Tales of the Tricycle Theatre

Terry Stoller

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9781408183809
• eBook ISBN:
  9781472536297
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Médias et arts de la scène
• Subtopic: Histoire et critique du théâtre

Tales of the Tricycle Theatre provides an inside look at the history of the north London theatre which has achieved renown with its staging of black, Irish, verbatim and political drama. Co-published with the Society for Theatre Research, the book draws extensively on archival research and interviews with actors, playwrights, directors, designers and board members to document and celebrate the work of one of London's most artistically exciting and politically engaged theatres.

Terry Stoller presents the Tricycle's story, giving you a front-row view of the theatre's productions, including:

- the work of generations of black British writers, from Mustapha Matura and Alfred Fagon to Roy Williams, Kwame Kwei-Armah and Bola Agbaje

- Irish plays ranging from Bernard Shaw's John Bull's Other Island to Brendan Behan's The Hostage

- its critically lauded political play cycles The Bomb – A Partial History and The Great Game: Afghanistan, the latter performed at the Pentagon in 2011

"[The Tricycle Theatre] has been both defiantly local and proudly international, it has held a mirror up to British society, and, above all, it has proved that political engagement is not incompatible with the highest artistic standards. It has helped make my life as a critic worthwhile . . ."
Michael Billington, Foreword

Table of contents

• Cover
• HalfTitle
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Figures
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1 A brief ride through the Tricycle’s history
• 2 Black theatre at the Tricycle
• 3 Irish theatre at the Tricycle
• 4 The verbatim and political plays
• 5 Dressing-room stories and encores
• Appendix A: Interviewees cited and their work for the Tricycle Theatre, 1980 to May 2012
• Appendix B: Production chronology
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index