Additional information
by Richard Ashby (Author)
Analyses appropriations of King Lear in post-war British drama
- Provides the first dedicated study on appropriations of King Lear in British playwriting of the post-war, developing valuable new perspectives on the legacy of Shakespeare in post-war drama and culture.
- Features original case studies on Edward Bond, David Rudkin, Howard Barker, Sarah Kane, Forced Entertainment and Dennis Kelly.
- Situates appropriations of King Lear in a wider literary, theatrical and philosophical discourse around the play and the Holocaust.
- Brings Shakespeare and post-war British drama into conversation with Continental philosophy and theory.
Since the events of the Holocaust, playwrights have variously appropriated King Lear to respond to the catastrophes of modern times. With case studies on the works of Edward Bond, David Rudkin, Howard Barker, Sarah Kane, Forced Entertainment and Dennis Kelly, the book explores a range of theatres of catastrophe in post-war British drama and the role that Lear has played in new forms of post-Holocaust tragedy and tragic freedom. Plays are situated in a wider critical and cultural discourse around Shakespeare and the Holocaust and the post-Auschwitz philosophical aesthetics of Theodor Adorno, whose influence on post-war playwriting remains profound.
Back Jacket
'Out of the entire Shakespearian canon King Lear emerges as both a provoking guide and goad witin contemporary British drama as a vehicle for productive appropriation by dramatists. Like a current day Edgar, Richard Ashby takes his readers from the 'chalky bourn' of Dover Cliff to the gates of Auschwitz and beyond in an authoritative study of the ways in which figures as diverse as Howard Barker, Edward Bond, Tim Etchells, Sarah Kane and Dennis Kelly have reconstituted this puzzling and provoking classical tragedy. King Lear 'After' Auschwitz will rightly take up a prominent place within the growing body of work in Shakespeare studies devoted to the practice of adaptation and appropriation.' Graham Saunders, University of Birmingham 'An intellectually and politically compelling testament to the power of King Lear to fire the imagination of the boldest post-war British dramatists, and a richly rewarding study of the extraordinary plays they forged in the light of Shakespeare's tragic masterpiece.' Kiernan Ryan, University of Cambridge and Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon Analyses appropriations of King Lear in post-war British drama Since the events of the Holocaust, playwrights have variously appropriated King Lear to respond to the catastrophes of modern times. With case studies on the works of Edward Bond, David Rudkin, Howard Barker, Sarah Kane, Forced Entertainment and Dennis Kelly, this book explores a range of theatres of catastrophe in post-war British drama and the role that King Lear has played in new forms of post-Holocaust tragedy and tragic freedom. Plays are situated in a wider critical and cultural discourse around Shakespeare and the Holocaust and the post-Auschwitz philosophical aesthetics of Theodor Adorno, whose influence on post-war playwriting remains profound. Richard Ashby is Visiting Research Fellow at Senate House Library, London, and an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London. Cover image: King Lear: Edgar, 1963, Kokoschka Oskar (c) Fondation Oskar Kokoschka/ DACS 2020 Cover design: [EUP logo] edinburghuniversitypress.com ISBN 978-1-4744-7798-7 Barcode
Author Biography
Dr Richard Ashby obtained his PhD from Royal Holloway, University of London and is now a Visiting Research Fellow at Senate House Library and an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway, University of London. His research concentrates on the afterlives of Shakespeare and other early modern writers and dramatists, particularly in periods of crisis and catastrophe. He has published articles in Shakespeare, Textual Practice, Adaptation, Contemporary Theatre Review, Cahiers Élisabéthains and Comparative Drama and has spoken at various national and international conferences. He is currently working on the presence and meanings of Shakespeare in Holocaust testimony.
