Sam Shepard, critical theoretical works like Theatre Games, and a selection of specialized Australian drama studies journals. This is an excellent resource for students, directors, and enthusiasts looking to explore theatrical history, dramatic structure, and contemporary stagecraft. Each book is secondhand and may show signs of wear.

1. Carter Brown: The Wind-Up Doll / Zelda by Carter Brown
   This volume contains two pulp fiction novels by the prolific Australian writer Carter Brown, known for his hardboiled detective stories and snappy dialogue, often featuring glamorous and dangerous women. The Wind-Up Doll and Zelda exemplify the noir style, focusing on crime, suspense, and the darker side of human nature. These books offer a taste of classic mid-20th century paperback thrillers.

2. The Stripper by Carter Brown
   Another entry in the Carter Brown oeuvre, this novel immerses the reader in the seedy underworld of strip clubs and organized crime, where detective Al Wheeler is inevitably drawn into a murder mystery. The plot involves navigating treacherous relationships and uncovering corruption beneath a veneer of glamour. It is a quintessential example of the genre's blend of sensuality and sharp, fast-paced suspense.

3. The Tooth of Crime & Geography of a Horse Dreamer by Sam Shepard (Two Plays)
   Sam Shepard, the voice of contemporary American myth and disillusionment, offers two of his most dynamic and challenging plays in this volume. The Tooth of Crime is a rock-and-roll parable about rivalry and identity, while Geography of a Horse Dreamer explores the mysterious nature of art and communication. These works showcase Shepard's unique fusion of American pop culture, surrealism, and existential angst.

4. Philistines by Maxim Gorky
   Maxim Gorky’s powerful realist drama delves into the social decay and generational conflict within a Russian lower-middle-class family. The play critiques the stagnant, hypocritical nature of the meshchane (philistines), whose self-satisfaction stifles any potential for growth or change. Gorky uses the claustrophobic domestic setting to explore the oppressive political and emotional climate of pre-revolutionary Russia.

5. Uncle Vanya: A new version by Pam Gems by Anton Chekhov
   Pam Gems’ fresh adaptation of Chekhov's masterful drama focuses on a group of intellectuals living on a provincial estate who grapple with unrequited love, professional disappointment, and the grinding realization of wasted lives. The play is renowned for its subtle emotional texture and its depiction of everyday tragedy and longing. Gems’ version aims to reinvigorate the dialogue and emotional immediacy for a contemporary audience.

6. Charley's Aunt by Brandon Thomas
   This enduringly popular farce is a staple of comedic theatre, revolving around two Oxford undergraduates who require a chaperon for their girlfriends and persuade a friend to impersonate an eccentric, wealthy aunt from Brazil. The resulting chaos involves mistaken identities, frantic disguises, and hilarious attempts to maintain the deception. It is a brilliant example of a tightly constructed, classic comedy of errors.

7. Chekhov Plays (Penguin Classics) by Anton Chekhov
   This collection provides a fundamental insight into the revolutionary work of Anton Chekhov, whose dramas marked a turning point in theatrical history by focusing on submerged emotional life and the tragedy of the commonplace. The volume likely includes masterpieces like The Seagull, Three Sisters, or The Cherry Orchard, showcasing his profound influence on modern realism.

8. The Complete Plays of William Wycherley by William Wycherley
   William Wycherley was a leading writer of the Restoration period, and this volume collects his witty, often cynical, and sexually explicit comedies, such as The Country Wife. These plays are famous for their scathing satire of aristocratic hypocrisy, marriage customs, and the libertine morality of the late 17th-century London elite. It is an essential collection for studying classic English comedy.

9. Sam Shepard: Seven Plays and Other Play by Sam Shepard
   This comprehensive volume gathers a selection of Sam Shepard's most celebrated works, offering a deep dive into his distinctive theatrical voice, characterized by spare, poetic language and fractured American domesticity. The plays explore themes of fractured identity, the myth of the West, and dysfunctional family relationships, securing his place as a pivotal figure in contemporary drama.

10. Strife by Galsworthy (John Galsworthy)
    John Galsworthy’s play is a powerful piece of social realism centered on a bitter and protracted labor strike at a factory, pitting the iron-willed chairman against the equally determined labor leader. The drama eschews heroes and villains, presenting a deeply tragic conflict where both sides lose, highlighting the devastating human cost of industrial disputes and inflexible pride.

11. Theatre Games by Clive Barker
    Clive Barker's book serves as a practical guide to the techniques and exercises of theatrical games, designed to stimulate creativity, spontaneity, and group dynamics among performers. It details methods for transforming rehearsal and acting training into a playful, highly engaged process. This influential work is an important tool for acting teachers and ensemble theatre companies.

12. The Cherry Orchard: A new English version by Trevor Griffiths by Anton Chekhov
    Trevor Griffiths' translation breathes new life into Chekhov's final masterpiece, which chronicles the decline of a Russian landowning family unable to cope with changing social realities and the loss of their beloved estate. The play is a poignant study of social transition, memory, and the painful failure to act. Griffiths’ version emphasizes the political and economic undercurrents of the narrative.

13. The Lower Depths and other plays by Maxim Gorky
    Gorky's seminal naturalistic drama vividly portrays the lives of a group of destitute individuals sheltering in a miserable flop house, grappling with despair, illusions, and the search for truth and meaning. The play is renowned for its stark realism and profound philosophical debates about human dignity and the cruelty of societal neglect. This volume likely includes other significant Gorky plays.

14. Hated Nightfall / Wounds to the Face by Howard Barker
    This volume presents two provocative plays by the controversial British dramatist Howard Barker, known for his 'Theatre of Catastrophe.' Hated Nightfall (likely) and Wounds to the Face challenge audience expectations, exploring sex, power, historical violence, and the limits of morality with lyrical intensity and dark, complex characters.

15. Two Plays for the Right: 'the loud boy's life' & 'birth on a hard shoulder' by Howard Barker
    Barker groups these plays as examinations of conservative ideology and political extremism, using his trademark confrontational style to dissect power structures and human weakness. These works further demonstrate Barker's commitment to creating drama that forces the audience into an ethically ambiguous, challenging intellectual space.

16. ADS: Australasian Drama Studies 25th anniversary issue by Various
    This special anniversary edition celebrates a quarter-century of scholarship from the leading academic journal dedicated to theatre and performance in Australia and New Zealand. It typically contains retrospective essays, critical analyses of major movements, and reflections on the journal's influence on Australasian theatre scholarship.

17. Australasian Drama Studies (April 1998)
    This issue of the scholarly journal focuses on contemporary and historical dramatic themes relevant to the Australasian region. It offers deep dives into playwriting, indigenous performance, and the unique cultural contexts that shape theatre practice in Australia and New Zealand during the late 1990s.

18. Circus in Australia (Australasian Drama Studies)
    This unique thematic issue of the journal provides an academic examination of the history, cultural significance, and performance traditions of circus arts within Australia. It likely explores the social history of traveling shows, the evolution of acts, and the role of circus in the national entertainment landscape.

19. Australasian Drama Studies 48 (April 2006)
    A later volume of the journal, this issue provides up-to-date academic research and critical reviews on current developments in Australian and New Zealand theatre and performance studies, reflecting trends in theory, practice, and pedagogy during the mid-2000s.

20. 'that good between us' by Howard Barker
    This intense and complex play by Howard Barker examines the corrosive effects of surveillance and political paranoia within a state security apparatus. The work focuses on the blurred lines between duty, personal loyalty, and betrayal when power is absolute, creating a claustrophobic psychological landscape. It is a powerful exploration of political control and moral compromise.

21. A Month in the Country by Ivan Turgenev, adapted by Brian Friel
    Brian Friel's adaptation of Turgenev's classic Russian drama beautifully captures the languid passion and profound emotional frustration that plague the inhabitants of a remote country estate during a hot summer. The arrival of a young, handsome tutor acts as a catalyst, revealing hidden desires and upsetting the lives of the bored gentry. Friel brings his own lyrical touch to Turgenev’s subtle masterpiece.