Useful resources

Home > Subject areas > Studying modern drama > Useful resources

Recommended reading
Useful websites

Recommended reading

There are two books that cover the period we are considering in some detail:

Williams, R. Drama from Ibsen to Brecht (Hogarth Press, 1987)
Eyre, R. and Wright, N. Changing Stages (Bloomsbury, 2001)

These two books give detailed consideration of most of the leading playwrights working during the period we know as Modern Drama.

Do not forget that many of the playwrights themselves have written interestingly about their work. Many of the good published editions contain introductions by the playwrights; for example, Arthur Miller provides profound insights into his plays via introductions to the published editions. See also though:

Pinter, H. Various Voices (Faber & Faber, 2005) – a book of essays and poems written by Harold Pinter.
Cole, T (ed). Playwrights on Playwriting (Cooper Square Press, 2001)
Auckland-Lewis, G. and Pickering, K. Thinking about Plays (Dramatic Lines, 2004)

You may also wish to have a look at:

Pickering, K. How to Study Modern Drama (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003) - Involves thinking about plays both on the page and on the stage and you will need to imaginatively reconstruct a performance as you read.
Pickering, K. Key Concepts in Drama and Performance(Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
Heddon, D. and Milling, J. Devising Performance(Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
Nicholson, H. Applied Drama(Palgrave Macmillan, 2005)
Milling, J. and Ley, G. Modern Theories of Performance(Palgrave Macmillan, 2000)
Striff, E. Performance Studies(Palgrave Macmillan, 2002)

Click here to view all Palgrave Macmillan titles on Performing Arts.

Useful websites

There are also a number of very useful dedicated websites to which you can refer in your study:

This content has been written by Ken Pickering, author of Studying modern drama

^top^