British Drama after 1945 3301-ZLB2049
The aim of the course is to present the main developments in British drama after 1945. Although the main focus of the course is the post-war drama, references will also be made to theater reforms started before WWII (e.g. to the work and postulates of Brecht, Artaud, or Craig).
Students will read and analyse works of the playwrights who had greatest influence on the shape British theatre after the Second World War, among them: Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, John Osborne, Edward Bond, Joe Orton, Peter Shaffer, Tom Stoppard, William Russell, Caryl Churchill, Sarah Kane, Martin McDonagh, Torben Betts.
The choice of texts for discussion will allow students to become familiar with a variety of dramatic genres, modes and tendencies present in contemporary British drama, such as the Theatre of the Absurd, Theatre of Cruelty, kitchen-sink drama, farce, comedy of menace, naturalism, surrealism or postmodern theatre.
The analysis of the selected dramatic texts will be complemented by references to contemporary theatre practices, theatre reviews and interviews with artists.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
Upon finishing the course, students will have gained the knowledge and skills listed below.
Knowledge
The participant will:
• broaden their knowledge of the history of the 20th-century British drama
• become acquainted with the work of selected English playwrights
• become acquainted with selected theatre theories
• become aware of current theatrical festivals and events
Skills
The participant will be able to:
• recognize and characterize the main tendencies and developments in the history of the European theatre and drama
• analyse, interpret and critically discuss a dramatic play and its stage adaptation
• critically read theoretical texts and reviews
• recognize the role of theatre and drama in their own personal development and in the process of education
Assessment criteria
Active participation and the results of the final exam
Bibliography
A selection of dramatic texts (9-10 texts selected for analysis):
• Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot; Endgame; Happy Days; Play; Krapp’s Last Tape
• Harold Pinter: The Birthday Party; The Dumb Waiter; The Caretaker; The Homecoming; No Man’s Land
• John Osborne: Look Back in Anger
• Edward Bond: Saved; Lear
• Joe Orton: Loot; What the Butler Saw
• Peter Shaffer: Black Comedy; Equus
• Tom Stoppard: Rosencrantz ang Guildenstern are Dead, The Real Inspector Hound, The Real Thing, Arcadia
• William Russell: Educating Rita; Shirley Valentine
• Caryl Churchill: Cloud Nine; Top Girls
• Sarah Kane: Blasted, Phaedra’s Love
• Martina McDonagh: The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lonesome West, The Pillowman
• Torben Betts: Invincible, Muswell Hill
Secondary sources:
• Christopher Innes, Modern British Drama: The Twentieth Century, 2002.
• David Lane, Contemporary British Drama, 2011.
• Simon Trussler, The Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre, 1994
• John Elsom, Post-war British Theatre, 1976.
• Richard Dutton, Modern Tragicomedy and the British Tradition, 1986.
• Robert Brustein, The Theatre of Revolt: An Approach to the Modern Drama, 1965.
• John Russell Taylor, Anger and After: A Guide to the New British Drama, 1968.
• Eric Bentley, The Theatre of Commitment, and Other Essays on Drama in Our Society, 1967
• Peter Buse, Theatre + Theory: Critical Approaches to Modern British Drama, 2005.
• Ralph Yarrow (ed.), European Theatre 1960-1990: Cross-cultural Perspectives, 1992
• Digital Theatre+ Database
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: