Anglo-American Interplay in Recent Drama

by Ruby Cohn

Overview

The notion of a contemporary cross-cultural exchange within the medium of theater is here imposed on a dozen contemporary Anglo-American dramatists: Alan Ayckbourn and Neil Simon, Edward Bond and Sam Shepard, David Mamet and Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill and Maria Irene Fornès, David Hare and David Rabe, Christopher Hampton and Richard Nelson. In each pairing, Ruby Cohn unites a British with an American playwright, exploring similarities that serve as a springboard for the exposure of a more profound, culturally-based difference.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521035286
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/14/2006
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.51(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Funny money in New York and Pendon: Neil Simon and Alan Ayckbourn; 2. Artists' arias: Edward Bond and Sam Shepard; 3. Phrasal energies: Harold Pinter and David Mamet; 4. Reading and teaching: Maria Irene Fornes and Caryl Churchill; 5. Males articulating women: David Hare and David Rabe; 6. Englobing intimacies: Christopher Hampton and Richard Nelson; Notes; Bibliography; Index of plays and playwrights.

Editorial Reviews

"To say Cohn's coverage is panoramic would be to understate the matter. As Cohn discusses no fewer than twelve playwrights and close to one hundred plays, one can't help being impressed with her graceful manipulation of so much material....In sum, Professor Cohn's facility of language and her insights into both American and English theatrical worlds construct an artistic bridge between America and Britain that will instruct and delight scholars and educators who claim (like Ms. Cohn) contemporary drama as their 'turf.'" Martha Gilman Bower, American Literature

"Cohn has certainly done her homework, and applies her findings with the intelligence that characterizes much of her vast body of writing-notably her Beckett criticism." James Frieze, Theatre Studies

From the Publisher