Theater - History & Criticism - General & Miscellaneous, Great Britain - Theater - History & Criticism

The Lost Summer

Name: The Lost Summer
Author: Charles Duff
ISBN: 9780435086831

by Charles Duff

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Overview

The popular myth is that there was nothing of any worth in the mid-century British theatre until 1956, when John Osborne stormed the stage. In fact the West End of the thirties, forties and fifties was remarkable both for its actors - such as John Gielgud, Edith Evans, Ralph Richardson - and its playwrights, many of whom are in the process of rediscovery - a process which this book seeks to encourage. Typical is the case of Rodney Ackland, revived, televised and re-published in recent years, culminating in a major production of Absolute Hell at the Royal National Theatre. The book also examines the work of Terence Rattigan, John Whiting, Robert Bolt, Wynyard Browne and N. C. Hunter. Taking the career of one man, the actor/producer/director Frith Banbury, who was active throughout the period, The Lost Summer revisits many of the best productions of those years. The resulting book is a vital and necessary re-evaluation of the era, which will alter many a mind-set and provoke many more discoveries.