Impossible Plays
Adventures with the Cottesloe Company
1st Edition
Published on 1. June 2014
256 pages
978-1-4081-4727-6 (ISBN)
Description
Bill Bryden's Cottesloe Company, which flourished at Peter Hall's National Theatre, was the English theatre's only true ensemble of the last thirty or so years. Impossible Plays tells the story of the company and the many actors and musicians connected to it.
Co-written by Keith Dewhurst, author of eight plays for the group, and Jack Shepherd, a founder-actor, it explains the ideas behind the company's work and how the work was staged, and provides an idiosyncratic, lively and deeply personal take on the company.
"The search was always to find a popular theatre, a form of theatre that would draw into it people from all backgrounds, not just the cultured and the educated."
Beginning with a Royal Court Theatre Sunday night performance in 1970, the story of one company's aim to create a popular theatre form includes such milestone productions as The Mystery cycle of plays and Lark Rise to Candleford. With photographs by John Haynes, Michael Mayhew and Nobby Clark, Impossible Plays is a glorious and timely tribute to one of theatre's most innovative companies.
Co-written by Keith Dewhurst, author of eight plays for the group, and Jack Shepherd, a founder-actor, it explains the ideas behind the company's work and how the work was staged, and provides an idiosyncratic, lively and deeply personal take on the company.
"The search was always to find a popular theatre, a form of theatre that would draw into it people from all backgrounds, not just the cultured and the educated."
Beginning with a Royal Court Theatre Sunday night performance in 1970, the story of one company's aim to create a popular theatre form includes such milestone productions as The Mystery cycle of plays and Lark Rise to Candleford. With photographs by John Haynes, Michael Mayhew and Nobby Clark, Impossible Plays is a glorious and timely tribute to one of theatre's most innovative companies.
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Illustrations
B&W plate sections
ISBN-13
978-1-4081-4727-6 (9781408147276)
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
Book
11/2006
Methuen Drama
€34.00
Shipment within 10-20 days
Persons
Keith Dewhust wrote eight of the plays produced by the Cottesloe Company, including Lark Rise to Candleford.
Jack Shepherd, a leading actor of his generation, was one
of the founding actors of the Cottesloe Company as well as being a
playwright. In 2005 his play Man Falling Down: A Mask Play was staged at the Globe Theatre, London.
Jack Shepherd, a leading actor of his generation, was one
of the founding actors of the Cottesloe Company as well as being a
playwright. In 2005 his play Man Falling Down: A Mask Play was staged at the Globe Theatre, London.
Content
- Cover
- Contents
- Foreword: Impossible Plays
- Introduction: A Theatrical Ideal
- PART ONE: AT THE ROYAL COURT
- 1. The French Connection
- 2. A Royal Court Actor
- The Royal Court Studio
- A word on the acting
- Transforming the space
- 3. Bill Bryden
- The Greenock dreamer
- The Journey of the Fifth Horse
- A vision of the future
- 4. Pirate Black
- Staging Pirates
- The actors
- 5. Victor Henry: The Company Member Who Never was
- 6. The Baby Elephant
- 7. Corruna!
- Writing for a company
- Why 'Impossible'?
- The flower path
- The alienation effect
- Corruna! on tour
- The mysteries of the wrestlers' hotel
- A Corruna! summary
- 8. The Royal Court: Publicity and Personalities
- Tony Richardson: 'Can No One Clear the Peacock Shit off this Terrace?'
- PART TWO: SCOTLAND
- 9. Willie Rough
- 10. The Misanthrope
- 11. Life at the Lyceum
- The acting company
- Kidnapped
- The integrity of the space
- The Miser
- 12. The Magic Island
- PART THREE: THE NATIONAL THEATRE
- 13. The Early Days of the NT
- Watch It Come Down
- Social life
- Il Campiello
- 14. Medieval Mysteries
- The Passion
- Seeing The Passion
- Impact
- Judas
- The poet's revenge
- The Crucifixion play
- 15. Lark Rise
- Luggage
- Lark Rise
- Writing Lark Rise
- Casting 'Mrs Timms'
- Rehearsing Lark Rise
- Lessons of Lark Rise
- 16. American Buffalo
- Two questions to ponder
- Playing American Buffalo
- Dave King
- 17. The World Turned
- Civil war, mutinies and strikes
- The epic challenge of the brambles
- 18. Dispatches
- 19. Opportunities and Dilemmas
- The Long Riders
- Candleford
- Plans and a dilemma
- Summer manoeuvres
- 20. The O'Neill Season
- The Sea Plays
- Hughie and Stacey
- The Iceman Cometh
- The demon drink
- J. G. Devlin
- Derek Newark
- 21. Extending the Cycle
- Creation
- A popular success
- The outdoor performances
- Sixty crop pruners
- Men without women
- Brian Glover
- 22. Choices and Changes
- Crazy Horse
- Bill's choice
- Cologne and Rome
- Enforced changes
- 23. Endings
- Don Quixote
- A difficult stage
- Departure
- A threat to family life
- 24. A Midsummer Night's Dream
- Playing the Dream
- Mechanicals and Princess Margaret
- A flashback
- 25. Glengarry Glen Ross
- 26. Cinderella
- 27. The Boxing
- 28. Doomsday
- Following the score
- Rehearsal strategies
- A furious row
- 'Death' takes the stage
- PART FOUR: REPUTATIONS
- 28. The Wrap-up
- 29. Reputations
- 30. Something Happier
- Epilogue: What's the Score?
- A Glossary of Terms
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- J
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- R
- S
- T
- V
- W
- Acknowledgements
