Overview

In his introduction Dan H. Laurence notes that 'theatrics' connotes not only activities of a theatrical character but behaviour that manifests itself as theatricality. All the correspondence selected for this volume - most of it hitherto unpublished - relates to Bernard Shaw's theatre dealings and theatrical interest, at the same time attesting to the 'histrionic instinct' and 'theatrified imagination' (his own phrases) of the man who penned them. More than one hundred letters are represented, starting from mid-1889, when Shaw had not yet completed his first play and was known instead as a music critic, journalist, socialist organizer, and street orator. The letters reveal a consummate man of the theatre: a dramatist, director, actor, designer, publicist, financial backer, translator, and critic concerned with such varied issues as censorship, theatre politics, prying journalists, and wireless and television performance. The letters are shaded with histrionic tones of assumed anger, irritation, and anguish. The style invariably is colloquial, free-flowing, ebullient - and personal.

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9780802030009

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Reviews

<p>'Playgoers - from tourists...to Shaw scholars, will enjoy reading this interesting lively collection of letters. Is should also be immensely helpful to directors and actors of Shaw plays in its interpretation of charactes and directions about stage business. For literary critics and Shaw scholars, the collection offers fresh insight into Shaw's drama and his personality.' -- Elsie B. Adams English Literature in Transition

Author Information

Dan H. Laurence was the Literary and Dramatic Advisor to the Estate of Bernard Shaw, 1973-90, and Literary Advisor for The Shaw Festival, Ontario, since 1982.

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