George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) was formative influence on American letters in the first half of this century, and is generally considered the leading drama critic of his era. With H. L. Mencken, Nathan edited The Smart Set and founded and edited The American Mercury, journals that shaped opinion in the 1920s and 1930s. This series of reprints, individually introduced by the distinguished critic and novelist Charles Angoff, collects Nathan's penetrating, witty, and sometimes cynical drama criticism.

George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) was formative influence on American letters in the first half of this century, and is generally considered the leading drama critic of his era. With H. L. Mencken, Nathan edited The Smart Set and founded and edited The American Mercury, journals that shaped opinion in the 1920s and 1930s. This series of reprints, individually introduced by the distinguished critic and novelist Charles Angoff, collects Nathan's penetrating, witty, and sometimes cynical drama criticism.

This book traces a significant shift in 20th century Irish theatre from the largely national plays produced in Dublin to a more expansive international art form. Confirmed by the recent success outside of Ireland of the "third wave" of Irish playwrights writing in the 1990s, the new Irish drama has encouraged critics to reconsider both the early national theatre and the dramatic tradition it fostered. On the occasion of the centenary of the first professional production of the Irish Literary Theatre, the contributors to this volume investigate contemporary Irish drama's aesthetic features and socio-political commitments and re-read the plays produced earlier in the century. Although these essayists cover a wide range of topics, from the productions and objectives of the Abbey Theatre's first rivals to mid-century theatre festivals, to plays about the "Troubles" in the North, they all reassess the oppositions so commonplace in critical discussions of Irish drama: nationalism vs. internationalism, high vs. low culture, urban experience vs. rural or peasant life. A Century of Irish Drama includes essays on such figures as W. B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, J. M. Synge, Sean O'Casey, Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett, Marina Carr, Brian Friel, Frank McGuinness, Christina Read, Martin McDonagh, and many more. Stephen Watt is Professor of English and Cultural Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington, and author of Postmodern/Drama: Reading the Contemporary Stage, Joyce, O'Casey, and the Irish Popular Theatre, and essays on Irish and Irish-American culture. He has also written extensively on higher education, most recently Academic Keywords: A Devil's Dictionary for Higher Education (with Cary Nelson). Eileen M. Morgan is a lecturer in English and Irish Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is currently working on Sean O'Faolain's biographies of De Valera and on Edna O'Brien's 1990s trilogy, and is preparing a book-length study on the influence of radio in Ireland. Shakir Mustafa is a Visiting Instructor in the English department at Indiana University. His work has appeared in such journals as New Hibernia Review and The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, and he is now translating Arabic short stories into English. Drama and Performance Studies--Timothy Wiles, general editor

Now in its 3nd edition, we've expanded this book's size by a third with more great quotes! The Audience Book of Theater Quotations is a lifelong labor of love by Professor Phillips. If you have anything to do with the theater, buy this book. "I've been fortunate to spend many an afternoon with author Louis Phillips, sharing his insightful appreciation of movies, plays and poetry. Luck has come your way! Here you have it: Theatre treasures from A to Z. You pick the time (lots or little) and let Louis be your tour guide into this wondrous chronicle. "The Audience Book of Theatre Quotations" commemorates recitals both malicious and hilarious. You won't be able to resist prolonged applause and a standing ovation!" --Richard D. Pepperman; Film editor, teacher, and author of The Eye is Quicker Film Editing: Making a Good Film Better; Setting Up Your Scenes: The Inner Workings of Great Films; Film School: How to Watch DVDs and Learn Everything About Filmmaking "There are so many great quotes, it is a fascinating read." --William E. Cooper, Reader Views "... this book will inspire the inner theatre lover in us all." --Vianna Renaud, TCM Reviews “You read through The Audience Book of Theatre Quotes and it's like taking a trip through theatre-time superimposed on your own personal life-in-the-theatre time. Quotes from the likes of Dorothy Parker, Laurence Olivier, David Mamet, Hume Cronyn, Robert Benchley, Ben Hecht, Basil Rathbone and hundreds of others, always intriguing, mostly funny, sometimes filled with almost scriptural vision/insight. A book to be read slowly, maybe a page a day, either when you first get up or before you go to bed, letting the wisdom/humor either seep through your whole day, or ease you through your dreams.” –-Hugh Fox, professor, author of numerous books, poet, critic, playwright

However, these contemporary accounts are frequently amplified and put into modern perspective, particularly at crucial moments such as a major production, a final production, or a death. The authors have particularly done so with writers of some importance such as Edward Martyn, William Boyle, or T.C. Murray. Since the theater of these years was especially influenced by the state of the country, the authors give considerable space to the disruptive political events of the times. Always, however, this is done from the particular vantage point of the theater and its workers, for the Irish theater vigorously reacted to and quickly assimilated the turbulent political events of the day: the raids, the reprisals, the burnings, and the murders. These 1,800 days really break into two periods. The first comprises the violence of the Black and Tan War, the exhaustion that led to the treaty, and the bitterness occasioned by the treaty that led to the culminating ferocity of the civil war.

In her famous speech to rouse the English troops staking out Tilbury at the mouth of the Thames during the Spanish Armada's campaign, Queen Elizabeth I is said to have proclaimed, "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king." Whether or not the transcription is accurate, the persistent attribution of this provocative statement to England's most studied and celebrated queen illustrates some of the contradictions and cultural anxieties that dominated the collective consciousness of England during a reign that lasted from 1558 until 1603. In The Heart and Stomach of a King, Carole Levin explores the myriad ways the unmarried, childless Elizabeth represented herself and the ways members of her court, foreign ambassadors, and subjects represented and responded to her as a public figure. In particular, Levin interrogates the gender constructions, role expectations, and beliefs about sexuality that influenced her public persona and the way she was perceived as a female Protestant ruler. With a new introduction that situates the book within the emerging genre of cultural biography, the second edition of The Heart and Stomach of a King offers insight into the continued fascination with Elizabeth I and her reign.