This book aims to explore which plays were deemed ‘suitable’ to be reworked for foreign or local stages; what transformations – linguistic, semiotic, theatrical – were undertaken so as to accommodate international audiences; how national literary traditions are forged, altered, and diluted by means of transnational adapting techniques; and, finally, to what extent the categorical boundaries between original plays and adaptations may be blurred on the account of such adjusting textual strategies. It brings together ten articles that scrutinise the linguistic, social, political and theatrical complexities inherent in the intercultural transference of plays. The approaches presented by the different contributors investigate modern British theatre as an instance of diachronic and synchronic transnational adaptations based upon a myriad of influences originating in, and projected upon, other national dramatic traditions. These traditions, rooted in relatively distant geographies and epochs, are traced so as to illustrate the split between the state-imposed identity and personal, subjective identity caused by cultural negotiations of the self in an age of globalism. International frontiers are thus pointed at in order to claim the need to be transcended in the process of cultural re-appropriation associated with theatre performance for international audiences.

This book focuses on representations of aging masculinities in contemporary U.S. fiction, including shifting perceptions of physical and sexual prowess, depression, and loss, but also greater wisdom and confidence, legacy, as well as new affective patterns. The collection also incorporates factors such as race, sexuality and religion. The volume includes studies, amongst others, on Philip Roth, Paul Auster, Toni Morrison, Ernest Gaines, and Edmund White. Ultimately, this study proves that men’s aging experiences as described in contemporary U.S. literature and culture are as complex and varied as those of their female counterparts.

With a Foreword by Dan Rebellato, this book offers up a detailed exploration of Scottish playwright David Greig’s work with particular attention to globalization, ethics, and the spectator. It makes the argument that Greig’s theatre works by undoing, cracking, or breaking apart myriad elements to reveal the holed, porous nature of all things. Starting with a discussion of Greig’s engagement with shamanism and arguing for holed theatre as a response to globalization, for Greig’s works’ politics of aesthethics, and for the holed spectator as part of an affective ecology of transfers, this book discusses some of Greig’s most representative political theatre from Europe (1994) to The Events (2013), concluding with an exploration of Greig’s theatre’s world-forming quality.

(Re)Writing War in Contemporary Literature and Culture: Beyond Post-Memory is an exploration of war narratives through the lens of postmemory, offering a critical re-evaluation of how contemporary literature and cultural products reshape our understanding of past conflicts. This volume presents a rich tapestry of perspectives, drawing from an array of conflicts and incorporating insights from international experts across various disciplines, including contemporary literature, film studies, visual arts, and cultural studies. It critically builds upon and extends Marianne Hirsch's concept of postmemory, engaging with complex themes like the ethical dimensions of war writing, the authenticity of representations, and the creative power of art in reimagining traumatic events. This study not only challenges traditional boundaries in war literature and memory studies but also resonates with contemporary concerns about societal engagement with violent pasts, making it a significant addition to scholarly discourse and essential reading for those interested in the intersection of history, memory, and literature.

This volume studies the manifestations of female trauma through the exploration of multiple wounds, inflicted on both body and mind (Caruth 1996, 3) and the soul of Irish women from Northern Ireland and the Republic within a contemporary context, and in literary works written at the turn of the twenty-first century and beyond. These artistic manifestations connect tradition and modernity, debunk myths, break the silence with the exposure of uncomfortable realities, dismantle stereotypes and reflect reality with precision. Women’s issues and female experiences depicted in contemporary fiction may provide an explanation for past and present gender dynamics, revealing a pathway for further renegotiation of gender roles and the achievement of equilibrium and equality between sexes. These works might help to seal and heal wounds both old and new and offer solutions to the quandaries of tomorrow.

This collection of critical essays finds itself at the intersection of cultural, literary and film studies, and explores the various ways in which dysfunction is expressed in Irish studies. Dysfunction can be regarded as part and parcel of a portrayal of a landscape of trauma and crisis that may have been traditionally repressed in Ireland at large. However, dysfunction also envisages mediation, managing, transcending and healing. As such, this volume examines how Ireland tackles dysfunction at large, but more importantly, how mediation, managing, healing and transcending help in the understanding of the ever-changing and on-going process of the construction of an Irish identity today; sometimes looking back at the past, but always creating the need of inventing new ways to understand the future of Ireland. The collection presents essays which tackle dysfunction from different and multifarious perspectives that range from sociological, historical and literary discourses to more contemporary insights into dysfunction in today’s Ireland. It encompasses theory and analysis and includes the works of both senior academics and emerging scholars, as well as those outside academia.

A comprehensive treatment of the Classical World in film and television, A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen closely examines the films and TV shows centered on Greek and Roman cultures and explores the tension between pagan and Christian worlds. Written by a team of experts in their fields, this work considers productions that discuss social settings as reflections of their times and as indicative of the technical advances in production and the economics of film and television. Productions included are a mix of Hollywood and European spanning from the silent film era though modern day television series, and topics discussed include Hollywood politics in film, soundtrack and sound design, high art and low art, European art cinemas, and the ancient world as comedy. Written for students of film and television as well as those interested in studies of ancient Rome and Greece, A Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome on Screen provides comprehensive, current thinking on how the depiction of Ancient Greece and Rome on screen has developed over the past century. It reviews how films of the ancient world mirrored shifting attitudes towards Christianity, the impact of changing techniques in film production, and fascinating explorations of science fiction and technical fantasy in the ancient world on popular TV shows like Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, and Dr. Who.

The television set – the humble box in the corner of almost every British household – has brought about some of the biggest social changes in modern times. It gives us a window into the lives of people who are different from us: different classes, different races, different sexualities. And through this window, we've learnt that, perhaps, we're not so different after all. Playing Gay in the Golden Age of British TV looks at gay male representation on and off the small screen – from the programmes that hinted at homoeroticism to Mary Whitehouse's Clean Up TV campaign, and The Naked Civil Servant to the birth of Channel 4 as an exciting 'alternative' television channel. Here, acclaimed social historian Stephen Bourne tells the story of the innovation, experimentation, back-tracking and bravery that led British television to help change society for the better.

Reveals the processes by which Ibsen's drama, while firmly rooted in his Scandinavian origins, was appropriated by other European traditions.