Rough magic : making theatre at the Royal Shakespeare Company / Steven Adler ; with a foreword by Chris Parry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Adler, Steven, 1953-

Contributor:

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

Horace Howard Furness Memorial Library (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Royal Shakespeare Company.

Physical Description:

xxii, 272 pages, 22 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, [2001]

Summary:

Steven Adler examines the dynamic life and workings of the theatre company responsible for some of the world's most compelling performances and influential productions of the last forty years, including Marat/Sade, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Les Miserables, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and Nicholas Nickleby.

Rough Magic provides a thorough analysis of the many strands of theatrical activity on both sides of the footlights that coalesce in the artistic vigor of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Adler traces the company's evolution from its origins in 1879 as a week-long festival presented by Stratford-upon-Avon as a birthday homage to its native son, to its current incarnation as one of the world's most distinguished institutional theatres. He probes the aspirations and achievements of the RSC's four successive artistic directors: Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn, Terry Hands, and Adrian Noble. He offers a comprehensive view of the design and aesthetics of the RSC's five theatres in Stratford and London, and explores the intricate process of crafting a repertoire at home and on tour that responds to the needs of the artists as well as the demands of the box office.

Personal observation, research, and dozens of interviews with current and former members of the Royal Shakespeare Company unite to produce Rough Magic. Actors, directors, designers, and administrators speak candidly and passionately about the artistic and pragmatic challenges of creating a vital and provocative repertoire of classics and new plays, in an era when electronic media compete fiercely for audiences' attentions. Richly illustrated with vivid photographs, Rough Magic examines the fusion of artistic vision and theatrical energy that make invigorating theatre at the RSC.

"Steven Adler, greatly experienced in the American theatre as a Broadway stage manager, director, and teacher, has written a very important book. He affords us an objective American take on a very British institution... [He] paints a portrait of the RSC from many perspectives -- the artistic, the technical, the administrative, and the fiscal -- with the assured brushstrokes of an accomplished theatre professional and educator." -- Chris Parry, from the foreword.

Contents:

2. Stratford-upon-Avon 13

3. London 54

4. The Season 80

5. Touring 107

6. Administration 118

7. Finances 133

8. Education and Marketing 147

9. The Production Process 162

10. Acting at the RSC 212.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-263) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Horace Howard Furness Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

0809323761

080932377X

OCLC:

45621034