The Kwagh-hir Theater: A Weapon for Social Action represents a significant milestone in the documentation and theorization of non-Western theater. The book describes how the Tiv people of Nigeria used their indigenous theater to fight against British colonialism and oppression by dominant groups in Nigeria. It celebrates the power of the theater to give voice to the voiceless and to become a catalyst for positive change.

a So remarkable and so ground-breaking ... [it is] the most important [book] on the theatre in modern times.a George Wellwarth"

Based on theatrical research of unusual depth and enterprise, Theatre as a Weapon (1986) shows how the workers' theatre of the 1920s and 1930s transformed the social function of theatre. Drawing largely on unpublished sources, it provides lively case studies of workers' theatre in the USSR, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The politics, art and culture of Perth's Workers Art Guildare detailed in this comprehensive history, as well as the personal andprofessional lives of some of the movement's key figures.The Workers' Art Guild was a left-leaning political force andinfluential cultural movement of the 1930s and 1940s in Perth. Policeand intelligence arms kept close tabs on the Guild and its members,jailing some and intimidating many others prior to and during theperiod of the banning of the Communist Party in Australia.The book covers the personal and professional lives of key figuressuch as writer Katharine Susannah Prichard and theatre maverickKeith George, while charting the influence of the Communist Party onWestern Australian artists.

Gina was warned that one of her students would be a problem. Eighteen years old and strikingly odd, Dennis writes violently obscene work clearly intended to unsettle those around him. Determined to know whether he’s a real threat, Gina compels Dennis to attend her office hours. But as the clock ticks down, Gina realizes that “good” versus “bad” is nothing more than a convenient illusion, and that the isolated young student in her office has learned one thing above all else: For the powerless, the ability to terrify others is powerful indeed.

Exploring the experiences of early to mid-twentieth century British theatre-makers in Russia, this book imagines how these travellers interpreted Russian realism, symbolism, constructivism, agitprop, pageantry, dance or cinema. With some searching for an alternative to the corporate West End, some for experimental techniques and others still for methods that might politically inspire their audiences, did these journeys make any differences to their practice? And how did distinctly Russian techniques affect British theatre history? Migrating Modernist Performance seeks to answer these questions, reimagining the experiences and creative output of a range of, often under-researched, practitioners. What emerges is a dynamic collection of performances that bridge geographical, aesthetic, chronological and political divides.

The single sword is the most-used weapon on both stage and screen. The techniques used in single sword stage combat are derived from real combative methods used historically, and modified for acting. Basics of Stage Combat: Single Sword instructs the reader about the foundations of safe, skillful single sword use in theater, film, and television. Actors both wishing to refresh their old skills and those new to stage combat will learn how to parry with a sword, move with a sword, and perfect the various movements required of them to perform a safe and realistic stage combat scene. Basics of Stage Combat: Single Sword will also help drama students who are taking stage combat classes or stage combat exams gain the confidence to embrace the complexities of working with a sword. Among the swords discussed are the single rapier, sabre, and the eighteenth-century small sword; this book does not discuss broadsword techniques. Chapters provide illustration and instruction about thrusts, lunges, hand positions, advancing and retreating, passing steps, binds, beats, and cutting with the sword, as well as basic fighting positions. A brief fight choreography sequence is included at the conclusion of the book.

Authored by professional fight director J. Allen Suddeth, all the aspects of brawn, brawl, and broadswords are covered.

A manual for theatre practitioners who need to deal with staged violence. Includes a dictionary of weapons, period style for the warrior, prop weapon use and maintenance, stage combat instruction, and a summary of weapons issues in 80 popular plays.