Joy Ride
Lives of the Theatricals
Published on 10. September 2015
Book
Hardback
592 pages
978-1-4088-6863-8 (ISBN)
Description
A dazzling celebration of theatre, its workings and its most compelling playwrights by the New York's senior drama critic emeritus and the author of Tennessee Williams
'By far the best thing about my stuff I've ever read' Arthur Miller
'John Lahr manages to write better about the theatre than anybody in the English language,' says Richard Eyre. Joy Ride, which includes the best of his New Yorker profiles and reviews, makes his expertise and his exhilaration palpable. From modern greats, like Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, David Mamet, Tony Kushner and August Wilson, through the work of directors like Nicholas Hytner and Ingmar Bergman, to Shakespeare himself, the depth of Lahr's understanding is plain to see and extraordinary to read. He brings the reader up close and personal to the artists and their art. Whether you are a regular theatre-goer, or just starting out, Lahr's book delights as both a celebration and a guide.
'By far the best thing about my stuff I've ever read' Arthur Miller
'John Lahr manages to write better about the theatre than anybody in the English language,' says Richard Eyre. Joy Ride, which includes the best of his New Yorker profiles and reviews, makes his expertise and his exhilaration palpable. From modern greats, like Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, David Mamet, Tony Kushner and August Wilson, through the work of directors like Nicholas Hytner and Ingmar Bergman, to Shakespeare himself, the depth of Lahr's understanding is plain to see and extraordinary to read. He brings the reader up close and personal to the artists and their art. Whether you are a regular theatre-goer, or just starting out, Lahr's book delights as both a celebration and a guide.
Reviews / Votes
By far the best thing about my stuff I've ever read * <b>Arthur Miller</b> * John Lahr writes like a master. He has a unique understanding of those who labour in the corners of showbiz * <b>Mike Nichols</b> * Lahr's profiles are the nearest we get to modern theatre history. What Lahr has is the key to the dressing room door * <b><i>Spectator</i></b> * To say that Lahr lives and breathes showbusiness is an understatement ... Lahr occupied until recently American theatre's equivalent of an Archbishop's chair: senior drama critic of the New Yorker ... In an industry not known for its love of reviewers, he remains the only critic in history to have won a Tony award ... Crafted in Lahr's polished prose, [Joy Ride] is studded with anecdotes: meeting, as a starstruck 26 year old, Harold Pinter in a diner on 45th Street in New York; being given a hunting knife by David Mamet. If you're curious about Ingmar Bergman's obsession with punctuality, or what it feels like to go through a Broadway opening in the carpet-chewing company of Tony Kushner, the book is - like Lahr himself - engaging and loquacious company -- Andrew Dickson * <i> Guardian </i> * Mr Lahr patiently mines the essence of his subjects - playwright, directors - with the affection of a fan, the insight of a confidant and the authorial flair of an experienced critic. The effect is often delicious ... A lifetime of listening closely for what is left unsaid. His discoveries are a delight to read * <i> Economist </i> * Something of lasting value. A delight. * the Economist * 100 years from now this is where people will look to see what it was like back then. Bravo! * John Guare, Author of 'Six Degrees of Separation' * A classic of theatre criticism and human observation -- Damian Barr * Sunday Herald *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
Weight
1001 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4088-6863-8 (9781408868638)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2015
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
€19.49
Available for download
Person
John Lahr was the senior drama critic for the New Yorker for twenty years. He is a critic, novelist and biographer and is the author of seventeen books, including Notes on a Cowardly Lion, the biography of Bert Lahr and, most recently, Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh, which was a finalist for the National Book Award 2014. He lives in North London.