Nol Coward: The Playwrights Craft in a Changing Theatre

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This is the first book-length work to draw extensively on unpublished archive material to document the composition and reception of some of Nol Coward's most significant plays. It examines his working practices as a playwright, from manuscript to performance. This study argues that, while he did not embrace any of the more radical theatrical isms of his time, Coward experimented with both form and content. He adapted the familiar well-made formulas, while also emphasizing theatrical self-consciousness and an exploration of radical social and sexual relationships. After an overview of Cowards career and the reception of his plays, the work discusses selected texts from successive phases of Cowards career, including some unproduced or uncompleted work and perennially popular plays such as The Vortex, Hay Fever, Private Lives, Design for Living, Blithe Spirit and Present Laughter. This study also explores how, in the aftermaths of two world wars, as major changes in social and political circumstances suggested new approaches to dramaturgy, Coward's post-1945 work failed to achieve the same success he had enjoyed in earlier periods. The final chapter examines Cowards approach to his craft in response to the new theatrical and cultural environment, and the new freedom in the treatment of homosexuality represented by Suite in Three Keys and his final, uncompleted play, Age Cannot Wither.

Reviews

A revealing and lovingly researched account of Nol Coward, the brilliant craftsman, as he devotedly drafts and redrafts his plays in an effort to satisfy his own innovative conception of theatrical form. * Michael Cordner, University of York, UK *
Nol Coward himself would have scoffed at the idea of close critical exegesis of his plays. But the great, and often moving, thing about Russell Jacksons book is its revelation that Coward wrote and re-wrote constantly, listened to criticism and advice from his inner circle and from his producers Jack Wilson and, especially, Binkie Beaumont and acted on it. He was a star writer and performer, but also a star collaborator, an essential virtue in theatre. Using previously unpublished archival material, and discussing such recently published plays as Semi-Monde and Volcano, Jackson provides fresh, crisp analysis of the writers craft and of the plays themselves, locating them deftly in their cultural habitat and period, and sensitively charting Cowards perhaps unjust decline from popular and critical favour. And we learn so much not least, that Madame Arcatis real name (deleted) was Gladys Stephens! * Michael Coveney, theatre critic, UK *
An invaluable addition to Coward scholarship. It combines incisive literary criticism with meticulous detective work, giving endless insights into a remarkable body of work. A joy for actors, directors and anyone who loves these plays. * Christopher Luscombe, theatre director, UK *

Author Bio

Russell Jackson is Emeritus Professor of Drama at the University of Birmingham, UK.