British and Irish Drama since 1960 [Paperback]

The fifteen essays in this collection, published here for the first time, survey the work of some of the major British and Irish dramatists since 1960. Included are four dramatists - Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Peter Shaffer and Peter Nichols - who began writing plays before 1960, and whose work since then has continued to develop interestingly. Most of the dramatists considered here, however, are those who have begun writing more recently, and who illustrate some of the distinctive characteristics of British and Irish drama of our time.Preface - Notes on the Contributors - 'The Absolute Absence of the Absolute': the Theory and Practice of Samuel Beckett's Drama; J.Acheson - Pinter and the Pinteresque; J.Fletcher - Revitalised Ritual and Theatrical Flair: the Plays of Peter Shaffer; W.Hutchings - Mirrors of Utopia: Caryl Churchill and Joint Stock; F.Gray - Casting the Audience: Theatricality in the Stage Plays of Peter Nichols; A.Parkin - Translations of History: Story-telling in Brian Friel's Theatre; K.Worth - Tom Murphy: Acts of Faith in a Godless World; R.A.Cave - Edward Bond: a Political Education; A.Jenkins - Stoppard's Theatre of Unknowing; M.A.Doll - Making History: the Plays of Howard Brenton; H.Zeifman - Forgiving History and Making New Worlds: Timberlake Wertenbaker's Recent Drama; A.Wilson - Freedom and Form in David Hare's Drama; J.Gindin - Honouring the Audience: the Theatre of Howard Barker; R.Wilcher - The Plays of Pam Gems: Personal/Political/Personal; K.H.Burkman - Postmodern Classics: the Verse Drama of Tony Harrison; R.Huk - Index