Books in the Critical Companions series

In the first book-length study of Annie Baker, one of the most critically acclaimed playwrights in the United States today and winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a MacArthur "genius" grant, Amy Muse analyzes Baker's plays and other work. These include The Flick, John, The Antipodes, the Shirley Vermont plays, and her adaptation of Uncle Vanya. Muse illuminates their intellectual and ethical themes and issues by contextualizing them with the other works of theatre, art, theology, and psychology that Baker read while writing them. Through close discussions of Baker's work, this book immerses readers in her use of everyday language, her themes of loneliness, desire, empathy, and storytelling, and her innovations with stage time. Enriched by a foreword from Baker's former professor, playwright Mac Wellman, as well as essays by four scholars, Thomas Butler, Jeanmarie Higgins, Katherine Weiss, and Harrison Schmidt, this is a companionable guide for students of American literature and theatre studies, which deepens their knowledge and appreciation of Baker's dramatic invention.Muse argues that Baker is finely attuned to the language of the everyday: imperfect, halting, marked with unexpressed desires, banalities, and silence. Called "antitheatrical," these plays draw us back to the essence of theatre: space, time, and story, sitting with others in real time, witnessing the dramatic in the ordinary lives of ordinary people. Baker's revolution for the stage has been to slow it down and bring us all into the mystery and pleasure of attention.

The Plays of Samuel Beckett provides a stimulating analysis of Beckett's entire dramatic oeuvre, encompassing his stage, radio and television plays. Ideal for students, this major study combines analysis of each play by Katherine Weiss with interveiws and essays from practitioners and scholars.

A Critical Companion to the theatre of Ireland's foremost living playwright, whose work spans fifty years and has won numerous awards, including three Tonys and a Lifetime Achievement Arts Award. Christopher Murray's study is the definitive guide to Brian Friel's work for students and theatre-goers alike.

The Theatre of Harold Pinter offers a unique assesment of one of Britain's most influential dramatists, combining a chronological survey of Pinter's entire work for the stage with a series of incisive critical essays from leading scholars.

The Theatre of Tennessee Williams provides a stimulating analysis of the work of this giant of twentieth century American theatre whose work remains central to curriculums and theatre repertoires. It combines an analysis of all of his work by American scholar Brenda Murphy with interviews and a number of criticial essays.

This is a detailed study of the work of Britain's leading female playwright that will be invaluable for student and theatre-goers. It maps her work through five key areas that characterise her broad-ranging output, and includes a close study of seventeen of the principle plays. It also features a number of essays by leading scholars.

A Critical Companion to the four principle playwrights associated with the Irish Dramatic Revival - W. B. Yeats, J. M. Synge, Augusta Lady Gregory and Sean O'Casey - and to the birth of the Irish national theatre, the Abbey. Anthony Roche provides a reappraisal of the theatre movement led by Yeats and the work of the main practitioners.

British theatre from the first half of the twentieth century is undergoing a critical reevaluation, with many high-profile theatre revivals of plays from the period in recent years. This book explains why by an examination of the variety of work from this period and how it shaped what followed.

The Theatre and Films of Martin McDonagh provides a definitive account of the career to date of this important world dramatist. It combines an analysis of all of his work with interviews, critical essays and material relating to the original productions, making it essential for practitioners, students and general readers.

A Critical Companion to one of Ireland's most famous, studied and controversial, playwrights, this provides a detailed exploration of O'Casey's oeuvre taking in his plays, autobiographical writing and essays. Special attention is paid to the Three Dublin Plays and the works in performance.