Modern American Theatre

T. S. Eliot’s The Family Reunion, a modern verse play, immersed in spiritual symbolism and psychological drama, stands among his most complex explorations of the human condition. Written in 1939, the drama is a meditation on guilt, redemption, religious alienation, and the struggle for spiritual meaning in a world increasingly fragmented by social, technological, and material change. The return of Harry to Wishwood, his ancestral home, sets the stage for the unravelling of personal and familial traumas that are symptomatic of deeper societal maladies. Through sophisticated dialogues, symbolic figures, and the unravelling of hidden motives, Eliot presents a world haunted by sin and yearning for expiation. The Family Reunion, addresses complex modern themes, especially the transmission of guilt across generations. The drama presents guilt as a haunting legacy—one that is passed from parent to child within the Monchensey family. According to Eliot, true redemption is only possible when the reality of guilt and the need for expiation are fully acknowledged; denial or suppression merely allows the burden to persist. The protagonist, Harry, inherits not only the family estate but also the accumulated sense of sin that comes with it. As Eliot’s narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that the psychological weight of inherited guilt remains unresolved until confronted and worked through, turning the play into a meditation on the necessity of recognizing and atoning for one’s inherited and personal failings in order to break free from their hold.

The present work examined the issues of political correctness embodied in language and practice of John and Carol. It also analyzed what the problem of political correctness itself depicted in Oleanna. Contention between John and Carol shows that the fall of politics of difference remained only deepened confrontation in American history. The result of their conflict is a bleak sociocultural wasteland; only violence can be preserved. Both rigid political languages categorizing people and total individualization without concerning socioeconomic context composing political agency is dangerous. Where the place for compromising is founded, real communication can occur. By unraveling political correctness, we could reinterpret the cultural specificity of America and its significance still existing today.

The essay analyzes, through the reactions of theatre critics, the reasons behind the poor reception of Pirandello’s play Floriani’s Wife (Come prima, meglio di prima) during its American debut in New York in October 1923, staged by Margaret Wycherly’s company. This was the playwright’s second work to be performed in the USA, following the remarkable success of “Six Characters in Search of an Author” on Broadway just a year earlier.

August Wilson's major concern is to sympathetically put on stage the black experience and thus to arouse the community's awareness for such experience. His black characters are always in constant quest for self-realization and for an authentic identity. Consequently, focuses on encouraging the blacks to rediscover their identities and to maintain self-authentication. He believes that the only way for the African Americans to transcend the limited existence in white racist America is by recovering their Africanness; by recognizing and accepting their African roots. He is keen on reminding the African Americans of their cultural heritage and their identity that has been maintained for ages despite their painful sense of alienation and their separation from their African culture. To Wilson, the African culture and heritage should not be an element of inferiority; rather it must be an evidence of pride because Afro-Americans have their own cultural distinctions: they have their ...

Critics, scholars and readers alike have hailed Tennessee Williams as the greatest Southern playwright and one of the most distinguished dramatists in the history of American drama. He is indisputably the most renowned American playwright of the second half of the 20th century. This article endeavors to make an overview of Tennessee Williams’s lyrical drama, focusing on its main features such as characterization, art, language, major themes represented in his plays, etc. Williams introduced the innovative concept of the Plastic Theater into the American drama, which combined all elements of production- dialogue, action, setting, lighting, even props - in a unified and symbolic expression of truth. Williams was a very prolific playwright, poet and prose writer but his three plays- The Glass Menagerie, his most experimental play; A Streetcar Named Desire, his masterpiece; and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, his most popular play- have entered and captivated the imagination of theater audiences...

The Beautiful People has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues and Female/Male Scenes.

The Beautiful People is a full-length comedy by William Saroyan. The 'Beautiful People' refuse to play by the rules of a wicked world, steadfastly preserving their enchanted and – at times illegal – innocence, by any means necessary. The Beautiful People is concerned with a deliciously loony family who exist on the pension check of the long since deceased former occupant of their house.

The Beautiful People concerns the humble and happy Webster family, consisting of a father, two sons and a daughter. They live in an old house that they manage to hang onto by forging the deceased owner's name on pension checks. A philosophical father, a one-word boy novelist, and blessed Saint Agnes of the Mice battle the breaking of dreams, accompanied by a ghostly cornet player, a nostalgic clerk, an octogenarian drunk, a drunken priest, an almost-mother, and several literate vermin. The only money they have is a monthly cheque which is actually meant for a complete stranger, dead for seven years.

Mice are daringly rescued by a poet. Strangers become family. The prodigal son returns. And lost loves are finally and forever found. These charming, interesting characters represent William Saroyan's belief that love is the only thing which matters in the world.

The Beautiful People opened in 1941 at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway in New York City, and was a runner-up for the New York Drama Awards. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has been mounted in regional, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 2 female, 7 male

What people say:
"It possesses a beguiling quality of sustained innocence and blessed derangement." — New York Post

About the Playwright
William Saroyan (1908-1981) was an internationally renowned American writer, playwright, and humanitarian. Hailed as one of America's Greatest Playwrights, in 1939, he was the first American writer to win both the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for his play The Time of Your Life. He famously refused to accept the Pulitzer Prize on the grounds that "Commerce should not patronize art." He achieved great popularity in the thirties, forties, and fifties through his hundreds of short stories, plays, novels, memoirs, and essays. He has been described as "one of the most prominent literary figures of the mid-20th century."

An essay ("The Refutation of Spacetime in Beckett's Theatre: Towards a Non-Tragic Worldview") out of the recently published volume "Samuel Beckett: Philosophical and Psychoanalytical Receptions" (Kedros, Athens 2025). It centers around the refutation of spacetime in Beckett's theatre and the total lack of tragic dimension resulting by it. Examining the tragic phenomenon from a Schelerian point of view, we trace the method he used in order to create and establish an non-tragical worldview.

This study investigates the linguistic construction of empowerment and rebellion through a comparative discourse analysis of the characters Elphaba and Glinda in the song "Defying Gravity" from the musical Wicked. Utilizing Teun A. van Dijk's Socio-Cognitive Discourse Analysis (SCDA) framework, the research examines how language functions as a tool for identity construction, ideological expression, and social positioning. By analyzing the characters' use of modality, metaphors, pronouns, and rhetorical strategies, the study reveals how Elphaba embodies radical individualism and resistance, while Glinda represents diplomacy and social conformity. The findings highlight the contrasting discursive practices through which both characters negotiate power and change. Elphaba's high-modality and metaphorical language constructs a narrative of personal liberation, whereas Glinda's inclusive and moderate speech supports a vision of collective harmony. This study contributes to discourse analysis in performative texts by demonstrating how theatrical language can be a vehicle for complex socio-cognitive and ideological meanings.

The research article is an attempt to study the characters in the selected novels with respect to the spaces they live in. The works chosen are Such a Long Journey, The Crow Eaters, Trying to Grow and Bombay Time. The selected novels are by Parsi authors and hence the Parsi psychology will also be explored with regards to the spaces they dwell in. It is interesting to find out that the consciousness of individual characters in the works is largely dependent on the places and the surroundings. In the novels we observe the prominence of countries, cities, campuses and enclosures in deciphering the human characters, their characteristics, their consciousness and their conscience. The built environments in the forms of roads, buildings and houses, pave way for Topoanalysis that will be attempted in this paper.

Η παρούσα μελέτη εξετάζει δύο έργα της σύγχρονης αμερικανικής δραματουργίας υπό το φως της αισθητικής επιρροής της θεωρίας του χιούμορ -ή αλλιώς umorismo- του Luigi Pirandello. Ο λόγος για τα Ποιος φοβάται τη Βιρτζίνια Γουλφ; (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) του Edward Albee και Τριαντάφυλλο στο στήθος (The rose tattoo) του Tennessee Williams. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, τα δύο αυτά κείμενα ενέχουν κοινούς σημειολογικούς κώδικες, κρυμμένες έννοιες και φιλοσοφικό υπόστρωμα, αποτυπώνοντας άλλοτε με εύληπτο και εμφανή τρόπο και άλλοτε με δύσληπτο και ερεβώδη τις πιο σημαντικές αρχές της θεωρίας του Luigi Pirandello. Δεν είναι γνωστό αν οι δύο σημαντικοί Αμερικανοί δραματουργοί του 20ού αιώνα, που άφησαν ανεξίτηλα ίχνη στην πορεία του διεθνούς θεάτρου τόσο στον τομέα της δραματουργίας,
όσο και σε αυτόν της θεατρικής πρακτικής, επέλεξαν συνειδητά να εισαγάγουν στοιχεία της αισθητικής του Pirandello στο έργο τους ή απλώς η επιρροή του τελευταίου εμφώλευσε ασυνείδητα σε αυτό λόγω της εντρύφησής τους στη θεατρική τέχνη. Επίσης, στα δύο υπό εξέτασιν έργα, φωτίζονται τα λαογραφικά και ηθογραφικά στοιχεία που είναι αντλημένα από τον ιταλικό πολιτισμό, επιβεβαιώνοντας ότι το εν λόγω δραματουργικό φαινόμενο αξίζει περεταίρω έρευνας και εμβάθυνσης από τη μεριά της διεθνούς επιστήμης.

The fundamental debt of E. O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra to Aeschylus, and to a lesser degree to Sophocles and Euripides, has been always recognised but, according to the author's hypothesis, O'Neill might have taken advantage of the Platonic image of the cave in order to magnify his both Greek and American drama. It is certainly a risky hypothesis that stricto sensu cannot be proved, but it is also reader's right to evaluate the plausibility and the possible dramatic benefit derived from such a reading. Besides indicating to what degree some of the essential themes of Platonic philosophy concerning darkness, light or the flight from the prison of the material world are not extraneous to O'Neill's work, the author proves he was aware of the Platonic image of the cave thanks to its capital importance in the work of some of his intellectual mentors such as F. Nietzsche or Oscar Wilde. Nevertheless, the most significant aim of the author's article is to emphasize both the dramatic benefits and the logical reflections derived, as said before, from reading little by little O'Neill's drama bearing in mind the above mentioned Platonic parameter.

This essay reconsiders "Death of a Salesman" through the lens of classical tragedy, arguing that Arthur Miller’s domestic drama fulfills—subtly but powerfully—the Aristotelian criteria for tragic form. While Willy Loman is often regarded as the tragic center, this study proposes a revisionist reading in which his son, Biff Loman, emerges as the true tragic hero. Through an analysis of 'anagnorisis,' 'peripeteia', and 'catharsis,' the essay traces how Biff’s trajectory—not Willy’s—achieves the emotional and ethical depths prescribed by classical poetics. By identifying key tragic tokens (a pen, a gas tube, a pair of sneakers) and analyzing the fragmentation of time and memory in the play’s structure, the paper argues that "Death of a Salesman" represents a modern tragedy of psychic collapse and moral awakening. The "House of Loman" becomes, like its Greek and Shakespearean predecessors, a familial site of inherited delusion, shame, and existential reckoning. In revisiting Miller’s work as a 'tragedia domestica,' the essay recovers the play’s philosophical gravity and its deep emotional logic, culminating in the fall not only of a man, but of a way of life.

(Note: Italics for titles removed by platform formatting.)

This essay has tried to examine miscommunication and its aftermath in human relationships. This paper tries to break down the concept of miscommunication in its simplest form, analyzing it in the relevant play of Long Day's Journey into Night, then regarding the main issues put forth in the modern world. The way it does it is by first introducing the concept of miscommunication. Using the binary opposition, it defines communication and views the opposite to be the case. Then, the paper goes on to analyze the play, differentiating between the types of relationships in the paper, such as family relationships, individual-to-individual relationships, and one with oneself. The paper tries to go over all of the relationships, which are all influenced by one another. The paper, at the end of its analysis, suggests that all of the rooted problems lead to miscommunication. Then, in a brief section, the paper goes through the role and importance of the play's language. Lastly, the paper tries to look at the role of communication and miscommunication in the modern world, suggesting that some issues that are portrayed in the play, such as the lack of individuality, are still true to this day.

"42nd Street" brought Busby Berkeley into the Warner Bros. fold, and initiated a series of highly successful musicals that rescued the studio's financial fortunes. The grittily realistic approach to the "backstage" formula, plus attractive diegetic songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, are also distinctive, as are its broader political messages in the context of Franklin D. Roosevelt's victory in the 1932 US presidential election.

This collection of fantastic one-acts contains ten of TENNESSEE WILLIAMS’s most potent, comical, and disturbing short plays —Upper East Side ladies dine out during the apocalypse in Now the Cats with Jeweled Claws, while the poet Hart Crane is confronted by his mother at the bottom of the ocean in Steps Must Be Gentle. Five previously unpublished plays include A Recluse and His Guest, a fable about a mythic traveling woman in a dark world who can only go forward, never back, and The Strange Play, in which we witness a woman’s entire life lived within a twenty-four-hour span. This volume is edited, with an introduction and notes, by the editor, teacher, and theater scholar Thomas Keith

A Recluse and His Guest, Now the Cats with Jeweled Claws, Steps Must Be Gentle, Ivan’s Widow, This is the Peaceable Kingdom, Aimez-vous Ionesco? The Demolition Downtown, Lifeboat Drill, Once in a Lifetime, The Strange Play

Many critics have read David Mamet's (1993) Oleanna as a locale for issues of gender, misogyny, and sexual harassment. Another group, however, believe that it is the potentials of language and its manipulation which are central to the play, which need to be delved into. In line with the latter view, the present article assumes that the interactions of both John and Carol in this two-character play exemplify an interview in which they constantly attempt to preserve their faces through adopting a number of linguistic avoidance strategies. Therefore, by drawing upon linguistic avoidance frameworks suggested by Janney (1999) and Anchimbe (2009), the present article links up linguistic avoidance to Spencer-Oatey's (2000) notion of rapport management and shows to what extent John and Carol adopt these strategies to attend to their personal and professional face needs at the cost of further alienation and frustration. The findings of this paper are also an affirmation of Žegarac and Spencer-Oatey (2013) who argue that participants' self-oriented perspective due to face concerns may cause difficulties within joint projects, which is a barricade to spirit of cooperation and reciprocity.

Dorsey shares her practice of using a written play to connect the knowledge students bring to the classroom with Howard Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences. For several years, I have used August Wilson's play, A Piano Lesson, as a required supplemental text for my developmental reading classes. The colorful characters, festering family conflict, and illusory ghost immediately capture the attention of the students, catapulting them into the reading comprehension process which requires visualization, application of prior knowledge, and prediction. Besides providing lively classroom discussions and intriguing journal entries, the text lends itself easily to creation of exercises that appeal to the multiple intelligences and further enhance comprehension. Reading the play aloud, as a class, creates a community of readers who encourage

Dorsey shares her practice of using a written play to connect the knowledge students bring to the classroom with Howard Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences. For several years, I have used August Wilson's play, A Piano Lesson, as a required supplemental text for my developmental reading classes. The colorful characters, festering family conflict, and illusory ghost immediately capture the attention of the students, catapulting them into the reading comprehension process which requires visualization, application of prior knowledge, and prediction. Besides providing lively classroom discussions and intriguing journal entries, the text lends itself easily to creation of exercises that appeal to the multiple intelligences and further enhance comprehension. Reading the play aloud, as a class, creates a community of readers who encourage

Gender is a complex issue, especially for women in Iraq during its tumultuous historical period, and many women suffer from both gendered and racial hardships. Not only sexual harassment but also a patriarchal society oppress their physical and psychological state of mind. Heather Raffo’s 9 Parts of Desire is an excellent symbol for indicating how diverse women portray different identities and experiences. However, each of them fights for one thing: love. Patriarchal regulations, with their clothing rules or religious restrictions, create limited space for Iraqi women in the play, and the women search for liberation throughout the play. Some escape from their home countries, and some stay and fight for freedom. However, each character in the play struggles bravely against difficulties. This study will examine these women regarding identity, racial, and gender theories. From these approaches, the gender theory will uncover the essence of the play due to dealing with nine women’s search for desire. The space reflects these women with lyrical statements, so the theatrical play must be narrated in a poetic monologue. Using the theories of Homi Bhabha, Stuart Hall, and Julia Kristeva, the study creates authentic perspectives in Middle Eastern American Drama.

καινούργια οντολογία του ηθοποιού που ορίζει μια νέα μορφή αισθητικής προσέγγισης. Ωστόσο, οι κατευθύνσεις και τα ζητήματα που εγέρθηκαν στο παρόν κείμενο μπορούν να αποτελέσουν πρώτη ύλη για περαιτέρω διερεύνηση αυτού του τρόπου δουλειάς που διαρκώς εξελίσσεται, και ως αυτόνομος οργανισμός δεν σταματάει να θέτει ανοιχτά ερωτήματα μεθοδολογικής, φιλοσοφικής και καλλιτεχνικής φύσης. Η ευκαιρία να διαδράσει κανείς με όσους κινούνται στον ίδιο χωροχρόνο γίνεται ολοένα και σπανιότερη σε μία μητρόπολη σαν την Αθήνα. Οι περισσότεροι άλλωστε καθώς μετακινούνται στον πυκνό ιστό της πόλης βυθίζονται μέσα σε ειδήσεις και πληροφορίες ποικίλης ύλης που μετακυλούν στην οθόνη ενός κινητού τηλεφώνου. Ωστόσο, μία διαδρομή με ταξί μπορεί να δημιουργεί συνθήκες αλληλεπίδρασης που ξεκινούν συχνά όταν η επιβάτης αναφέρει τον προορισμό της διαδρομής της. Η «Πειραιώς 260», όπου φιλοξενούνται οι παραστάσεις του Φεστιβάλ Αθηνών, αποτελεί παραδόξως για την πλειοψηφία των οδηγών μία τοποθεσία της οποίας τη λειτουργία αγνοούν. Μία παρατήρηση που αναδεικνύει εμφατικά ότι η σύγχρονη τέχνη δεν αφορά παρά ένα περιορισμένο κομμάτι του γενικού πληθυσμού. Πολύ πρόσφατα, ένας ευδιάθετος οδηγός αναρωτήθηκε «τι συμβαίνει εκεί». Ξεκίνησα να του μιλώ για τον θεσμό του Φεστιβάλ καθώς επίσης και για τις παραστάσεις θεάτρου και σύγχρονου χορού που λαμβάνουν χώρα στον πρώην βιομηχανικό αυτό χώρο. Στο άκουσμα της λέξης «θέατρο» ο ευγενικός μου συνομιλητής κούνησε με αναγνώριση το κεφάλι. Ήξερε άλλωστε αρκετούς ηθοποιούς. Ομολόγησε παρόλα αυτά ότι δεν έχει δει ποτέ κάποια παράσταση χορού, οπότε και ρώτησε «όταν μιλάμε για χορό, ανα-Παρασκευή Τεκτονίδου Δραματουργός, ερευνήτρια και κριτικός χορού Υποψήφια διδάκτορας Ανώτατης Σχολής Καλών Τεχνών Διατομεακότητα και διακαλλιτεxνικότητα της σύγχρονης χορογραφίας Μία συνοπτική χαρτογράφηση μέσα από το ελληνικό παράδειγμα

Tennessee Williams emphasizes the importance of setting as an integral part of drama under the concept of what he called "plastic theatre." Williams's use of settings and methods, such as the screen device, effectively establishes a sense of distance, which is also considered a crucial dramatic element by Brecht and Sartre. Williams's approach reflects a strong existentialist understanding, which is conveyed to the audience, particularly using settings that complement the dramatic text and dialogue. Based on Williams's notion of setting as a means that transcends the limited space of the stage, this article focuses on some of the most important stage elements in the playwright's settings and their significance in terms of symbolism, spatiality, and existentialism. These sets include images of jungles to depict the thematic notion of freedom (Suddenly Last Summer, 1958) and isolated spaces to illustrate anguish towards the facticity of current situations, but also towards the responsibility of decision-making and the uncertainty of the future (The Two-Character Play, 1979). As a response to these situations, the image of stairs pervades Williams’s drama, especially in The Glass Menagerie (1944), Stairs to the Roof (1947), and Camino Real (1953). This article concludes that, in line with existentialist philosophy, escape, and movement are shown as the only viable solutions for the self to assert its individuality through settings that vary from literal fire escapes to abstract and complex images.

THEATRE'S TOPOI, HETEROTOPIAS AND PARTICIPATORY CHALLENGES

The point where the spectacle meets the spectator is a true Gordian knot, where unpredictable emotions infiltrate. The article examines the limits  (or no limits) of theatrical heterotopia in an era of multicultural diversity.

Το σημείο όπου συναντώνται το θέαμα και ο θεατής είναι ένας πραγματικός γόρδιος δεσμός, μια «γιάφκα διαπραγμάτευσης», όπου παρεισφρέουν απρόβλεπτα συναισθήματα. Το άρθρο εξετάζει τις αντοχές της θεατρκής ετεροτοπίας σε μια εποχή πολυτισμικής ποικιλότητας.

Το Νο αποτελεί μία από τις παραδοσιακές μορφές χοροθεατρικής τέχνης της Ιαπωνίας που παίζεται τακτικά από την καθιέρωση της τον 14ο αιώνα μέχρι και τις μέρες μας. H τέχνη του Νο συνδυάζει την υποκριτική με μάσκα, το χορό την ψαλμωδία και τη μουσική. Τα έργα του Νο διαποτίζονται από τη βουδιστική φιλοσοφία μέσα από αριστοτεχνικές αναδιηγήσεις εμβληματικών έργων της ιαπωνικής λογοτεχνίας. Από τη θέση των υποκριτών και των μουσικών στη σκηνή μέχρι τους υποκριτικούς και κινησιολογικούς κώδικες, το Νο είναι ένα αυστηρά δομημένο χοροθεατρικό είδος που διέπεται από ποικίλες συμβάσεις σε όλες τις πτυχές του. Στόχος του παρόντος άρθρου
είναι η εισαγωγή στο συμβολικό θεατρικό λεξιλόγιο, τους κώδικες και τις θεατρικές συμβάσεις του παραδοσιακού αυτού χοροθεατρικού κόσμου και στη φιλοσοφία που αντικατοπτρίζει.

Edward Albee, a towering figure in 20th-century American drama, is often associated with the Theatre of the Absurd. Yet, his body of work demonstrates a unique departure from the existential despair of absurdist playwrights like Samuel Beckett. Instead, Albee employs his theatre as a weapon of social critique, tackling the hypocrisy, materialism, and moral decay of contemporary society. His plays are not resigned to cosmic futility but are deeply committed to the cause of human dignity and the possibility of change. The American Dream (1960) epitomizes Albee's unique voice, blending biting satire with a sharp examination of social ills.

The aim of this article is to discuss the girls’ thoughts about a boy particularly their fathers when they cross the phallic stage. Though a young lady initially adores her mom, she starts to disdain her mom, who is physically like her. She sees her mom as an adversary for her dad's consideration. The Electra complex was a psychoanalytic term used to depict a young lady's feeling of rivalry with her mom for the adoration of her dad. It was tantamount to the Oedipus complex. As per Sigmund Freud, amid female psychosexual advancement a young lady was at first joined to her mom. When she found that she didn't have a penis, she got to be joined to her dad and started to hate her mom who she accused for her mutilation. Thus, Freud accepted that the young lady then started to relate to and imitate her mom out of trepidation of losing her affection.

In the early 1940s, Tennessee Williams had a learning and working experience at the Dramatic Workshop, a theatre school directed by the political theatre exponent Erwin Piscator in New York. This article intends to briefly explore the relationship and debates between the two artists and, by analyzing the dropped staging project for the Battle of angels in the Dramatic Workshop's Studio Theatre and the stylistic procedures originated in the epic theatre used in The glass menagerie, reflect on the influences of Piscator's theatrical thinking and practice on William's work, as well as how those were appropriated and reshaped by him.

In losing two pillars of the LMDA community, Lee Devin and Elinor Fuchs, this last year, it is time to pause and reflect on the legacies of members of the field that shaped the organization and the growth of the profession. Geoff Proehl writes a poignant memorial for Lee Devinteacher, dramaturg, performer. His essay addresses his leadership, impact on the field, their friendship, and his imprint on the legacy of dramaturgy. Amy Holzapfel invites us to reflect on the life and legacy of Elinor Fuchs in her essay Views from the Air: A Visit to the Dramaturgical Planet of Elinor Fuchs beginning with a nod to the immense popularity of "E.F.'s Visit to a Small Planet: Some Questions to Ask a Play," an essay considered required reading for aspiring dramaturgs, but as Holzapfel points out, has circulated continuously in professional settings since its debut in the early 1990s. Her essay also reminds us that Fuchs's contributions to the field of dramatic criticism are considerable. A generative writer, she published numerous articles and reviews that stimulated lively conversations and intellectual debate, and her books The Death of Character: Perspectives on Theater after Modernism and Land/Scape/Theater co-edited with Una Chaudhuri are widely cited by theorists and practitioners.

A medida que pasa el tiempo uno observa en sí mismo como ciertas lecturas se van convirtiendo en hábito, lecturas a las que se regresa una y otra vez, siempre con interés y curiosidad, porque sabemos que todavía podemos aprender más, disfrutar más. Aunque conozcamos de sobra qué pasa, cómo pasa y por qué pasa, esas lecturas siempre tienen algo nuevo que ofrecernos o simplemente algo viejo en lo que deleitarnos. Las obras de Tennessee Williams son unas de esas lecturas para mí. Cuanto más profundizo en su obra dramática más fascinante me parecen sus personajes, sus tramas, sus ambientes, sus peculiaridades, esos rasgos distintivos de su especial naturaleza sureña, rematadamente barrocos y rematadamente geniales. Dos obras en concreto, que no son muy conocidas ni han sido especialmente aplaudidas, pero que me parecen de las mejores que ha escrito, son The Milk Train

subverzivna američka drama ili simpatija za losere RIJEKA 1994. SUBVERZIVNA AMERiČKA DRAMA III SIMPATIJA ZA LOSERE • uvodna bilješka o tri pitanja Kolegij dr. Borisa Senkera na Postdiplomskom studiju književnosti na zagrebačkom Filozofskom fakultetu o američkoj drami 1985/86. školske godine u obvezlloj literaturi imao je i sedamdesetak najznačajnijih američkih dtama. Citajući te drame iznenadile su me stanovite značajke iz kojih su nastala tri pitanja. Ponajprije, kako to da se većina značajnijih drama tematski bavi /oserima (gubitnicima) u zemlji u kojoj je vrhunska vrijednost American Dream (Američki san)-mit o uspjehu u svom najčišćem obliku? Drugo je pitanje što je s postojećim, a od američke kritike vrlo često zanemarenim, dramama sasvim drukčijeg tematskog profila? Treće pitanje je kako to da se tematski istovjetne drame koje se bave /oserima, ipak razlikuju jedna od druge? Eto, tako su jedan dobro koncipiran kolegij i tri pitanja odredila nastanak i sadržaj ove knjige. Iz prvog pitanja proizašao je izbor organizacijskog načela, iz drugog pitanja je proizašla podjela američke drame na pravce, a iz trećeg su nastali podpravci pravca kojim se ova knjiga bavi. Ali tu nije kraj. Tetralogija u nadnaslovu ove knjige označava da je ona jedna četvrtina projekta koji bi obuhvatio četiri trenutačno najznačajnija pravca suvremene američke drame. Upravo radim na drugoj knjizi, a nadam se da projekt neću ostaviti nezavršen.

During the 1922 Broadway season, two popular plays literally took the stage by storm. In what may strike post-Katrina audiences as a somewhat uncanny coincidence, these two dramas – Rain and The Deluge – were both based on the aftermaths of natural disasters: specifically, torrential downpours, the breaching of a levee, and the struggle to regenerate in the wake of catastrophic destruction. In another seemingly uncanny coincidence, although both dramas have virtually all-male casts, both also feature one central female character, a down-on-her-luck “fallen” woman called Sadie. In addition to featuring natural cataclysms (surely meant as a counterpoint to moral ones), both The Deluge and Rain recycle a classic hooker- with-a-heart-of-gold story – a tale about a repentant prostitute called Sadie who reconciles with her scarlet past. As I have argued elsewhere, dramas with prostitutes form the backbone of what was then called brothel drama, a vital subgenre of American modern theatre. Whereas the brothel genre as a whole waned in the early 1920s in conjunction with anti-prostitution reform, representations of scarlet women lived on in a new prostitute figure.

Analysis of the main character from one of William Shakespeare's most famous historical dramas. The work examines the character himself, as well as his psychology. In addition, the historical circumstances of the work as well as the very motive of betrayal, which is very characteristic and important for this work, were also analyzed.

Αναζητώντας (και εγκαταλείποντας) το τελετουργικό θέατρο της Ελένης Παπάζογλου Τι μπορεί να μας επιτρέπει να συνεξετάζουμε μια αβάν-γκαρντ βιεννέζικη παράσταση της Ηλέκτρας του Ούγκο φον Χόφμανσταλ, σε σκηνοθεσία του Μαξ Ράινχαρτ στην αυγή του 20ού αιώνα, με το ολυμπιακό όραμα του Πιερ ντε Κουμπερτέν; Τις παραστάσεις αρχαίου δράματος με μαζικά θεάματα, όπως ένα Pageant της Διεθνούς των Βιομηχανικών Εργατών, στις παραμονές του Πρώτου Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου, και τα

August Wilson's play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom delves into the lives of individuals amidst pivotal historical shifts, offering a profound exploration of race, power dynamics, and cultural identity. This paper aims to analyse Wilson's portrayal of Black male characters and their interactions with their White counterparts within the context of the play. Through a close examination of character dynamics and thematic elements, the paper will uncover how Wilson skillfully navigates the complexities of race relations, highlighting the nuances of power and agency within a racially stratified society. By scrutinizing the actions, dialogue, and motivations of the characters, the paper will attempt to elucidate how Wilson underscores the intersectionality of race, class, and gender, shedding light on the enduring legacy of systemic oppression and the resilience of the human spirit. Through this analysis, this study seeks to deepen the understanding of Wilson's masterful storytelling and its enduring relevance in contemporary discourse on race and representation.

This study draws a comparison between the works A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, and Onde andará Dulce Veiga?, by Caio Fernando Abreu. The argument is that a possible link between the works derives basically from three elements: the crisis of the subject, the eroticism, and the representations of masculinity. The theoretical discussion is supported by postmodern theorizing about cultural identity (Hall, Debord), men’s studies (Nolasco, Badinter, Sedgwick), and eroticism (França, Chauí).

Kroz fantazmagoričnu džunglu živaca izraslu na tlu svaštoznale misli, ne možete se probiti pravolinijskim kretanjem. Koliko god ga čitali, Tin ostaje nedočitan i ako ikad želite dospeti na poneko osunčano mesto, ne smete prestati da od njega odlazite. U pojam iz naslova ove knjige stekla se sva dinamika imanentna biću od nemira: ateisti čije je obožavanje ravno religioznom zanosu, užarenom poeti iz sjemeništa, erotomanu u celibatu. Ne postoji konačna verzija teksta o Tinu, sve su one beskonačne. Vedrina je laka, kristalna kocka (reći će 1930. baš u Sarajevu) – njena veličina je odrediva, dimenzije su joj jasne i ista je sa svih strana. Ipak, nju je kanio ostaviti potonjim generacijama, kao jedini čist element izolovan iz crnih nepregledi dušine rude, ili simbol umetničke težnje za lepotom. Jedan predgovor je tesan, a jedan život malo, da bi se obuhvatio makar manji deo Tinovog stvaralaštva, onaj pesnički. Bio je izrazito nadahnut pisac proznih crtica, feljtonist, esejist i kritičar; jedan od utemeljivača savremenog poetskog izraza u hrvatskom, ali i drugim jezicima, danas zvanično „naslednicima“ nekadašnjeg srpskohrvatskog/hrvatskosrpskog govornog područja. (...) Traga za prijateljima, a odbija nametljivce i birokrate, posebno birokrate literature (Žeželj, s.354). U čežnji za ljudima, ljudi se kloni. (...) Telo je sasvim opipljivo, izvor radosti i svetlosti; ljubav, čak i ako nema konkretne žene o kojoj snatri, za Tina je jedini istinski stimulans, koji otvara poglede ka unutarnjoj neizmernosti. U Turris eburnea, pravoj „himni“ ženskom erotizmu, moliće „svetište skrovito“ da udahne život u „nepomična, bijela ženska tjelesa“. No i u ovoj, reklo bi se, „animalnijoj“ fazi, vatru u sebi će dovesti do drugog ekstrema (nasuprot nekadašnjoj askezi); puštajući da ga želja izludi, u jednom će trenutku poželeti da „njuši ženska krzna“ (Boko, s.125). Žena nastanjuje ćelije – kao groznica, vrućica; a najviše ona slova koja nisu dobila oblika u Tinovim pesmama. Strah od žene je patološki, a uništiteljski potencijal mu je ponovo usmeren na samog pesnika: koliko god da želi zbližavanje, toliko će um samomučiteljski proizvesti više barijera i razloga „zašto ne“. Ponekad, pokazaće gađenje glede površnosti nekih žena, ubogosti pariskih „jadnica“ koje se vuku s one strane života, ili ga pak zbunjuje njihova nedodirljivost (jer se možda neke od njih „gade“ njega, posebno u onim danima kad se baš nije brinuo o higijeni, na primer) – to nikad neće otvoreno priznati. Ipak, njen pojam ostaje neodvojivi deo njegovog ljudskog i pesničkog tela. Ž

This paper is an attempt to investigate the way the past determines the melancholic identity of the black people involved in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson and the way the piano's presence, though traumatic, stands as remains of the loss. The remains act like a monument for black people through which they can read and re-read their history. In The Piano Lesson the remnants or remains of loss are depicted, serving as poignant symbols of past traumas and unresolved grief. These remnants not only evoke the weight of history but also provide insights into the characters' emotional struggles and their attempts to reconcile with their losses. In order to define the past and its influence in the present referring to some notions like trauma, melancholia, and loss is unavoidable. However, the definitions provided here deviate from the classical explanations given to these perspectives. August Wilson's The Piano Lesson represents the accumulation of the losses and traumas experienced by the black race through whose remains the present generation of black people attaches themselves to the past, which gives them a melancholic privilege to produce new reading of traumas to stand against the white owners. Moreover, the piano in the play acts as a traumatic monument in which the history of the past has been carved, and through which the fight against slavery starts which could lead to freedom and independence for the black race against slavery.

This ambitious anthology rethinks theatrical histories and practices in the Latina/o Americas away from the dominant North–South scholarly approach. It features twenty-nine prominent theatre scholars and artists and, although writings are inconsistent in length and sections are not always cohesive, it serves as a useful introduction to theatre and performance in this region.