Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness

Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408145782
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
'Ladies and gentlemen, as some of you may know, my name is Edward Gant: prodigy, soldier, traveller, poet - but always and ever a showman.' In 1881, the famed and enigmatic impresario Mr Edward Gant presented his renowned travelling show for the final time. The opiate-addicted actor manager showcased his troupe creating a spectacle of grotesquery, black comedy, mystery and magic realism. Over a century later, playwright Anthony Neilson has reconstructed this intriguing and fantastic historical event in a theatrical piece that combines the melodrama and extravagance with the painful loneliness that characterised a Victorian freak show. Neilson's play offers a strange and beautiful exploration of sadness and mortality, probing even the nature of theatre itself. 'Without further ado, I present for your astonishment the Extraordinary! The Terrible! The AMAZING FEATS OF LONELINESS.' Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness was first produced at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth, in 2002, and was revived by Headlong Theatre and the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, in February 2009.

Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness

Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408125706
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
'Ladies and gentlemen, as some of you may know, my name is Edward Gant: prodigy, soldier, traveller, poet - but always and ever a showman.' In 1881, the famed and enigmatic impresario Mr Edward Gant presented his renowned travelling show for the final time. The opiate-addicted actor manager showcased his troupe creating a spectacle of grotesquery, black comedy, mystery and magic realism. Over a century later, playwright Anthony Neilson has reconstructed this intriguing and fantastic historical event in a theatrical piece that combines the melodrama and extravagance with the painful loneliness that characterised a Victorian freak show. Neilson's play offers a strange and beautiful exploration of sadness and mortality, probing even the nature of theatre itself. 'Without further ado, I present for your astonishment the Extraordinary! The Terrible! The AMAZING FEATS OF LONELINESS.' Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness was first produced at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth, in 2002, and was revived by Headlong Theatre and the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, in February 2009.

Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness

Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A bizarre series of sketches inspired by Victorian travelling shows, 'Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness' is a curious miscellany of tricks, jokes and melancholy. In 1881, the famed and enigmatic impresario Mr Edward Gant presented his renowned travelling show for the final time: a spectacle of grotesquery, tastelessness, black comedy, mystery and magic realism presided over by an opiate-addicted actor. Neilson has reconstructed this intriguing and fantastic historical event, offering a strange and beautiful exploration of sadness and mortality and probing the nature of theatre and spectacle. With a cast that includes a girl whose face sprouts pearls and a teddy bear desperate for an imaginary cup of tea, it is a theatrical piece combining the melodrama, extravagance and painful loneliness that characterised a Victorian freak show. It was first performed in 2002 at The Theatre Royal, Plymouth.

Neilson Plays: 2

Neilson Plays: 2 PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472517350
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 366

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Book Description
In the 1990s playwright Anthony Neilson garnered a reputation for hard-hitting, morally disturbing plays that saw him labelled as one of the 'In Yer Face' dramatists who emerged from that decade. This second volume of plays showcases the comic, surreal and gloriously off-kilter side of his more recent work. Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness! (Theatre Royal, Plymouth, 2002) mixes Victorian melodrama with a catalogue of grotesque comic tales; The Lying Kind (Royal Court, 2002), a black farce set at Christmas involving two hapless policeman who must break news of tragedy to an elderly couple, 'often reduced much of the audience to tears of laughter' (Financial Times). Produced originally for the 2004 Edinburgh International Festival, The Wonderful World of Dissocia wowed critics and audiences alike. A hugely original play inspired by Alice in Wonderland, it is both magical and moving and confirmed Neilson as one of the major voices in contemporary British Theatre. Realism premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2006. It follows the life of one man during an ordinary day but veers off to become a deliriously surreal trip inside his wayward imagination. It was described by the Guardian as a 'bold and utterly distinctive all-singing, all-dancing show, like nothing else you'll ever see'.

Neilson Plays:1

Neilson Plays:1 PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher: Methuen Drama
ISBN: 9780413724601
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Anthony Neilson's plays collected in one volume Includes the plays: Normal "a tight, powerful, three-hander...achieved with a sense of discipline and thematic energy" (Guardian), Penetrator "This is one of the blackest, funniest and most shocking comedy dramas you will ever see" (Sunday Times), Year of the Family "His writing is as tight and courageous as ever...highly recommended for those who like to think" (What's On), The Night Before Christmas "is a smutty, dangerously funny but ultimately warm-hearted cri de coeur against the Christmas Industry" (Stage); The Censor "is a profound and tragic vision of humanity at its bare forked basics" (Evening Standard).

The Theatre of Anthony Neilson

The Theatre of Anthony Neilson PDF Author: Trish Reid
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472570324
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Anthony Neilson is one of the most exciting and challenging voices in contemporary British theatre. For more than two decades he has been in the vanguard of new writing and has acquired a formidable reputation for innovation and experimentation. His major stage plays include Penetrator, The Censor, Stitching, Realism, Unreachable and his 2004 masterpiece The Wonderful World of Dissocia, arguably one of the finest Scottish plays of the new millennium. This volume provides the first full-length study of Neilson's plays and his innovative rehearsal methodology. As well as providing a detailed account of each play Trish Reid includes an extensive new interview with Neilson and additional contributions from important scholars and commentators in the field. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to develop a better understanding of one of British theatre's most original artists.

Neilson Plays: 2

Neilson Plays: 2 PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472517342
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
In the 1990s playwright Anthony Neilson garnered a reputation for hard-hitting, morally disturbing plays that saw him labelled as one of the 'In Yer Face' dramatists who emerged from that decade. This second volume of plays showcases the comic, surreal and gloriously off-kilter side of his more recent work. Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness! (Theatre Royal, Plymouth, 2002) mixes Victorian melodrama with a catalogue of grotesque comic tales; The Lying Kind (Royal Court, 2002), a black farce set at Christmas involving two hapless policeman who must break news of tragedy to an elderly couple, 'often reduced much of the audience to tears of laughter' (Financial Times). Produced originally for the 2004 Edinburgh International Festival, The Wonderful World of Dissocia wowed critics and audiences alike. A hugely original play inspired by Alice in Wonderland, it is both magical and moving and confirmed Neilson as one of the major voices in contemporary British Theatre. Realism premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2006. It follows the life of one man during an ordinary day but veers off to become a deliriously surreal trip inside his wayward imagination. It was described by the Guardian as a 'bold and utterly distinctive all-singing, all-dancing show, like nothing else you'll ever see'.

The Lying Kind

The Lying Kind PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472517652
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 138

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Book Description
A brand new comedy by the writer of the hit play Stitching, published to tie in with the Royal Court's Christmas production from November 2002 Constables Blunt and Gobbel have one last duty to fulfil before they can finish their Christmas eve shift; telling the old couple at No. 58 some terrible news. But what if the shock is too much for them? Blunt and Gobbel didn't join up in order to ruin people's lives. Maybe they'd be happier not knowing. And maybe it would all be much easier if the two constables weren't also stuck in the middle of a full-scale village lynch-mob.

The Wonderful World of Dissocia

The Wonderful World of Dissocia PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472508025
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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Book Description
Lisa Jones is on a journey. It's a colourful and exciting off-kilter trip in search of one lost hour that has tipped the balance of her life. The inhabitants of the wonderful world she finds herself in - Dissocia - are a curious blend of the funny, the friendly and the brutal. Produced originally for the 2004 Edinburgh International Festival, The Wonderful World of Dissocia wowed critics and audiences alike. This Modern Classics edition cements the status of this hugely original play, both magical and moving, that confirmed Anthony Neilson as one of major voices in contemporary British Theatre. As Neilson himself put it, 'If you like Alice in Wonderland but there's not enough sex and violence in it, then Dissocia is the show for you'. This Modern Classic edition features an introduction by Dr Trish Reid.

Stitching

Stitching PDF Author: Anthony Neilson
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1472536479
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 88

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Book Description
We will fix it. We will mend it... In the light of a pregnancy, a faithless couple pick apart their relationship, stitch by painful stitch. Can it be mended? Anthony Neilson's dark and intimate new play is a love story set at the extremes of brutality, banality and tenderness. Stitching opened at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, on 2 August 2002 and transferred to the Bush Theatre, London, on 12 September 2002."Explodes with power, discipline, integrity and sheer cruel psychological accuracy ... Neilson's writing has a terrible beauty" Sunday Times "Startlingly rich and challenging, Neilson depicts with aching precision a relationship in which love is undermined by distrust" Time Out "Shattering, shocking...a serious, persuasive account of the blind alleys love can lead us down" Daily Telegraph "A characteristically brave and brutal offering" Independent "A deeply mesmerising, if shocking, experience as a couple smashes through taboo after taboo in a harrowing sexual tug of war" Evening Standard

Heritage, Nostalgia and Modern British Theatre

Heritage, Nostalgia and Modern British Theatre PDF Author: Benjamin Poore
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230360149
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
The stage portrayal of the Victorians in recent times is a key reference point in understanding notions of Britishness, and the profound politicisation of that debate over the last four decades. This book throws new light on works by canonical playwrights like Bond, Edgar, and Churchill, linking theatre to the wider culture at large.