In this volume, scholars and theatre practioners from Austria, Britain and Germany explore the current state of Austrian drama in studies of the themes, forms and concerns of some of the most important contemporary playwrights. Many of the contributions address works which have not previously been the subject of scholarly analysis. The writers discussed include: Wolfgang Bauer, Thomas Bernhard, Elias Canetti, Peter Handke, Fritz Hochwälder, Elfriede Jelinek, Jakov Lind, Felix Mitterer, Hermann Nitsch, Gerhard Roth, Werner Schwab, Marlene Steeruwitz, Peter Turrini, and the film-maker, Wim Wenders. This collection, which includes photographs and an essay on the problems of translating, will be of particular interest to teachers, students and translators of German-language drama, as well as to a wider theatre-going public.

In a nation of rugby heroes, Jamie Roberts has become a legend. Jamie Roberts is your quintessential hard man: a 6 foot 4, 17 stone slab of rippling muscle, conditioned to run hard into other huge men in an arena where physical dominance is the prime currency. Yet away from rugby, he's a mild-mannered and thoughtful man - a qualified doctor with a thirst for knowledge and a curiosity about the world around him. It's an intriguing contradiction. In his first full season with the Cardiff Blues he was picked by new Wales coach Warren Gatland in the Grand Slam-winning side of 2008. He was still establishing his position in the national team when he toured with the 2009 Lions, emerging as Player of the Series. He went on to win 97 Test caps and play for clubs in Paris, London and Cape Town, yet his career has seldom been straightforward. A fractured skull was one of many injuries he had to overcome, and from the start he had to juggle the competing demands of university life and professional rugby. The joy of Six Nations success with Wales was balanced by heartbreak in the World Cup and disappointment against southern-hemisphere teams, while major trophies at club level proved frustratingly elusive. In this colourful and frank account of a sterling career, Jamie Roberts reveals all about life on tour, in boot camps and in dressing rooms filled with once-in-a-generation characters such as Mike Phillips, Andy Powell, Shaun Edwards, Martyn Williams, Brian O'Driscoll and Johnny Sexton. He also shares his views on concussion in rugby, the failings of the professional structure in Wales and the vital role of old-school team-bonding.

'The theatre stars' voice guru' Daily Mail Every time you deliver a speech, give a presentation, or simply tell a good story, you are taking centre stage. Here, one of the world’s leading voice coaches introduces the simple exercises that great actors use to hold people’s attention – and reveals how anyone speaking in public can use them. Drawing on 25 years working at the National Theatre in London, Jeannette Nelson explains: How to warm up your voice and body before a big speech. How learning to breathe deeply can improve your clarity and pace. How to divide a script into individual ‘thoughts’ so it flows more naturally. How to adapt your delivery to suit any environment, be it a 1,000-seater auditorium or an intimate Zoom meeting. Along the way, she recounts stories from leading actors that pull back the curtain on how they learnt to own the room, and how you can too. If all the world’s a stage, this book will turn you into its lead actor.

I have known over the years that it has never yet happened that the uterus is admired in the highest regard. But I equally feel that unless it is truly known, it will be considered just as an organ (like others) below the belly button, performing its natured duties. And for making you known I’m plunging myself into the depths of this mighty organ. It has been observed that in “healthcare exigency” wherein effort, prompt action and splendid competence are the criteria, therein epistemic situations arise, but on account of ignorance or incomplete knowledge, widespread misconceptions, and limited options we remain untouched by unbiased and errorfree real knowledge. As a consequence, we have to face hard times. With the aid of the chapter privileged in the booklet, I endeavour to build awareness concerning this constituting part of the larger whole with the aim that woman commits themselves to take resolution for themselves and take hold of pertinent treatment right on time, thereby maintaining the stature of this organ.

This selection of six contemporary plays explores a wide range of issues — familial, social, mythological, political — with women centre stage. The plays are distinct from each other in structure, theme and style, but are bound together by a common thread — the position and role of women in family, social and political systems. Issues such as sexual abuse, in-law relationships, the trauma of ageing, the struggle for women’s empowerment, love and passion, desire and revenge, and dynastic politics are discussed through the varying perspectives of a number of characters, bringing an immediacy and urgency to the subjects under consideration. What is significant about the plays is that they highlight the manipulation of the English language resulting with the introduction of an ‘Indian’ syntax. Multilingualism is used to offset the so-called ‘westernisation’ that has been the by-product of the systematic globalisation of ‘third world’ countries. While the plays are meant to be staged, they are also very reader-friendly and will be entertaining as well as educative for the general reader.

Jesus is alive and well in theatre. An examination of our rich English tradition of dramatic portrayals of Jesus. Ranges widely from medieval Mystery Plays to Berkoff and from stage to broadcast media.

This book examines the political alliances that are built across the diaspora in contemporary plays written by Black women playwrights in the UK. Through the concept of creative diasporic solidarity, it offers an innovative theoretical approach to examine the ways in which the playwrights respond creatively to the violence and marginalisation of Black communities, especially Black women. This study demonstrates that theatre can act as a productive space for the ethical encounter with the Other (understood in terms of alterity, as someone different from the self) by examining the possibilities of these plays to activate the spectators’ responsibility and solidarity towards different types of violence experienced by Black women, offering alternative modes of relationality. The book engages with a range of contemporary works written by Black women playwrights in the UK, including Mojisola Adebayo, Theresa Ikoko, Diana Nneka Atuona, Gloria Williams, Charlene James, or Yusra Warsama, bringing to the fore a gendered and intersectional approach to the analysis of the texts. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars in contemporary theatre, gender studies and diaspora studies.