David Edgar, Playwright and Politician

Download or read book David Edgar, Playwright and Politician written by Elizabeth Swain and published by Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers. This book was released on 1986 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Edgar: Playwright and Politician examines the British dramatist's forty stage plays written between 1971 and 1983, effectively providing a minihistory of Britain's sociopolitical climate since World War II and of Britain's post-1968 political theatre movement, with its various methods and changing venues. Swain discusses Edgar's use of dramatic form, his subject matter and his political viewpoint in order to examine different approaches to political playwriting, ranging from the blatant didacticism of agitprop to the subtler mimesis of social realism. Particular attention is given to Edgar's landmark plays, Destiny and Maydays, both produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company. A chapter is also devoted to Edgar's widely performed adaptations, The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs, Mary Barnes and Nicholas Nickleby.