Title: Peter Shaffer
Description: The plays of British dramatist Peter Shaffer (b. 1926) demonstrate such diversity as to defy simple categorization into this or that "school." From the dramatic Five Finger Exercise to the farcical Black Comedy, from the psychological Equus to the biographical Amadeus, Shaffer has evinced a remarkable versatility. His plays for stage, film, television, and radio have won him a huge following in both England and the United States, as well as awards on both sides of the Atlantic. Considered a leading dramatist of the twentieth century, Shaffer was honored with a C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1987. In this new rendering of his popular earlier study, Dennis Klein provides a thoroughly updated and expanded look at an extraordinary playwright, vigorously showing why Shaffer is a unique and powerful voice in contemporary English drama, a writer whose work has altered and enriched the genre. Following a useful biographical sketch of the playwright and his career - material enhanced by Klein's personal meetings with Shaffer - each of the major plays is taken up by turn. Individual chapters detail each play's stage record; summarize its plot; analyze its themes, techniques, and characters; and offer critical evaluations from both Klein's and other scholars' perspectives. Five new plays are covered in the revision: Amadeus, the biblical epic Yonadab, the comedy Lettice and Lovage, the radio play Whom Do I Have the Honour of Addressing?, and the most recent work, The Gift of the Gorgon. Also new to this edition are in-depth discussions of the British and American versions of recent plays, commentary on the films for which Shaffer was scriptwriter, and production information that specifies the respective directors, actors, and so on. Written in lively prose that informs and entertains, Peter Shaffer, Revised Edition is sure to be warmly received by high school and college students, librarians, general readers, and scholars.
Subjects: Criticism and interpretation, Critique et interprétation
People: Peter Shaffer (1926-)