In these incisive, often moving portraits John Lahr charts the geography of fame with the gift of revealing both the art and the artist, uncovering how life and work intersect.

Wonderful and candid stories abound in these essays from erudite observations on the theater to veneration for great actresses. In Five Fiery Ladies Williams describes his fascinated, deep appreciation of Vivien Leigh, Geraldine Page, Anna Magnani, Katharine Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor, all of whom created roles in stage or film versions of his plays. There are two tributes to his great friend Carson McCullers; reviews of Cocteau s filmOrpheus and of two novels by Paul Bowles; a portrait of Williams longtime agent Audrey Wood; a salute to Tallulah Bankhead; a political statement...

For over three decades, on both sides of the Atlantic, Tynan was at the hot centre of the theatre and film worlds. He knew everybody; and everybody wanted to know him. His diaries so full of gossip bear witness to the fame he courted and the price he paid for it. These sizzling diaries will remind older readers of a man whose reputation as one of the greatest critics of the twentieth century is still unchallenged and introduce younger readers to an electrifying writer who simply could not be boring.

A dazzling celebration of theatre, its workings and its most compelling playwrights by the New York’s senior drama critic emeritus and the author of Tennessee Williams 'By far the best thing about my stuff I’ve ever read' Arthur Miller 'Luminous with insight and love for every aspect of the act of dramatic creation' Daily Mail 'A wonderful celebration of theatre, filled with insights' Guardian ‘John Lahr manages to write better about the theatre than anybody in the English language,’ says Richard Eyre. Joy Ride, which includes the best of his New Yorker profiles and reviews, makes...