Description:
The first of its kind, this companion to British-Jewish theatre brings a neglected dimension in the work of many prominent British theatre-makers to the fore.
Its structure reflects the historical development of British-Jewish theatre from the 1950s onwards, beginning with an analysis of the first generation of writers that now forms the core of post-war British drama (including Tom Stoppard, Harold Pinter and Arnold Wesker) and moving on to significant thematic force-fields and faultlines such as the Holocaust, antisemitism and Israel/Palestine. The book also covers the new generation of British-Jewish playwrights, with a special emphasis on the contribution of women writers and the role of particular theatres in the development of British-Jewish theatre, as well as TV drama. Included in the book are fascinating interviews with a set of significant theatre practitioners working today, including Ryan Craig, Patrick Marber, John Nathan, Julia Pascal and Nicholas Hytner. The companion addresses, not only aesthetic and ideological concerns, but also recent transformations with regard to institutional contexts and frameworks of cultural policies.Brief description: Sarah J. Ablett has studied English literature, philosophy, and creative writing at the Universities of Hamburg, Manchester, Heidelberg, and Hildesheim, and completed her doctorate at TU Braunschweig. She has taught literary and cultural studies and was part of the research project Hyphenated Cultures: Contemporary British-Jewish Theatre funded by the VolkswagenStiftung. Her latest publication is a book on Dramatic Disgust. Aesthetic Theory and Practice from Sophocles to Sarah Kane (transcript, 2020).
Review Quotes:
"Organized in five parts, the chapters are concise and snappy, providing stimulus for further thought. The collection faces the troubling issue of antisemitism in British society throughout and successfully achieves its stated aim to address 'the neglected dimension of Jewishness' in theatre while avoiding 'simplistic essentialism' ... [It] provides a wealth of material for further consideration and research and makes the reader want to read all of the plays, see the television programmes and learn more about the writers." --Performing Ethos
"A unique collection. The first volume to look systematically and in depth at contemporary British-Jewish theatre." --Professor Bryan Cheyette, University of Reading, UK "A thoughtful, well-researched, and wide-ranging collection of essays that will be invaluable to scholars in the fields of British theatre and Jewish studies and of interest to a much broader readership." --Journal of Contemporary Drama in English