If Americans knew the real reason Senator Joseph Bibby, Jr. voted for a change in the National Energy Policy, or what crimes oil tycoon Neil Rodkin was willing to commit to "save" the country from Middle Eastern oil companies, the current world situation - war, high gas prices, and terrorism - would all make sense. The kidnapping of Desi Adams, Senator Bibby's secret sex toy, by a wealthy oil tycoon leads to an action packed hunt through the streets of D.C. and the suburbs of Virginia by Desi's boyfriend, police officer Nate Ramano. At the same time, Middle Eastern oil cartels and environmental terrorists are tying to manipulate other key politicians into continuing the moratorium on oil exploration in Alaska's Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). These competing interests cause chaos in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. and political turmoil inside the beltway.

This Element focuses on the machinery of commercial theatre, on extra-authorial interventions into the creative process and on the people and institutional forces that foster them. Such a process challenges the autonomy of the artwork and authorial integrity. The primary focus of this Element is then on the hybrid genre of theatre where collective esthetics tends to override and so to supersede individual creation. The essay pays special attention to Samuel Beckett's first professionally produced play, Waiting for Godot, primarily its English language premieres in the US, UK, and the Republic of Ireland. Its implications, however, reach far beyond the genetic and production histories of a single theatrical work to deal with the nature of authorship in a monetized culture, the process of realizing dramatic texts in such a culture, and Samuel Beckett's engagement with such machinery of art.

This collection of 11 plays, from North America, the U.K., and South Africa—many published here for the first time—delves into the vibrant, cosmopolitan theatre of the South Asian diaspora. These original and provocative works explore the experience of diaspora by drawing on cultural references as diverse as classical Indian texts, adaptations of Shakespeare and Homer, current events, and world music, film, and dance. Neilesh Bose provides historical background on South Asian migration and performance traditions in each region, along with critical introductions and biographical background on each playwright. Includes works by Anuvab Pal, Aasif Mandvi, Shishir Kurup, Rahul Varma, Rana Bose, Rukhsana Ahmad, Jatinder Verma, Sudha Bhuchar and Kristine Landon-Smith, Ronnie Govender, Kessie Govender, and Kriben Pillay.

The purpose of this course is to learn English and increase students’ understanding and critical perception of English Drama. Lessons will focus on the elements of theatrical practice, on Drama as an art form and a social phenomenon. Participation in class/web forum discussion and sharing of “critiques” will enable students to improve their fluency and understand how English is used in different social, psychological and historical contexts. The aim is to develop their appreciation of Drama and stimulate their knowledge of English for the performing arts. Each play will be considered in its screen version.

Two murders. Twenty years. Now the killer is back for more...

Hofstadter's collection of quirky essays is unified by its primary concern: to examine the way people perceive and think.

A deeply thoughtful, deeply irreverent look at the mythology of play, Gods and Games ties together Joseph Campbell's approach to myth and religion with Johan Huizinga's view of our species as Homo ludens — "Man the Game-player" — which suggests that play is a central aspect of the human spirit and human culture. "A comprehensive and clear review.... loaded with quotations both pertinent and entertaining that may be eye-openers both to traditional religionists and readers who may never have thought about play in a philosophical or religious sense." —Publishers Weekly