Ibsen's A Doll's House is one of the most widely debated plays, but which version of the play do we refer to--the original text, translations, stage presentation, radio, film or television adaptations? This study addresses these questions and examines how the choice of medium and directorial approaches have influenced the meaning of the play text. Comparative analysis of the text and performance is framed by biographical background to the play and its impact on later dramatists such as Strindberg and Shaw.

David Bradby's study explores the impact of Waiting for Godot and its influence on acting, directing, design, and the role of theater in society. After discussing the first productions in France, Britain and America, he examines subsequent productions in Africa, Eastern Europe, Israel, America, China and Japan. The book assesses interpretations by Bert Lahr and Ben Kingsley, as well as such directors as Roger Blin, Susan Sontag, Sir Peter Hall, and Beckett himself. It also contains an extensive production chronology, bibliography and illustrations from major productions.

A Streetcar Named Desire revolutionized the modern stage and this book offers the first continuous history of the play in production from 1947 to 1998. Chapters survey major national premieres by the world's leading directors including Seki Sano, Luchino Visconti, Ingmar Bergman, Jean Cocteau and Laurence Olivier. Interpretations by Black and gay theater companies also receive analyses, and transformations into other media, such as ballet, film, television, and opera (premiered in 1998) form an important part of the overall study.

Since its premiere in Rome in 1921, Six Characters in Search of an Author has gained worldwide recognition. Pirandello's challenge to stage representation was taken up by leading directors and changed theater's perception of itself. Jennifer Lorch examines the play's impact through close analysis of individual productions in the context of theater history and practice. Her book includes a chronology of the most important productions, a bibliography and illustrations from major productions.

This is the first full production history of Long Day's Journey Into Night, by Eugene O'Neill. It provides a detailed account of the most significant productions throughout the world, on stage, film, and television. The book conveys the unique interpretations of the Tyrone family by such actors as Fredric March, Jason Robards, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Katharine Hepburn, Colleen Dewhurst, Ruby Dee, Kevin Spacey, Jack Lemmon, and Alan Bates, among other distinguished theatre artists. This history includes a production chronology, bibliography, discography and videography.

Ibsen's A Doll's House is one of the most widely debated plays, but which version of the play do we refer to--the original text, translations, stage presentation, radio, film or television adaptations? This study addresses these questions and examines how the choice of medium and directorial approaches have influenced the meaning of the play text. Comparative analysis of the text and performance is framed by biographical background to the play and its impact on later dramatists such as Strindberg and Shaw.

Few plays have generated more controversy or had a more extraordinary performance history than Moliere's Don Juan. David Whitton's study examines various ways in which this enigmatic masterpiece has been interpreted in performance through the vision of different directors and in a variety of cultural and social contexts. In a series of critical studies, key productions are reconstructed using prompt books, production notes, photographs, contemporary reviews, and memoirs. Among the interpretations discussed are those of Meyerhold and Brecht, Ingmar Bergman, Jouvet, and Chereau. The book is...

This is the first detailed study of one of the most important plays in contemporary theater. In this fascinating look at the modern stage, Stephen Bottoms draws on original archival material and sources including an exclusive interview with Edward Albee. The Introduction considers the text of the play itself; part one provides a survey of the major productions from 1962 to 1999, including the film. Part two examines shifting critical responses to the play and the third and final part offers a detailed examination of five different performances.

Chekhov's masterpiece, about a Russian family losing its ancestral home, combines a lament for a vanishing past with a hopeful dream of the future. In the century since its first performance, The Cherry Orchard has undergone a wide range of conflicting interpretations: tragic and comic, naturalistic and symbolic, reactionary and radical. Beginning with the 1904 premiere at Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theatre, this study traces the performance history of one of the landmark plays of the modern theatre. Considering the work of such directors as Anatoly Efros, Giorgio Strehler, Peter Brook, and...