106-232/332 Modern Drama

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Timetable:

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Subject Description:

This subject studies texts and developments in Western drama of this century, so that students will be closely familiar with the main authors, historic moments and geopolitical sites that are now seen to constitute the mainstream of the modern drama tradition. They will be able to understand the developing theory of the modern stage and basic problems involved in thinking of drama as both text and stage performance. They will further understand the political dimension of drama in the modern period.

Assessment:

Prescribed Texts:

• S Beckett, Waiting for Godot, Faber.
• S Beckett, Endgame, Faber.
• E Bond, Lear, Methuen.
• B Brecht, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Methuen.
• B Brecht, Galileo, Methuen.
• A Chekhov, Five Plays, OUP.
• C Churchill, Plays: Two, Methuen.
• J Genet, The Balcony, Faber.
• J Genet, The Maids, Faber.
• E Ionesco, Rhinoceros, The Chairs, The Lesson, Penguin.
• H Ibsen, Four Major Plays, OUP.
• A Miller, Death of a Salesman, Penguin.
• H Pinter, The Caretaker, Methuen.
• L Pirandello, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Heinemann.
• G B Shaw, Heartbreak House, Penguin.
• G B Shaw, Major Barbara, Penguin.
• A Strindberg, Plays: One, Methuen.
• T Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire, Penguin.