The Methuen Drama Book of Naturalist Plays: A Doll's House; Miss Julie; The Weavers; Mrs Warren's Profession; Three Sisters; Strife (Play Anthologies)

The Methuen Drama Book of Naturalist Plays: A Doll's House; Miss Julie; The Weavers; Mrs Warren's Profession; Three Sisters; Strife (Play Anthologies)

The study of Naturalist theatre remains a staple and often foundational part of the curriculum at all levels of drama education. This anthology of six of the most commonly studied and revived Naturalist plays from the European repertoire offers a unique compendium that will serve as required reading for drama courses and is ideal for theatre practitioners and fans. The selected plays perfectly reflect the formal and geographical diversity of Naturalist theatre as well as its major philosophical, political and theatrical preoccupations. A critical introduction by Dr Chris Megson contextualises the emergence of Naturalist theatre in the late nineteenth century, identifying its principal aims and methods; provides an analysis of the selected plays, mapping their key preoccupations, and ends by considering Naturalism's enduring legacy and resonance today. Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) has been described as 'the father of modern theatre'. Most of his early plays were traditional historical dramas. After 'Peer Gynt', a fairy-tale fantasy in verse, Ibsen wrote the rest of his plays in prose, and came to be regarded as the great Naturalist dramatist. August Strindberg, the great Swedish dramatist and author, had a profound influence on European drama. His career was particularly marked by a desire to experiment with and redefine theatre. With roots in psychological naturalism, he was nevertheless fascinated by symbols, dreams and fantasies. His later plays anticipated and paved the way for surrealistic, expressionistic and absurdist theatre. Hauptmann (1892-1946) was influenced by the realist works of Ibsen, and began experimenting with naturalistic forms of drama. His best known plays include 'Vor Sonnenaufgang' and 'Die Weber'. George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish playwright and critic, whose plays are famous for their wit, eloquence and interest in provocative ideas. Inspired mainly by the social dramas of Ibsen, he began to write plays of his own while working as an arts critic, though they were not performed until later. His play Mrs Warren's Profession was banned by the Lord Chamberlain until 1925. Unable to find commercial audiences for his plays, Shaw wrote extensive Prefaces for them, elaborating on the social and moral themes that they explore. Subsequent plays include Major Barbara, Pygmalion , Heartbreak House, Back to Methuselah , and Saint Joan . He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1925, and an Academy Award in 1938, for the screenplay of the film adaptation of Pygmalion , a film which would later form the basis for My Fair Lady . Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian physician, dramatist and author, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories and modern drama. Born in Taganrog, a port town near the Black Sea, he attended medical school at Moscow University. He began writing to supplement his income, writing short humorous sketches of contemporary Russian life. A successful literary careered followed, before his premature death of TB at the age of 44. He is best-remembered for his four dramatic masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904). Used Book in Good Condition