Beautiful Doom - (Theatre: Theory - Practice - Performance) by Jacqueline Bolton & Nicholas Holden (Hardcover)

About the Book

The first multi-authored volume on the work of contemporary British writer Dennis Kelly, Beautiful Doom examines the full range of his work for stage and screen, from new writing to adaptations of classic playtexts, musical theatre, and original works for television.

Book Synopsis

Dennis Kelly's award-winning plays have been translated into over thirty languages and produced on six continents. His endlessly inventive vision has produced a diverse body of work for a variety of audiences across a range of forms, genres, and media, from the Olivier and Tony Award-winning Matilda the Musical (2010), to the Channel Four cult-classic series Utopia. His 2008 play DNA, written for National Theatre Connections, is a set text on the AQA GCSE English Literature syllabus. This collection of essays written by leading scholars, teachers, and practitioners of theatre provides the first multi-authored study of Kelly's critically acclaimed oeuvre. Featuring an original interview with Kelly himself, this volume captures the full range and scope of his writing for stage and screen, from the quirky fringe debut Debris (2003) to the globally-distributed film adaptation of Matilda the Musical (2022).

From the Back Cover

This long-awaited book is the first multi-authored collection on the eclectic body of work produced by contemporary British writer, Dennis Kelly. Covering the period from 2003 (Debris) to 2022 (the film version of Matilda the Musical), the volume examines the full range of his creative output for stage and screen, from new writing to adaptations of classic playtexts, musical theatre, and original works for television.

Over the past twenty years, Kelly's writing has earned him a place at the centre of British cultural production. That his landmark productions - DNA (National Theatre Connections, 2008), Matilda the Musical (Royal Shakespeare Company, 2010), and Utopia (Channel 4, 2013-14) - are so distinct from one another in content, genre, and audience testifies to Kelly's intellectual and intuitive command over storytelling and its effects. The fourteen original essays collected in this volume offer in-depth analyses of recurring themes - truth, justice, addiction, and agency - and formal innovation in Kelly's works, offering scholars and students the opportunity to critically engage with the extant dramatic oeuvre of one of the UK's most compelling writers.

This groundbreaking collection includes contributions by a range of outstanding scholars in Anglophone playwriting studies, with world-leading contemporary theatre scholars writing alongside some of the very best new and early career researchers in the field. The volume concludes with an original interview with Dennis Kelly, which draws on some of the themes of the collection while capturing his reflections on writing for theatre, film, and television.

'This cutting-edge book brings together original and timely essays on the work of one of Britain's most fascinating contemporary playwrights and screenwriters ... an indispensable resource for understanding the enduring significance of Kelly's dramatic work across a range of media.'
Clare Wallace, Charles University

Review Quotes

'This cutting-edge book brings together original and timely essays on the work of Dennis Kelly, one of Britain's most fascinating contemporary playwrights and screenwriters. Offering nuanced perspectives on Kelly's destabilising dramaturgy, searing storytelling and scenarios of acute moral ambiguity, Beautiful Doom explores his impact across stage and screen, from plays like DNA and Taking Care of Baby to Matilda the Musical and television dramas like Utopia and Together. The volume is packed with insights for scholars, students, and theatre practitioners alike - an indispensable resource for understanding the enduring significance of Kelly's dramatic work across a range of media.'
Clare Wallace, Charles University

About the Author

Jacqueline Bolton is Honourary Senior Fellow at the University of Lincoln
Nicholas Holden is Head of Academic Affairs and Research at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art