Directors’ Theatre (Modern Dramatists)

About the Author Timmy De Laet is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and the Research Centre for Visual Poetics, where he is working on the research project "The Didascalic Imagination" (funded by FWO – Research Foundation Flanders).Luk Van den Dries is Full Professor of Theatre Studies at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. His research deals with contemporary theatre, with a focus on postdramatic theatre . He has written extensively on Jan Fabre and on the representation of the body in contemporary theatre, and co-edited three books on this topic. He was editor of the theatre magazine Etcetera, organiser of the Flemish-Dutch Theatrefestival, president of the jury of the Flemish-Dutch Theatrefestival and president of the Flemish Arts Council.David Bradby (b. 1942) was one of the great pioneers of theatre studies in Britain. He had a strong interest in French theatre, modernist and postmodernist theatre, the role of the director, and the Theatre of the Absurd, as well as translating several works. He was Professor Emeritus of Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway and was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in 1997. He died aged 68 in 2011. Product Description This extended new edition of a seminal text marks the 30th anniversary of the original book's major intervention in the discipline. Bradby and Williams' field-defining book introduced the continental-European approach to directing, recognising the work of the modern stage director as an artist in his or her own right for the first time. Now edited by Peter M. Boenisch in collaboration with David Williams, this new edition includes an additional four chapters by leading contemporary experts on theatre direction. Covering recent practices and developments, as well as new trends in the academic research on directing, Directors' Theatre interrogates working ethics and performance aesthetics, directors' work with actors as a central creative source and their responses to the ongoing reassessment of theatre's role and function in contemporary culture. This long-awaited reissue will make a classic, authoritative study on directors and directing accessible to a new generation of students, scholars and artists. It is essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Theatre, Performance Studies and Directing.New to this Edition:- Includes four new chapters written by leading contemporary experts on theatre direction: Patrice Pavis, Katalin Trencsényi, the research team of Luk Van den Dries, and DuškaRadosavljevic- New chapters discuss recent approaches and developments in theatre directing as well as research on directing, including artists such as Luk Perceval, Daniel Jeanneteau, Improbable and Ivo van Hove, while also introducing the development of theatre direction in Eastern Europe- The original text has been carefully revised by David Williams and chapters have been supplemented with new introductions and conclusions Review “This is an excellent text for understanding how the development of the role of a director is a powerful lens for viewing and understanding the last 150 years of theatre history.” ―Anne G. Levy, University of Alabama, USA“A thoroughly revised and modernised edition of a lively and evocative book. It is vital reading for anyone interested in the histories and practices of contemporary European theatre.” ―David Overend, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK Review This is an excellent text for understanding how the development of the role of a director is a powerful lens for viewing and understanding the last 150 years of theatre history. – Anne G. Levy, University of Alabama, USAA thoroughly revised and modernised edition of a lively and evocative book. It is vital reading for anyone interested in the histories and practices of contemporary European theatre. – David Overend, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK