Storey Plays: 1


Book Description

"David Storey is a writer who genuinely extends the territory of drama" (Guardian) The Contractor: "A subtle and poetic parable about the nature and joy of skilled work, the meaning of community and the effect of its loss" (Observer); Home: "about the solitude and dislocation of madness and...the decline of Britain itself...part of the play's appeal is that Storey leaves it to us to draw our own conclusions...a play that contains within itself the still, sad music of humanity." (Guardian); Stages: "...an elegy for lost times and places, an obituary that has been free-associated by the corpse-to-be...Storey once said that a play 'lives almost in the measure that it escapes and refuses definition'. He has always been a writer who hints rather than states, let alone hectors." (The Times); Caring, a companion piece to Stages, reflects a reassessment and renegotiation of the conflict between life and art.




A Guide to Ancient Greek Drama


Book Description

This Blackwell Guide introduces ancient Greek drama, which flourished principally in Athens from the sixth century BC to the third century BC. A broad-ranging and systematically organised introduction to ancient Greek drama. Discusses all three genres of Greek drama - tragedy, comedy, and satyr play. Provides overviews of the five surviving playwrights - Aeschylus, Sophokles, Euripides, Aristophanes, and Menander, and brief entries on lost playwrights. Covers contextual issues such as: the origins of dramatic art forms; the conventions of the festivals and the theatre; the relationship between drama and the worship of Dionysos; the political dimension; and how to read and watch Greek drama. Includes 46 one-page synopses of each of the surviving plays.




A Stinging Delight


Book Description

The third son of a coalminer, David Storey takes us from his tough upbringing in Wakefield, to being 'sold' to Leeds Rugby League Club, to his escape to the Slade School of Art and his life in post-war London. He describes shocking scenes in the seventeen deprived East End schools in which he taught. He documents the childhood death of his eldest brother, addressing much of the memoir to him and exploring how this relates to his own sometimes paralysing depression, which haunted most of his life. And yet, a prolific and celebrated writer, he recalls heady spells in New York, close relationships in the theatre with Joycelyn Herbert, Ralph Richardson and Lindsay Anderson, early success with This Sporting Life, and winning the Booker Prize for his novel Saville.




The Changing Room


Book Description

Drama set in a men's changing room before, during and after a semi-pro Northern England rugby league football game.




Home


Book Description

One works. One looks around. One meets people. But very little communication takes place . . . That is the nature of this little island. As five apparently unrelated characters meet in a seemingly insignificant garden, the autumnal sun shines overhead and everybody waits for rain. What they discuss is superficially anything that can pass the time. What is portrayed is the very essence of England, Englishness, class, unfulfilled ambition, loves lost and homes that no longer exist. Storey's timeless play is a beautiful, compassionate, tragic and darkly funny study of the human mind and a once-great nation coming to terms with its new place in the world.




The Tolstoy Story Play


Book Description




The Contractor


Book Description

Mr Ewbank is organising the marquee for his daughter's wedding. Erecting a huge muslin tent his team of labourers banter and backbite. The audience watch as these skilled men come together to facilitate an event they won't be attending, and come back the following day, after the fun has been had, to remove the construction again. Meanwhile, Ewbank watches as his labour and business are reined to deliver a send-off that will mark a fundamental shift in his working and family life. 'The Contractor' premiered at the Royal Court in October 1969.




The Cat in the Hat.


Book Description

Two children sitting at home on a rainy day are visited by the cat who shows them some tricks and games.




Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book)


Book Description

Snappsy the alligator is having a normal day when a pesky narrator steps in to spice up the story. Is Snappsy reading a book ... or is he making CRAFTY plans? Is Snappsy on his way to the grocery store ... or is he PROWLING the forest for defenseless birds and fuzzy bunnies? Is Snappsy innocently shopping for a party ... or is he OBSESSED with snack foods that start with the letter P? What's the truth? Snappsy the Alligator (Did Not Ask to Be in This Book) is an irreverent look at storytelling, friendship, and creative differences, perfect for fans of Mo Willems.




Story Plays Old and New


Book Description