New Readings in Theatre History
Theater history has often been interpreted in ways which highlight and omit key elements. Jacky Bratton explores this dilemma by examining how theater history has been chronicled and interpreted. Analyzing case studies from nineteenth-century British theater, Bratton reveals the difference between the existence of "the drama" (plays and play literature) and "the stage" (performance, theater building, and attendance).
- Accessible introduction to key area of study (performance theory) for graduate and upper undergraduates
- Provides valuable information and interpretation of nineteenth-century theatre and culture
- New, polemical and controversial history which concentrates on what actors think is important in the history of their profession
Reviews & endorsements
"...[this] book continually challenges the way we think and write about theatre history and makes clear how carefully we need to engage with our sources. Conceptually sophisticated, it is written very accessibly and will surely become essential reading for all students of theatre historiography and of nineteenth-century British theatre." Modern Drama
Product details
December 2003Paperback
9780521794633
252 pages
216 × 140 × 13 mm
0.3kg
6 b/w illus.
Available
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Part I. Background:
- 1. Theatre history today
- 2. British theatre history:
- 1708–1832
- 3. Theatre in London in 1832: a new overview
- 4. Theatre history and reform
- Part II. Case Studies:
- 5. Anecdote and mimicry as history
- 6. Theatre history and the discourse of the popular
- 7. Claiming kin: an experiment in genealogical research
- Notes
- Index.