The Theatre and Films of Jez Butterworth

Jez Butterworth is the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful new British dramatist of the 21st century: his acclaimed play Jerusalem has had extended runs in the West End and on Broadway. This book is the first to examine Butterworth''s writings for stage and film and to identify how and why his work appeals so widely and profoundly. It examines the way that he weaves suspenseful stories of eccentric outsiders, whose adventures echo widespread contemporary social anxieties, and involve surprising expressions of both violence and generosity. This book reveals how Butterworth unearths the strange forms of wildness and defiance lurking in the depths and at the edges of England: where unpredictable outbursts of humour highlight the intensity of life, and characters discover links between their haunting past and the uncertainties of the present, to create a meaningful future. Supplemented by essays from James D. Balestrieri and Elisabeth Angel-Perez, this is a clear and detailed source of reference for a new generation of theatre audiences, practitioners and directors who wish to explore the work of this seminal dramatist.>

About the author

David Ian Rabey is Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at Aberystwyth University, UK. His writing includes Howard Barker: Politics and Desire (1989, 2009), Howard Barker: Ecstasy and Death (2009), English Drama Since 1940 (2003), David Rudkin: Sacred Disobedience (1997); as co-editor, Theatre of Catastrophe (with Karoline Gritzner, 2006) and Howard Barker's Art of Theatre (with Sarah Goldingay, 2012).

Product details

• Authors: David Rabey, David Ian Rabey
• Assisted by: Patrick Lonergan (Editor), Kevin J. Wetmore Jr (Editor)
• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 26.02.2015
• EAN: 9781408183953
• ISBN: 978-1-4081-8395-3
• No. of pages: 240
• Series: Critical Companions; Critical Companions
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; Englisch, English, Literaturwissenschaft: Dramen und Dramatiker, LITERARY CRITICISM / Drama, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 20th Century, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, Literary studies: plays & playwrights, Literary studies: plays and playwrights