Two essential plays from Berger and Bielski on art, politics and liberation Goya's Last Portrait and The Question of Geography are the result of collaboration between John Berger and the actress and writer Nella Bielski. Here, collated for the first time as part of the Essential John Berger Series. Goya's Last Portrait, is a study of the artist looking back on his work and drawing the outline of the relationship between art and life. Having painted the darkest images of the soul, the horrors of war, as well as the vibrant colours of aristocratic life, Goya's questions whether he has reflected life or changed it. The Question of Geography, premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Company, i s set in Magadan, a town in the Soviet Far East where former political prisoners, known as "Zeks," are forced to live after serving their sentences. The play delves into themes of exile, displacement, the lasting effects of political repression, and the struggle to rebuild lives after imprisonment.

'Robert Wilson''s theatre is the stuff of legend. He has taught theatre-goers to see the world with different eyes. Stefan Brecht''s book provides detailed documentation and analysis of a number of Wilson''s earliest groundbreaking works including The Life of Sigmund Freud, Deafman Glance and Einstein on the Beach. ''Never since I was born have I seen anything more beautiful on this earth, never ever has there been another performance to equal this one, because it is simultaneously life at its most vivid and life with its eyes closed, reality mixed with dreaming, the inexplicability of everything in a deaf man''s glance.'' (Louis Aragon Open Letter to Andre Breton) ''His theatre is a world of its own'' (Heiner Muller)'

Learn About the Magic of Light from a Master Step into the captivating world of Jean Rosenthal, a trailblazing figure in the realm of lighting design for modern theater. The Magic of Light, a professional memoir crafted with the assistance of friend and novelist Lael Wertenbaker, unveils the artistry behind Rosenthal's technical mastery. Renowned for transforming stage illumination from a mere necessity to a mesmerizing art form, Rosenthal shares her insights, experiences, and the evolution of her craft. Part one of the memoir delves into Rosenthal's profound thoughts on light, exploring its role in theatrical history, dissecting its impact on plays, musicals, operas, and dance. Part two, "Tools of the Trade," serves as a comprehensive guide, detailing the mechanics of lighting instruments, with diagrams, charts, and photographs illustrating Rosenthal's creative process. Included are light plots, cue sheets, and scene designer's elevations for the famous Broadway productions of Hello, Dolly and Plaza Suite. In a heartfelt preface, Wertenbaker offers a glimpse into the life of Rosenthal, a woman of immense talent, professionalism, and profound humanity. From her early collaborations with Martha Graham to her work with Broadway stage greats, Rosenthal's journey unfolds with anecdotes, humor, and the unwavering dedication that endeared her to colleagues and theater crews alike. The Magic of Light is not only a technical guide; it's a celebration of Rosenthal's legacy and her impact on the theatrical world. With contributions from luminaries like Martha Graham, John Houseman, Oliver Smith, Mary Martin, and Garson Kanin, this memoir is a tribute to a pioneering artist whose work continues to shape the essence of stage illumination. This book is also available from Echo Point Books as a hardcover (ISBN 1648374298).

Theatre, Sexual Studies, Women's Studies

"Roman comedy evolved early in the war-torn 200s BCE. Troupes of lower-class and slave actors traveled through a militarized landscape full of displaced persons and the newly enslaved; together, the actors made comedy to address mixed-class, hybrid, multilingual audiences. Surveying the whole of the Plautine corpus, where slaves are central figures, and the extant fragments of early comedy, this book is grounded in the history of slavery and integrates theories of resistant speech, humor, and performance. Part I shows how actors joked about what people feared - natal alienation, beatings, sexual abuse, hard labor, hunger, poverty - and how street-theater forms confronted debt, violence, and war loss. Part II catalogues the onstage expression of what people desired: revenge, honor, free will, legal personhood, family, marriage, sex, food, free speech; a way home, through memory; and manumission, or escape - all complicated by the actors' maleness. Comedy starts with anger"

The London fairs are important in the history of English drama, for play-acting was one of their main attractions. From Jonson's Bartholomew Fair we have a picture of the Elizabethan fair; it is however insufficiently known that the fairs were still held in the eighteenth century and that plays were still performed at them. Miss Rosenfeld has investigated these entertainments. She has been able to construct a chronological record of the performances at Bartholomew Fair, Southwark Fair, May Fair and some less important centres; she examines such fair-plays and drolls as survive as texts or in printed descriptions, and she analyses the evidence about the structure of the stages and theatres used. She shows that the performances had a large public, and that the actors from the chief theatres found it worthwhile to take part in them; so her account is a necessary supplement to the theatrical history of the eighteenth century.

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