Playing for Time: Stories of Lost Children, Ghosts and the Endangered Present in Contemporary Theatre

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Playing for time explores connections between theatre time, the historical moment and fictional time. Geraldine Cousin persuasively argues that a crucial characteristic of contemporary British theatre is its preoccupation with instability and danger, and traces images of catastrophe and loss in a wide range of recent plays and productions.

The diversity of the texts that are examined is a major strength of the book. In addition to plays by contemporary dramatists, Cousin analyses staged adaptations of novels, and productions of plays by Euripides, Strindberg and Priestley. A key focus is Stephen Daldrys award-winning revival of Priestleys An Inspector Calls, which is discussed in relation both to other Priestley time plays and to Caryl Churchills apocalyptic Far Away. Lost children are a recurring motif: Bryony Laverys Frozen, for example, is explored in the context of the Soham murders (which took place while the play was in production at the National Theatre), whilst three virtually simultaneous productions of Euripides Hecuba are interpreted with regard to the Beslan massacre of schoolchildren.

Author Bio

Geraldine Cousin is Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick