Overview

Over 50 years after his first appearance on the theatre scene, Edward Bond remains a hugely significant figure in the history of modern British playwriting. His plays are the subject of much debate and frequent misinterpretation, with his extensive use of allegory and metaphor to comment on the state of society and humanity in general leading to many academics, theatre practitioners and students trying - and often failing - to make sense of his plays over the years. In this unique collection, David Tuaillon puts these pressing questions and mysteries to Edward Bond himself, provoking answers to some of his most elusive dramatic material, and covering an extraordinary range of plays and subjects with real clarity. With a particular focus on Bond's later plays, about which much less has been written, this book draws together very many questions and issues within a thematic structure, while observing chronology within that. Edward Bond: The Playwright Speaks is potentially the most comprehensive, precise and clear account of the playwright's work and time in the theatre to date, distilling years and schools of thought into one single volume. Published to mark the 50th anniversary of the first performance of Edward Bond's Saved at the Royal Court Theatre in 1965.

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9781472570062

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Reviews

Tuaillon has compiled a remarkable collection that includes some of the greatest writing on theatre practice I've ever read ... This new collection is seminal ... It will prove a vital resource for anyone working in contemporary theatre. * Times Literary Supplement *

Tuaillon has compiled a remarkable collection that includes some of the greatest writing on theatre practice I've ever read ... This new collection is seminal ... It will prove a vital resource for anyone working in contemporary theatre. -- Jaki McCarrick Times Literary Supplement

The book is accessible - not always something that may be said of Bond's voice. Tauillon is a discreet interviewer, guiding (and subsequently editing) his subject with clarity and a strong sense of direction. He does not obtrude, nor intrude too much. And he gives us a Bond who engages openly and clearly with the reader, on both theoretical and ideological levels and - always central to an understanding of Bond - a more practical, dramaturgical one. It combines wide ranging, discursive thinking with an eye for killer practical detail. Richard Boon, Emeritus Professor, University of Hull I consider the analysis broached by Bond here to be some of the clearest, most precise, and accessible commentary yet provided on his plays ... This book amalgamates Bond's own thoughts on his work in the most accessible form yet available, and it does this very successfully indeed. I am impressed by the extraordinary range of plays and topics encompassed here, and by the amazing internal consistency with which these discussions unfold. To the Bond scholar, this is a delight. The level of detail and analysis provided by Bond is truly staggering, and the fact that these are interviews makes this all the more extraordinary. It is like being invited to the performance of some remarkable intellectual feat, and to read a transcription of such lucidity and coherence is, needless to say, very rare ... As a series of new authorial remarks on his plays, these interviews represent a more pungent and acute distillation of original ideas than can be accessed in the Letters. What is offered here is more systematic, cogent, and precise than anything that has been available before, without relinquishing the level of detail that makes this as intellectually satisfying as it is. Indeed, I actually consider the insights provided here on Bond's most famous and thorniest dramatic incidents ... to be the best analysis that exists thus far ... To sum up, this is a unique book on the subject of Bond, useful for the student and scholar. Dr James Hudson, University of Lincoln

Author Information

Edward Bond is widely regarded as the UK's greatest and most influentlial playwright. His plays include The Pope's Wedding (Royal Court Theatre, 1962), Saved (Royal Court, 1965), Early Morning (Royal Court, 1968), Lear (Royal Court, 1971), The Sea (Royal Court, 1973), The Fool (Royal Court, 1975), The Woman (National Theatre, 1978), Restoration (Royal Court, 1981) and The War Plays (RSC at the Barbican Pit, 1985). David Tuaillion is a teacher/researcher, with a PhD in entertainment, specialising in performance and contemporary dramaturgy.

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