Straight acting : popular gay drama from Wilde to Rattigan / Sean O'Connor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Connor, Sean, 1968- author.

Series:

Bloomsbury academic collections. Film studies : European cinema.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965--Dramatic works.

Maugham, W. Somerset.

Coward, Noel, 1899-1973--Criticism and interpretation.

Coward, Noel.

Rattigan, Terence--Criticism and interpretation.

Rattigan, Terence.

Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900--Influence.

Wilde, Oscar.

English drama--Male authors--History and criticism.

English drama.

Homosexuality and literature--Great Britain--History.

Homosexuality and literature.

Popular literature--Great Britain--History and criticism.

Popular literature.

Gay men's writings, English--History and criticism.

Gay men's writings, English.

Gay men in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (274 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London, England : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020

Place of Publication:

London, England : Bloomsbury Academic, 2020.

Summary:

"Between the trials of Oscar Wilde in the 1890s and the beginnings of legal reforms in the 1960s, the West End stage was dominated by the work of gay playwrights. Many of their plays, such as Private Lives , Blithe Spirit and The Deep Blue Sea are established classics and continue to inform our culture. In this fascinating book, covering both familiar and lesser-known works, Sean O'Connor examines the legacy of Wilde as a playwright and as a gay man, and explores in the works of Somerset Maugham, Noel Coward and Terence Rattigan the resonance of Wilde's agenda for tolerance and his creed of individuality. O'Connor contextualises these plays against the enormous social and historical changes of the twentieth century. He also examines the legal restrictions which regulated the personal lives of these writers and required them to evolve sophisticated strategies in order to express on stage, albeit obliquely, their dilemmas as gay men. From the delicate homoerotic frissons of Rattigan's early comedies to Coward's defiantly pro-sex stance, Straight Acting is a provocative and witty insight into the subtly subversive tactics of gay writers working in that apparently most conservative of forms, the 'well-made play'."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgements; Dedication; Introduction; Apologia; They shoot themselves, don't they?; Blue pencils, pink pens; Shall we join the ladies?; 1 Oscar and After; Serious comedy, trivial people; The quintessence of Wildism; Lady Windermere's Fan: a play about a good woman; A Woman of No Importance: a play about a good woman and a bad man; An Ideal Husband: a play about a bad man; 2 Somerset Maugham, Warts and All; Marriages made in hell; 3 Public Lives, Private Faces; Noël Coward's performance of a lifetime; Coward's way.

4 Sentimental EducationFirst Episode and French Without Tears; 5 Brief Encounters; Two films by Noël Coward: Brief Encounter and The Astonished Heart; 6 Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea; Three dramas by Terence Rattigan; Table by the Window; Table Number Seven; Epilogue; Goodbye to all that; Chronology; Notes; Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource, title from PDF title page (EBSCO), viewed August 31, 2016.

ISBN:

9781474288293

1474288294

9781474288286

1474288286

OCLC:

957525010