Literary Collections

Post-War British Theatre Criticism

Name: Post-War British Theatre Criticism
Author: John Elsom
ISBN: 9780710005359

by John Elsom

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Synopsis

This book sets out the critical reaction to some fifty key post-war productions of the British theatre, as gauged primarily through the contemporary reviews of theatre critics. The plays chosen are each, in their different ways, important in their contribution to the development of the British theatre, covering the period from immediately after the Second World War, when British theatre fell into decline, through the revival of the late 1950s, to the present day in which British theatre enjoys a high international reputation for its diversity and quality.
In this selection, John Elsom is not aiming simply to select the 'best' of theatre criticism, nor the 'worst'. He allows the reader to be the critic of the critics. His selection, however, reveals the widespread changes of response to plays and productions, and thus indicates the evolution of taste over the past thirty years - from J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls and the great days of the Old Vic Company after the war, to Harold Pinter's Betrayal at the National Theatre. Among the critics quoted are Kenneth Tynan, Bernard Levin, James Agate, Harold Hobson, Ronald Bryden, Alan Brien, Irving Wardle and Michael Billington; the productions include Titus Andronicus with Lord Olivier, Pinter's The Homecoming, Beckett's Waiting For Godot, Osbornes's Look Back in Anger and Edward Bond's Saved.
For the general theatre-goer, this selection wil evoke the great occasions in post-war British theatre. For the theatre student, Post-War British Theatre Criticism will provide a valuable source book for contemporary reactions.