Young playwrights dont come much hotter than Phyllis Nagy (Daily Telegraph)Includesher three Royal Court -performed plays Weldon Rising "Here is the bestnew play I have seen in many months...This play is exciting because itis well written; unusually constructed and morally serious." (FinancialTimes); in Butterfly Kiss "Nagy captures the texture of a life andwrites short; vivid; often disturbingly erotic scenes...its a playthat leaves me proclaiming Nagy a writer of real talent" (Guardian);Disappeared (winner of the Mobil Prize;1995) "A piece that gets rightunder your skin...Theres no neat solution to Nagys conundrum; just afog of fear; despair; and most remarkably of all; a final mirage ofescape. Spine-tingling stuff" (Daily Telegraph) The Strip;"kaleidoscopic and hugely accomplished dissection of fate; love andchance" (Independent)"Each play I see by Phyllis Nagy confirmsme in the belief that she is the finest playwright to have emerged inthe 1990s" (Financial Times)
2013-11-11 2013-11-11File Name: B00GM4XWJY
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Must Own for Playwrights and a create companion bookBy Bexlyn WrightSir Alan Ayckbourn has written and produced over seventy plays; more than 40 which have been performed in the West End and ten on Broadway. This gives the British writer of Relatively Speaking and The Norman Conquests an edge over all of the other playwriting books; not only because he is so prolific; but because he approaches this book as a writer who spends more than half of his time directing and has vast production experience with his plays and others. Ayckbourn wrote his first play at the age of ten and has lived around theatre since he was seventeen; giving him a lifetime of hands-on knowledge that is valuable and makes for a fun and informative reading experience.With his vast knowledge of theatre; Ayckbourns approach in The Crafty Art of Playwriting isnt just for the writer; he explains everything by dividing half of the book into writing advice; the other half into everything else involving a play; from directing; casting and design to the rehearsal process and how to deal with producers. The result is that this book isnt just about playwriting but about the entire process from creating a play to previews and press night during a production. Throughout the book; which is written with a slightly humorous style; Ayckbourn gives advice though what he calls his "obvious rules" such as: "Obvious Rule No. 2: Never start a play without an idea;" "Obvious Rule # 16: Never include a character with no real function;" and; "Obvious Rule # 46: Never cast a celebrity." Ayckbourn also stresses in "Obvious Rule # 22: You can never know too much about your characters before you start;" which he follows by mentioning that he takes about a year of thinking and planning before he writes a word of dialogue (this is a bit long for me; but every writer is different).The organization and style is very clear; practical and to the point; and after a brief discussion on comedy versus drama; he gets to the point: "Obvious Rule # 3: If you dont have the initial inspiration; put down the pen; put the pencil back into the jar; switch off the computer and go dig the garden instead." Guiding a writer that does have an idea; Ayckbourn covers the essentials but does so with very handy tips and practical advice rather than spending time creating charts and lists of the elements of a play; there are in-depth discussions about plot or rising action; simply advice on what you should consider for character and why you need to do this. He appeals to common sense rather than requirements; knowing that if all that he discusses are applied; the requirements will fall into place.While this is not a great "How-to" book for beginners; those that have read the standard guides will find this a VERY handy companion book in a playwriting class or for their collection.15 of 15 people found the following review helpful. Perhaps the best book ever about playwriting and directingBy krebsmanThere are dozens of books out there on playwriting and about half that number on directing. Unfortunately for us; neither Shakespeare; Chekhov nor Ibsen wrote books on how to write a play. As a result; virtually all the authors of books about playwriting are academics who have never written a commercially produced play. One has to question the value of such peoples advice when dealing with the practical realities of the professional theatre. Sir Alan Ayckbourn has changed all that. He is the author/director of (at this writing) a whopping 69 plays; a substantial portion of which have been critical and/or commercial successes on Londons West End and New Yorks Broadway as well as being translated into numerous languages and produced throughout the world. The first part of the book is about the craft of playwriting. Ayckbourn gives his advice in a straightforward series of "obvious rules." First he states the "obvious rule" and then illustrates it with an example; usually drawn from his own work. Some of my favorites were; "Obvious Rule No. 2: Never start a play without an idea." "Obvious Rule of No. 16: Never include a character with no real function." "Obvious Rule Number 14: At least 50 percent of your play is going to be visual." "Obvious Rule No. 22: You can never know too much about your characters before you start." Ayckbourn says that he takes about a year of thinking and planning before he actually writes a word of dialogue. I found this section of the book extremely valuable. Any playwright or would-be playwright would profit from reading it.To my surprise; I found the second part of the book; which deals with direction; even more valuable than the first part. Aside from Harold Clurmans ON DIRECTING; I cannot think of another book about directing that has been written by a successful director. Clurmans book is very good about reading a script and analyzing it and giving an overall view of how rehearsals are conducted. Most books on directing provide this information. But what sets Ayckbourns book apart is that he talks mostly about dealing with actors. To the best of my knowledge; no one has written about this aspect. He tells how to handle fragile egos; how to deal with rivalries; how to state your criticism and the appropriate times to deal with certain issues. He also gives good advice on conducting auditions and what personality traits to look for when casting. Advice like this has long been needed.The book provides valuable information; but what makes it truly brilliant is the charming way it is written. I found it delightful from start to finish; not to mention inspirational. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to any theatre professional; not just writers and directors; but actors; designers and technicians as well. Five stars plus.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very good and practical book on playwritingBy R. MAYThis is one of the best books on playwriting I have read. Much better than the set texts for the Oxford online course I took. Much more practical; and less of the inane and often arguable theoretical advice in others. Ayckbourn has a pleasant writing style and actually does something to encourage creativity.