(This is an updated account and comparison of all the majo...)
This is an updated account and comparison of all the major traditions and tendencies in the French theatre from the outbreak of the Second World War to the opening of the 1990s. In the fifty-year period covered by this book, French theatre has undergone profound changes, at both the institutional and artistic level. In this book David Bradby assesses these developments in styles of writing, criticism, acting, directing and stage design. Bradby does not confine his account to events in Paris but also considers the work of the Centres Dramatiques and Maisons de la Culture. While giving due attention to the work of well-known playwrights such as Beckett, Ionesco, Adamov and Genet among others, Bradby also shows that the period has been a rich one for experimentation in French theatre. The book also contains an introductory survey of the French theatre of the inter-war years and concludes with a bibliography and an historical table of productions. It is illustrated with black and white photographs and is intended for students of drama as well as French literature; the political and cultural background is explained and all quotations are in English.
(In the years since 1940, French theatre has been transfor...)
In the years since 1940, French theatre has been transformed both institutionally and artistically. This book compares all the major traditions and tendencies at work in French theatre since the outbreak of the Second World War, not only in Paris, but also in the Centres Dramatiques and Maisons de la Culture. Previous books have stopped short at the end of the fifties when the influence of Artaud was strong and the Absurd Theatre had become the new orthodoxy. David Bradby reassesses Beckett, lonesco, Adamov and Genet and challenges the notion that the sixties and seventies were a period of decline in French theatre. The book proceeds chronologically, offering a critical survey of the principal directors, actors and companies as well as of the playwrights, who are its major concern. Important productions are illustrated with black and white photographs. The political background is explained and all quotations are in English.
David Bradby was a drama and theatre academic with particular research interests in French theatre, Modernist / Postmodernist theatre, the role of the director and the Theatre of the Absurd.
Background
Born in Kollupitiya in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where his father was principal of a teacher-training college, Bradby was educated at Rugby School in Rugby, England, where "he developed a passion for directing plays, taking over the production of light comedy from his English master".
Education
He originally studied Modern Languages at Trinity College, Oxford, but started to develop an interest in the theatre. Bradby’s subsequent education saw him taking a postgraduate teaching course at the University of Bristol, and then a PhD on the playwright Arthur Adamov at the University of Glasgow.
Career
He wrote extensively on the theatre of Samuel Beckett, Roger Planchon, Jacques Lecoq, Arthur Adamov among many others. He also translated several works, principally by Michel Vinaver, Jacques Lecoq and Bernard-Marie Koltès. During his time as a language assistant in Lyon, Bradby became a bit-part actor in Roger Planchon’s theatre company.
His academic career included the founding of the Department of Drama at the University of Kent in 1970, as well as work with the British Council in Nigeria. He developed the first colloquium on popular film and theatre, featuring contributions from the British theatre director Max Stafford-Clark. Bradby was appointed head of the Department of Drama at the University of Caen, Normandy, before moving to Royal Holloway, University of London in 1988, where he also took the position of department head.
He retired in Summer 2007. Bradby edited the Cambridge University Press "Studies in Modern Drama" series, as well as the journal Contemporary Theatre Review. He was Professor Emeritus of Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway.
He gave many public lectures and broadcasts and was also a consultant and advisor to many productions of works by Jean Genet, Molière, Michel Vinaver and Bernard-Marie Koltès. In 1997, he was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in recognition of his contribution to the study of French culture. Bradby had been married to the author Rachel Anderson since 1965.
He died aged 68 on 17 January 2011. A celebration of his life and work was held in and around the Department of Drama & Theatre at Royal Holloway on Sunday, 5 June 2011.
Author: (book) Director's Theatre, 1988, Modern French Drama, 1991, The Theatre of Michel Uinaver, 1993. Translator: The Moving Body by Jacques Lecoc, 2000.
Membership
Member Prince Charles Cinema Club.
Connections
Married Rachel Anderson, June 19, 1965. Children: Hannah, Lawrence, Sang, Donald.