About this item
Highlights
- Some of the most raucous evenings in the history of theater are chronicled in this lively discussion of occasions when theater-makers changed the course of theatrical, and sometimes world, history.
- About the Author: Dwayne Brenna is the award-winning author of eight books of humor, poetry, fiction and non-fiction.
- 276 Pages
- Performing Arts, Theater
Description
About the Book
"Some of the most raucous evenings in the history of theater are chronicled in this lively discussion of occasions when theater-makers changed the course of theatrical, and sometimes world, history. Covering a wide range of events from the inauspicious opening of Oedipus Rex in Athens, to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., to the violence-riddled performance of Halla Bol in New Delhi, this book offers detailed and studied observations of specific minutes, hours, and days on the stage. For each staging covered, the author examines the reactions of critics and the public and tells the inside story, identifies the key players, and examines why these events still resound today"--Book Synopsis
Some of the most raucous evenings in the history of theater are chronicled in this lively discussion of occasions when theater-makers changed the course of theatrical, and sometimes world, history. Covering a wide range of events from the inauspicious opening of Oedipus Rexin Athens, to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., to the violence-riddled performance of Halla Bol in New Delhi, this book offers detailed and studied observations of specific minutes, hours, and days on the stage. For each staging covered, the author examines the reactions of critics and the public and tells the inside story, identifies the key players, and examines why these events still resound today.
Review Quotes
"With Nights That Shook the Stage, Brenna offers a compelling history of theatre through his vivid examination of forty remarkable and critical performances. Equally insightful and compelling, Brenna's masterful storytelling of these transformative and often chaotic events brings us intimately and inextricably into each production-transporting us from our seats in the audience onto the stage. Any reader new to the history of theatre, or perhaps unaware of the power of live performance to alter world events, will be captivated. Brenna's work is testament to the idea that the power of theatre not just enacts change, but creates it."-Judges' Comments, Saskatchewan Book Awards
About the Author
Dwayne Brenna is the award-winning author of eight books of humor, poetry, fiction and non-fiction. He is a professor in the drama department at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.