Overview

These new essays explore the ways in which contemporary dramatists have retold or otherwise made use of myths, fairy tales and legends from a variety of cultures, including Greek, West African, North American, Japanese, and various parts of Europe. The dramatists discussed range from well-established playwrights such as Tony Kushner, Caryl Churchill, and Timberlake Wertenbaker to new theatrical stars such as Sarah Ruhl and Tarell Alvin McCraney. The book contributes to the current discussion of adaptation theory by examining the different ways, and for what purposes, plays revise mythic stories and characters. The essays contribute to studies of literary uses of myth by focusing on how recent dramatists have used myths, fairy tales and legends to address contemporary concerns, especially changing representations of women and the politics of gender relations but also topics such as damage to the environment and political violence.

Full Product Details

Author:   Verna A. Foster
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.354kg
ISBN:  

9780786465125

ISBN 10:   0786465123
Pages:   258
Publication Date:   10 October 2012
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments      Introduction VERNA A. FOSTER      Hellenic Women Revisited: The Aesthetics of Mythic Revision in the Plays of Karen Hartman, Sarah Ruhl and Caridad Svich MIRIAM CHIRICO      Greek Tragedy Transformed: A. R. Gurney and Charles Mee Rewrite Greek Drama KARELISA HARTIGAN      “That story is not true”: Unmaking Myth in Ellen McLaughlin’s Helen and Saviana Stanescu and Richard Schechner’s YokastaS ELIZABETH W. SCHARFFENBERGER      Tina Howe and Demetrian Seriocomedy JEFFREY B. LOOMIS      Children of Yemayá and the American Eshu: West African Myth in African-American Theatre KEVIN J. WETMORE, JR.      Punctured by Patriarchy: Theatricalizing the Christian Assault upon Native Mythology in Tomson Highway’s Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing CHRISTY STANLAKE      Damaged Myth in Caryl Churchill’s The Skriker AMELIA HOWE KRITZER      Between Desire and Authority: The “Dybbuk” in Modernist and Postmodern Theatrical Adaptations from S. Ansky to Tony Kushner SHARON FRIEDMAN      Martin McDonagh’s Fractured Fairy Tales: Representational Horrors in The Pillowman ANTHONY ELLIS      Food, Sex and Fairy Tales: Wallace Shawn’s Grasses of a Thousand Colors SHEILA RABILLARD      Turning Komachi Legends, Gender and Noh Inside Out: Remaking Desire in Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Early Play MAYA E. ROTH      Romancing “La Corriveau” and Marguerite de Nontron: Anne Hébert’s La Cage and L’Île de la demoiselle GREGORY J. REID      Bloody Relations of Exchange: Sharon Pollock’s Revision of Legend and Feminine Myth in Blood Relations LAURA SNYDER      Beth Henley’s Abundance: The Cinematic Myth of the Wild West Revised VERNA A. FOSTER      About the Contributors      Index     

Reviews

remarkable...highly recommended --Choice; admirably wide-ranging survey...offers new perspectives.... There is plenty to stimulate and provoke in these essays, but what is particularly valuable about this volume is the juxtaposition and interaction of these analyses...a valuable survey on an important aspect of contemporary playwriting and theater practice.. --Comparative Drama.

"""remarkable...highly recommended""--Choice; ""admirably wide-ranging survey...offers new perspectives.... There is plenty to stimulate and provoke in these essays, but what is particularly valuable about this volume is the juxtaposition and interaction of these analyses...a valuable survey on an important aspect of contemporary playwriting and theater practice..""--Comparative Drama."

remarkable...highly recommended --<i>Choice</i>; admirably wide-ranging survey...offers new perspectives.... There is plenty to stimulate and provoke in these essays, but what is particularly valuable about this volume is the juxtaposition and interaction of these analyses...a valuable survey on an important aspect of contemporary playwriting and theater practice.. --<i>Comparative Drama</i>.

Author Information

Verna A. Foster is a professor of English at Loyola University Chicago. She is the author of numerous essays on modern drama. She lives in Chicago.

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