The London Stage 1940 1949

Theatre in London has celebrated a rich and influential history, and in 1976 the first volume of J. P. Wearing’s reference series provided researchers with an indispensable resource of these productions. In the decades since the original calendars were produced, several research aids have become available, notably various reference works and the digitization of important newspapers and relevant periodicals. The second edition of The London Stage 1940–1949: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel provides a chronological calendar of London shows from January 1940 through December 1949. The volume chronicles more than 2,400 productions at 53 major central London theatres during this period. For each production the following information is provided: Title Author Theatre Performers Personnel Opening and Closing Dates Number of Performances Other details include genre of the production, number of acts, and a list of reviews. A comment section includes other interesting information, such as plot description, first-night reception by the audience, noteworthy performances, staging elements, and details of performances in New York either prior to or after the London production. Among the plays staged in London during this decade were The Light of Heart, Mr. Bolfry, Perchance to Dream, Pacific 1860, Bless the Bride, The Lady’s Not for Burning, The Late Edwina Black, Outrageous Fortune, Seagulls over Sorrento, and Buoyant Billions, as well as numerous musical comedies (British and American), foreign works, operas, ballets, and revivals of English classics. A definitive resource, this edition revises, corrects, and expands the original calendar. In addition, approximately 20 percent of the material—in particular, information of adaptations and translations, plot sources, and comment information—is new. Arranged chronologically, the shows are fully indexed by title, genre, and theatre. A general index includes numerous subject entries on such topics as acting, audiences, censorship, costumes, managers, performers, prompters, staging, and ticket prices. The London Stage 1940-1949 will be of value to scholars, theatrical personnel, librarians, writers, journalists, and historians.

These highly praised day-by-day calendars of plays produced at the major London theatres cover all the big productions and names, revivals of the classics, and opera and ballet productions. J. P. Wearing lists each production in chronological arrangement of playbills, with full production and contemporary review information for each play and including comprehensive indexes. Every scholar and critic concerned with English theatre for the period...will want and need to consult these volumes.

Exploration of Irish theatrical performance in England

The second of Shaw’s “unpleasant” plays, written in 1893, published in 1898, but not performed until 1905, The Philanderer is subtitled “A Topical Comedy.” The eclectic range of topical subjects addressed in the play includes the influence of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen on British middle-class social mores (the second act of The Philanderer is set in the fictional Ibsen Club), medical follies, the rise of the “New Woman,” and, in particular, the destructive impact of Victorian marriage and divorce laws. Just as Shaw’s other “unpleasant” plays, Widowers’ Houses and Mrs Warren’s Profession, call, respectively, for reform of laws that allow corrupt property owners to exploit the poor and for radical change to economic structures that drive women into prostitution, so The Philanderer makes the case for more liberal legislation to allow easier divorce—particularly for women—when marriages become irretrievably broken. Shaw’s attack on divorce laws becomes even clearer and stronger in the final act that he wrote for the play but discarded in favour of the version he published. The discarded version is published for the first time in this Broadview edition of the play.

Maggie Gale's West End Women uncovers groundbreaking material about women playwrights and the staging of their performances between the years 1918 and 1962. It documents a dynamic era of social and theatrical history, analysing the transformations that occurred in the theatre and the lives of British women in relation to specific plays of the period. Focusing on the work of playwrights such as Dodie Smith, Clemence Dane, Gordon Daviot and Bridget Boland, Maggie Gale examines the cultural and political context within which they enjoyed commercial success and great notoriety.

A lively collection of essays from scholars from across Europe, North America and Australia. The book ranges from Shakespeare's use of manuals on war written for the sixteenth-century English public by an English mercenary, to reflections on the ways in which Shakespeare has been represented in Nazi Germany, wartime Denmark, or cold war Romania.

This book is the first detailed study of the life and music of British composer Madeleine Dring (1923–1977). From her life in London through her numerous accomplishments as performer and musician, her achievements are highlighted through her remarkable story and diverse musical works.