How tickled I am: A celebration of Ken Dodd

Billington, Michael

Elm Tree Books

This book studies the plays by Alan Ayckbourn and includes a biography, a survey of the plays and detailed analysis of the most significant plays, along with discussion, where relevant, of their political, social, historical and theatrical context.

Alan Ayckbourn (Modern Dramatists)

Biographies & Memoirs

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

Performimg arts: An illustrated guide

Arts & Photography

Gielgud John (foreword)

Performing Arts

Macdonald Educational]

Alan Ayckbourn (Grove Press Modern Dramatists)

Literature & Fiction

Dramas & Plays

GROVE PRESS

Analyzes the British dramatist's plays, discusses their major themes, and assesses Ayckbourn's contributions to the theater

Alan Ayckbourn

Olympic Marketing Corp

Stoppard: The Playwright (Methuen Paperback)

METHUEN

NY/London, Methuen (1987) 1st thus. Small "dig" at front and back covers, page edges lightly tanned, bit of shelfwear, else fine, UNREAD trade paperback. Clean, tight and straight. B239

STOPPARD THE PLAYWRIGHT (Methuen Paperback)

Heinemann

The Life and Work of Harold Pinter

Harold Pinter is our foremost living dramatist; and in this ground-breaking book - the first authorized biographical study - Michael Billington examines Pinter's work in the context of his life. Pinter's plays, including such acknowledged masterpieces as The Caretaker and The Homecoming, are subjected to close textual scrutiny and are seen to spring from a mixture of experience, memory and the unfettered poetic imagination. Billington's book also demolishes the myth that Pinter's political commitment is either belated or aesthetically detrimental; the dramatist is seen from the outset as a vehement opponent of authoritarian structures.

Faber&Faber

This is the most comprehensive and insightful account yet published of Harold Pinter's life, from his Hackney childhood to his current position as Britain's most eminent playwright, and of his work as writer, actor and director. Coolly and judiciously, Billington explores his subject's plays and political activity, his screenwriting and his poetry, and discusses his friendships and both his marriages. This is a book that both confirms Pinter's stature and explains the reasons for it.

A biography of Dame Peggy Ashcroft who, the author contends, represents the heart of British theatre. This book encompasses not only her most important roles but also the part she has played in new movements in British theatre over the past 50 years. She discovered the theatre while a Croydon schoolgirl and dreamt of becoming part of a permanent company of actors after reading of the Moscow Art Theatre. Her work at Lillian Baylis's Old Vic is described, as are her major parts at The New, The Queen's and The Haymarket. In addition, the author expands on her involvement with the Royal Court under George Devine, the Royal Shakespeare Company under Peter Hall and Trevor Nunn, and the National Theatre in its move to the South Bank. The author attributes the credit she was given for her performances in "The Jewel in the Crown" and "A Passage to India" to her relentless perfectionism but even more so to her qualities as a woman. He describes her compassion for people, her tireless work for humanitarian causes and her curiosity about the world we live in. In writing this biography Michael Billington has drawn on conversations with Dame Peggy and her contemporaries including Sir John Gielgud, George Rylands, Sir Anthony Quayle and Sir Peter Hall. He also gives an account of the problems of an actor's life, aiming to give the layman a glimpse behind the scenes.

Peggy Ashcroft

Humor & Entertainment

John Murray Pubs Ltd

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