
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Having surveyed post-war British drama in
State of the Nation, Michael Billington now looks at the global picture. In this provocative and challenging new book, he offers his highly personal selection of the 100 greatest plays ranging from the Greeks to the present-day.
But his book is no mere list. Billington justifies his choices in extended essays- and even occasional dialogues- that put the plays in context, explain their significance and trace their performance history. In the end, it's a book that poses an infinite number of questions. What makes a great play? Does the definition change with time and circumstance? Or are certain common factors visible down the ages? It's safe to say that it's a book that, in revising the accepted canon, is bound to stimulate passionate argument and debate.
Everyone will have strong views on Billington's chosen hundred and will be inspired to make their own selections. But, coming from Britain's longest-serving theatre critic, these essays are the product of a lifetime spent watching and reading plays and record the adventures of a soul amongst masterpieces.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Landing Page
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1: The Persians
- 2: Oedipus the King
- 3: Helen
- 4: Assembly-Women
- 5: The Brothers Menaechmus
- 6: The Mysteries
- 7: Edward II
- 8: Love’s Labour’s Lost
- 9: Henry IV Parts One and Two
- 10: Hamlet
- 11: Twelfth Night
- 12: The Malcontent
- 13: A Mad World, My Masters
- 14: Macbeth
- 15: Coriolanus
- 16: The Alchemist
- 17: The White Devil
- 18: Fuenteovejuna
- 19: Punishment without Revenge
- 20: Life Is a Dream
- 21: The Illusion
- 22: Tartuffe
- 23: The Misanthrope
- 24: Andromache
- 25: The Rover
- 26: Venice Preserv’d
- 27: Love for Love
- 28: The Recruiting Officer
- 29: The Game of Love and Chance
- 30: The Servant of Two Masters
- 31: La Triologia della Villegiatura
- 32: She Stoops to Conquer
- 33: The School for Scandal
- 34: The Marriage of Figaro
- 35: Nathan the Wise
- 36: Don Carlos
- 37: Mary Stuart
- 38: The Broken Jug
- 39: The Prince of Homburg
- 40: The Government Inspector
- 41: Woyzeck
- 42: An Italian Straw Hat
- 43: Brand
- 44: The Forest
- 45: A Doll’s House
- 46: The Wild Duck
- 47: The Power of Darkness
- 48: The Father
- 49: Spring Awakening
- 50: The Importance of Being Earnest
- 51: Le Dindon
- 52: Uncle Vanya
- 53: The Cherry Orchard
- 54: Summerfolk
- 55: Peter Pan
- 56: Waste
- 57: Professor Bernhardi
- 58: The Daughter-in-Law
- 59: Pygmalion
- 60: Heartbreak House
- 61: Exiles
- 62: The Verge
- 63: Henry IV
- 64: Juno and the Paycock
- 65: The Front Page
- 66: Machinal
- 67: Tales from the Vienna Woods
- 68: The Suicide
- 69: Design for Living
- 70: The House of Bernarda Alba
- 71: The Life of Galileo
- 72: Mr Puntila and His Man Matti
- 73: Long Day’s Journey into Night
- 74: Men Should Weep
- 75: A Streetcar Named Desire
- 76: The Chairs
- 77: The Deep Blue Sea
- 78: The Crucible
- 79: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
- 80: The Visit
- 81: All That Fall
- 82: The Entertainer
- 83: The Fire Raisers
- 84: A Raisin in the Sun
- 85: Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance
- 86: Chips with Everything
- 87: The Homecoming
- 88: Black Comedy
- 89: Absurd Person Singular
- 90: Bingo
- 91: Death and the King’s Horseman
- 92: The Real Thing
- 93: Top Girls
- 94: Dancing at Lughnasa
- 95: Racing Demon
- 96: The Weir
- 97: Copenhagen
- 98: The Goat
- 99: The History Boys
- 100: Jerusalem
- 101: King Charles III
- Acknowledgements
- Index
- About the Author
- Also by Michael Billington
- Copyright