Publisher Description

Originally published in 1984. The turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was a time of considerable change in the English theatre. Victorian attitudes were shocked or shattered by the new drama of Ibsen; the major figure of George Bernard Shaw dominated the period; theatre censorship was the subject of a long and furious contest; and staging conventions changed from the spectacular stylings of Irving and Beerbohm Tree to the masking and statuesque styles of Isadora Duncan and the inner realism of Stanislavsky. This book traces the activities of the leading figures in the English theatre, notably William Archer who introduced Ibsen to this country and who became one of the main promoters of the idea of a National Theatre. Other personalities discussed include Harley Granville Barker, particularly his association with Shaw at the Court Theatre and his part in campaigns against censorship and for changes in the staging of Shakespeare, and Edward Gordon Craig, whose rebellion against the Victorian theatre took and anti-realist direction. This is a stimulating account of the background to the modern English theatre which can only increase appreciation of its standard and variety.

The present volume attempts a systematic explanation of various dimensions of Romantic drama by foregrounding both the theoretical and practical questions bearing on Romantic drama in its historical situation. In this effort, the volume intentionally gravitates toward discussion of lesser-known works of the period, rather than such major dramas as Manfred or Prometheus Unbound. This is because the poetic dramas by Byron and Shelley have already been the subject of many useful historicist investigations, and also because lesser-known works - for instance, the dramas of Scott, Wordsworth's Borderers, and the many revolutionary and counter-revolutionary dramas of the period - provide avenues into historical and ideological issues that cannot be adequately addressed by exclusive attention to dramas long recognized as canonical.

This comprehensive and versatile reference source will be a most important tool for anyone wishing to seek out information on virtually any aspect of British affairs, life and culture. The resources of a detailed bibliography, directory and journals listing are combined in this single volume, forming a unique guide to a multitude of diverse topics - British politics, government, society, literature, thought, arts, economics, history and geography. Academic subjects as taught in British colleges and universities are covered, with extensive reading lists of books and journals and sources of information for each discipline, making this an invaluable manual.