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December 2012
Theatre Booklist
THEATRE BIOGRAPHY
Biographies & Autobiographies of Theatrical and Literary People
Most of the books listed are not published by Samuel French Ltd. All books are paperback unless stated otherwise.
For more information on prices, postage and availability please contact French’s Theatre Bookshop.
French’s Theatre Bookshop, 52 Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1T 5JR.
020 7255 4300 (Bookshop) Fax: 020 7387 2161 Tel: 020 7387 9373
www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk email: [email protected]
For an update to this list go to https://www.samuelfrench-london.co.uk/theatre-books/theatre-books-lists
ADAMS, JONATHON
COLLAGE OF A LIFE Memoirs of an Artist, Actor and Humorist
Jonathan Adams Foreword by Timothy West
“Jonathan Adams was the best kind of English actor, laconic, ironic,
witty and stylish. More than that, though he lived in the thespian world
notoriously filled with rancour, jealousies and dislike, he himself was
a gentle and an infinitely kind man of great good humour. To read his
story is an unalloyed pleasure.” John Nettles Actor ISBN 978 1 85794
302 3
ALBEE, EDWARD
EDWARD ALBEE — A Singular Journey — A Biography. Mel
Gussow
“ Mel Gussow has caught the exhilarating feel of that time in the fifties
and Sixties when the traditional theatre world was flying apart and
there at the centre stood Edward Albee. Gussow’s haunting portrait of
an artist thriving and surviving in the American theatre over the last
forty years is splendid, riveting and happily unfinished” John Guare,
playwright
ANDERSON, LINDSEY
THE DIARIES — Lindsay Anderson. Edited by Paul Sutton. With a
preface by Malcolm McDowell
The extraordinary and revealing diaries of the revolutionary British
film and theatre director who became one of the major cultural figures
of his time. ISBN 0-413-77398-2
MAINLY ABOUT LINDSAY ANDERSON — A Memoir. Gavin
Lambert. HB
The author has had a unique access to Anderson’s correspondence files
and to the diaries that he kept across fifty years (1942-92). They offer
us privileged insights into the emotional life of this formidably gifted
man. In tandem with these reminiscences are Lambert’s reflections on
his own life, and the affinities and disparities he discerned between
himself and his remarkable friend.
ANDREWS, JULIE
JULIE ANDREWS An Intimate Biography Richard Stirling
This is the first completely new biography of Julie Andrews as artist,
wife and mother in over thirty-five years combining the author’s
interviews with the star and his wide ranging riveting research. It is a
frank but affectionate portrait of an enduring icon of stage and screen,
who was made a Dame in the Millenium Honours List. ISBN 978 0
7499 5162 7
JULIE ANDREWS HOME: A Memoir of My Early Years
In Home: a Memoir of My Early Years, Julie takes her readers on a
warm, moving and often humorous journey from a difficult upbringing
in war-time Britain to the brink of international stardom in America.
Her memoir begins in 1935, when Julie was born to an aspiring
vaudevillian moother and a teacher father, and takes readers to 1962,
when Walt Disney himself saw her on Broadway and cast her as the
world’s most famous nanny. Featuring over fifty personal photos,
many never before seen, this is the personal memoir Julie Andrews’
audiences have been waiting for.
ISBN 978 0 7538 2568 6
ATTENBOROUGH, RICHARD
ENTIRELY UP TO YOU DARLING Richard Attenborough and Diana
Hawkins
Richard Attenborough and Diane Hawkins have been best friends
and colleagues for nearly fifty years. They have now teamed up to
write this frank and funny account of their unlikely partnership and
his extraordinary life. Attenborough is the octogenarian celebrity
peer, happily married since 1945 describing a lifetime of ceaseless
activity as film star, director, producer, company chairman and
indefatigable campaigner. Hawkins, seventy, a twice-divorced single
parent and author who lived for a time on benefits, went on to become
Attenborough’s publicist, business partner and ultimately, his coproducer. Together, laughing and squabbling they have travelled the
world, meeting people and making films. ISBN 978 0 099 50304 0
AYCKBOURN, ALAN
ALAN AYCKBOURN — Grinning at the Edge. Paul Allen
ISBN 0 413 77136 9
This is the first full and authorised biography of Britain’s most popular
playwright. “Makes me want to start reading the entire Ayckbourn
canon over again …Splendid.” Hugh Leonard. Sunday Independent
A GUIDED TOUR THROUGH AYCKBOURN COUNTRY.
Albert-Reiner Glaap and Nicholas Quaintmere
This book seeks to provide a broader picture of Ayckbourn the writer,
Ayckbourn the director and, perhaps most importantly Ayckbourn the
man. It has been put together from many sources: interviews that the
author has conducted over the years with Alan Ayckbourn, statements
made by Ayckbourn himself on his plays and more general matters,
and articles written by the Author
BAINBRIDGE, BERYL
FRONT ROW. Evenings at the Theatre. Beryl Bainbridge.
Front Row is a collection of Beryl Bainbridge’s best writing about
the theatre. It contains fascinating insights into the work of such
contemporaries as Alan Bennett, Alan Rickman and Ronald Harwood,
alongside amusing sketches of the actors Bainbridge worked with in
her early years, including Judith Chalmers and Billie Whitelaw. And
in her autobiographical introduction, Beryl Bainbridge evokes all the
magic that the footlights possess for her. ISBN 0 8264 8278 3
BAKER, GEORGE
THE WAY TO WEXFORD The Autobiography — George Baker.
This book is a warm and witty memoir by one of Britain’s best-loved
personalities. ISBN 0 7472 5381 1. HB
BARKER, RONNIE
interviews with those who knew him best, this remarkable biography
covers Bart’s glory years, his decline and the modest rehabilitation of
a great songwriter and a quite extraordinary human being. ISBN 978 1
8493 86616
BATES, ALAN
THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF RONNIE BARKER. Bob
McCabe. Foreword by David Jason.
Written with the collaboration of Ronnie himself, this biography
contains original contributions from the people who know him best,
including John Cleese, David Jason, Sir Peter Hall and Eric Idle.
“The quiet king of comedy.” Roger Lewis, the Mail on Sunday. ISBN
0-563-52246-1
OTHERWISE ENGAGED. The Life of Alan Bates. Donald Spoto.
In 1956, at the age of 22, Alan Bates was cast in John Osborne’s
controversial play, Look Back in Anger. The play changed thecourseof
British theatre — and of Alan’s life. Drawing on dozens of interviews
with Alan Bates’s family, his lovers, colleagues and friends, and
mining a rich store of primary research, this exclusively authorised
biography paints a portrait of a complex and remarkable personality.
ISBN 978 0 09 949096 8
BARRIE, J.M.
BAYLIS, LILIAN
HIDE-AND-SEEK WITH ANGELS. A LIFE OF J. M. BARRIE. Lisa
Chaney
This wide-ranging and fascinating biography of the deeply complex
and frequently
misunderstood writer who created Peter Pan reveals him as an artist
whose radicalismstill challenges us. ISBN 0 09 945323 1
LILIAN BAYLIS. A Biography Elizabeth Schafer.
Not only manager of the Old Vic and Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis
was also a founding mother of the British National Theatre, the Royal
Ballet and the English National Opera. She gave career-changing
breaks to actors such as John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, created
new roles for Alicia Markova and furthered the careers of stars in the
making such as Alec Guinness, Margot Fonteyn and Joan Cross.The
book draws extensively on Baylis’s autobiographical writing, detailing
her early career as a musician and dancer and her love of pioneering,
independent and high-powered career women. ISBN 978 1 902 80664 8
J M BARRIE AND THE LOST BOYS — The Real Story Behind
Peter Pan. Andrew Birkin
J.M. Barrie, novelist, playwright, and author of Peter Pan, led a life
almost as magical and interesting as his famous creation. Childless
in his marriage, Barrie grew close to the five young boys of the
Llewelyn Davies family, ultimately becoming their guardian and
devoted surrogate father when they were orphaned. Andrew Birkin
draws extensively on a vast range of material by and about Barrie,
including notebooks, memoirs, and hours of recorded interviews with
the Llewelyn Davies family and their circle, to describe Barrie’s life
and the wonderful world he created for the boys. ISBN 0 300 09822 7
CAPTIVATED J M Barrie, the Du Mauriers & the Dark Side of
Neverland Piers Dudgeon
Captivated is a true story of genius and possession at a crossroads
in time, when the late nineteenth century world of the occult and the
psychic arts gave way to the new science of Psychology.
Two suicides, a hundred-year-old family secret and a resentful
interloper with a desire to control the fate of others, set the scene. The
central characters are J M Barrie, a man tormented by inner demons
since childhood; George Du Maurier, the creator of Svengali, who
showed how it is possible by means of hypnosis for one person to gain
control over the mind of another and Daphne Du Maurier, George’s
enigmatic granddaughter, author of Rebecca and secret chronicler of
her family’s story. ISBN 978 0 099 52045 0
BAXTER, KEITH
MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY. Keith Baxter.
In this book the author shares his sometimes hilarious, his sometimes
fraught experiences as a colleague and friend of some of the greatest
actors, directors and writers of our time. It includes Richard Burton,
Noel Coward, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Taylor, Tennessee Williams
and many more.
BEAUMARCHAIS
BEAUMARCHAIS IN SEVILLE. An Intermezzo Hugh Thomas
In 1764 -1765 the irrepressible playwright Beaumarchais travelled
to Madrid, where he immersed himself in the life and society of the
day. Inspired by the places he had seen and the people he had met,
Beaumarchais returned home to create The Barber of Seville and
The Marriage of Figaro, plays that became the basis for the operas
by Rossini and Mozart that continue to delight audiences today. This
book is a lively and original account of Beaumarchais’s visit to Madrid
(he never went to Seville) and a re-creation of a society that fired his
imagination. HB ISBN 978 0300 12103 2
BARROWMAN, JOHN
BECKETT, SAMUEL
ANYTHING GOES THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY John Barrowman with
Carole E Barrowman
Revelatory, engaging and told with real heart, Anything Goes provides
a no-holds barred insight into the extraordinary experiences of one
of the best-loved figures in show business. So, ladies and gentlemen,
please take your seats — the performance is about to begin… ISBN
978 1 84317 333 5
BECKETT REMEMBERING REMEMBERING BECKETT.
Uncollected Interviews with Samuel Beckett & Memories of Those
Who Knew Him. Edited by James and Elizabeth Knowlson.
Samuel Beckett was one of the towering figures of twentieth-century
literature; he was also famously reclusive. Here, in these intimate
interviews conducted by his biographer, James Knowlson and
published to coincide with the centenery of his birth,Beckett and his
family, friends and contemporaries reveal more of the writer’s human
side than has ever been shown before. ISBN 978 0 7475 8563 3
I AM WHAT I AM John Barrowman with Carole E Barrowman
I Am What I Am provides a fascinating insight into the everyday life
and times of this very down-to-earth star — all told with his trademark
wit and honesty. ISBN 978 1 84317 493 6
BART, LIONEL
DAMNED TO FAME — The Life Samuel Beckett. James Knowlson.
In this remarkable, scrupulously researched and engagingly written
account, Beckett comes over as complex and intellectual, but also as
witty and extra-ordinarily resilient.
FINGS AIN’T WOT THEY USED T’BE. The Lionel Bart Story.
David & Caroline Stafford
Based on exclusive access to Lionel Bart’s private archives and
THE FABER COMPANION TO SAMUEL BECKETT. Edited by C J
Ackerly and S E Gontarski.
The Faber Companion is the most comprehensive reference to the
ideas, characters and life of Samuel Beckett. Alphabetically ordered
and cross referenced, it provides a wealth of information for all serious
readers of Beckett. ISBN 0 571 22738 4
honours and his Westminster Abbey eulogy for Thora Hird. At times
heartrending and at others extremely funny, Untold Stories is a
matchless and unforgettable Anthology. ISBN 0 571 22831 3
THE ESSENTIAL SAMUEL BECKETT — An Illustrated Biography.
Enoch Brater
Professor Brater follows Beckett’s career from the early days in
Ireland, to the efflorescence in France just after the Second Word War,
and beyond that to the unfolding of his success in the rest of the world
as a result of universal appeal of his cryptic, moving play Waiting
for Godot. In his analysis of the way Beckett approached his work,
Brater emphasizes the Irish rhythms in his writing, and examines,
at all stages, the intriguing relationship between his fiction and his
compositions for theatre, film and television. Supported by large
selection of photographs, personal and public, here is a brilliant and
informed study of Beckett’s life and works. ISBN 0 500 28411 3
WRITING HOME. Alan Bennett
Bringing together his diaries for 1980-1995 and the journal he kept
during the production of Forty Years On, which starred John Guielgud,
the book also includes accounts of his many television plays and, at its
heart, The Lady in the Van, the true account of Miss Mary Shepherd, a
homeless tramp who took up residence in Bennett’s garden and stayed
for fifteen years. From his now-legendary address at Russell Harty’s
memorial service to recollections of growing up in Leeds, Writing
Home gives us an unforgettable portrait of one of England’s leading
playwrights. ISBN 0 571 23241 8
THE LETTERS OF SAMUEL BECKETT 1941 - 1956. Edited by
George Craig, Martha Dow Fehsenfeld, Dan Gunn and Lois More
Overbeck
This second volume of The Letters of Samuel Beckett opens with
the War years, when it was often impossible or too dangerous to
correspond. The surge of letters beginning in 1945, and their variety,
are matched by the outpouring and the range of Beckett’s published
work. Primarily written in French and later translated by the author,
the work includes stories, a series of novels (Molloy, Malone meurt,
and L’Innommable), essays, and plays — most notably En attendant
Godot. ISBN 978 0 5218 6794 8
DIARY OF A JUVENILE DELINQUENT A Memoir Steven Berkoff
Steven Berkoff’s remarkable memoir of misspent youth is evocative
and compelling from the very first page. HB ISBN 978 1 907532 08 5
A SAMUEL BECKETT CHRONOLOGY. John Pilling. Author
Chronologies. General Editor: Norman Page.
This is the fullest chronological account of the life and work of Samuel
Beckett (1906-89) that has ever been completed, containing many new
discoveries that will influence all future scholarship and research in
this area. Benefiting from access to important unpublished material
(including thousands of private letters), this is a key reference tool for
all students and scholars of Beckett. HB ISBN 1 4039 4651 5
SAMUEL BECKETT’S GERMAN DIARIES 1936 - 1937. Mark Nixon
“The six months that Samuel Beckett spent in Germany in 1936 -7 were
a critical period in his intellectual, creative and emotional development.
The diaries that he kept during this trip not only offer unique and
invaluable insight into his views on the many works of art that he
saw as he travelled through the country, but, as Mark Nixon reveals
in this outstanding work of literary scholarship, also gesture towards
a new kind of writing that would find its full realization only after the
Second World War. The importance of Nixon’s study lies, however,
not only in its detailed analysis of the diaries themselves, but also in its
reflections on Beckett’s sustained engagement with German literature,
culture and politics more generally. For anyone interested in one of the
twentieth century’s most importan writers, Nixon’s book is essential
reading.” — Shane Weller, Professor of Comparative Literature and
Co-Director of the Centre for Modern European Literature, University
of Kent, UK. HB ISBN 978 1 4411 5258 9
BENNETT, ALAN
TELLING TALES. Alan Bennett
Ten childhood snapshots from the master of the monologue.
Alan Bennett recalls his childhood in a sequence of tales that are funny,
touching and told in his unique style. ISBN 0 563 53436 2
UNTOLD STORIES. Alan Bennett
Untold Stories is Alan Bennett’s first collection of prose since Writing
Home and takes in all his major writings over the last ten years. The
title piece is a poignant family memoir with an account of the marriage
of his parents, the lives and deaths of his aunts and the uncovering
of a long held family secret. Also included are his much celebrated
diaries for the years 1996 to 2004, as well as essays, reviews, lectures
and reminiscences ranging from childhood trips to the local cinema
and a tour around Leeds City Art Gallery to reflections on writing,
BERKOFF, STEVEN
FREE ASSOCIATION — An Autobiography. Steven Berkoff
Free Association is essential reading for all those fascinated by the
explosive dynamism that is Steven Berkoff, and an inspiration to those
entering the theatrical profession.
TALES FROM AN ACTOR’S LIFE. Steven Berkoff
Long considered the enfant terrible of the British theatre — as actor,
director and writer — and famous for such startling productions as
Kafka’s Metamorphosis and The Trial, Steven Berkoff is original in
everything he does. Now, in this captivating book, he shares scenes
from his own colourful theatrical life. HB ISBN 978 1 8495 4173 2
TOUGH ACTS — Steven Berkoff
Memories of working with Stella Adler, Christopher Plummer, Leonard
Rossiter, Stanley Kubrick, Brad Davis, Eddie Murphy, Sylvester
Stallone, Roman Polanski, Christopher Walken, Mikhail Baryshnikov,
Joan Collins, Al Pacino.
Steven vividly captures the unique kind of closeness that develops
during the rehearsal period and run of the play or duration of the film
shoot and the volatile and unpredictable experiences that this sudden
intimacy can create. Full of compelling insights into the creative drives
and varying styles of some of the most significant players of twentiethcentury culture, cinema and the theatre. ISBN 1 86105 669 9
BERNHARDT, SARAH
SARAH BERNHARDT’S FIRST AMERICAN THEATRICAL
TOUR — Patricia Marks
Sarah Bernhardt’s first American theatrical tour (October 1880—
May 1881) is chronicled here. The book provides an overview of
contemporary reviews, caricatures and satires, considers Bernhardt’s
reception, and discusses the creation of Bernhardt’s iconography and
its underlying assumptions. ISBN 0 7864 1495 2
SARAH The Life of Sarah Bernhardt Jewish Lives Robert Gottlieb
“With panache worthy of his subject, Gottlieb lays out the players as if
Bernhardt’s life were a stage drama. His charismatic prose captures the
spell of consummate mythmaker.” Carol Ockman, co-author of Sarah
Bernhartd: The Art of High Drama
HB ISBN 978 0 300 14127 6
BERSTEIN, PESACH’KE
WHAT A LIFE! The Autobiography of Pesach’ke Burstein, Yiddish
Matinee Idol. Pesach’ke Burstein with Lillian Lux Burstein
While Burstein is a legend in Yiddish theatre, he was little known
outside that world until he was celebrated in Arnon Goldfinger’s
acclaimed documentary Der Komediant. This book provides the first
window for English readers into the other side of Yiddish culture —
the Yiddish vaudeville, the travelling Yiddish theatre, and the music
hall. It will not only delight readers but also reveal to them a social and
cultural history never before described in such detail. Burstein’s life
is the story of popular Yiddish theatre in the first half of the twentieth
century. ISBN 0 8156 0784 9 HB
BIGGINS, CHRISTOPHER
JUST BIGGINS My Story Christopher Biggins
In this candid autobiography, Biggins tells the full story of his
colourful, packed life. He tells of how, after winning his first role at
a local theatre he headed to Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where
hi contemporaries included Jeremy Irons, with whom he went on
honeymoon! Having moved to London, Biggins became immersed in
theatre life from which he draws countless dazzling stories such as
stripping off with Judi Dench and the time the audience thought he
was dead when in fact he’d fallen asleep on stage! Like its author,
this book is candid and hilarious. It is a rip roaring read, bursting with
showbiz anecdotes, celebrity gossip and tales of a life lived to the full.
HB ISBN 978 1 84454 654 1
BLETHYN, BRENDA
MIXED FANCIES. A Memoir. Brenda Blethyn.
Mixed Fancies is Brenda’s life story. Born in Ramsgate during the
1940s, Brenda Bottle was the youngest of nine children. Her childhood
by the sea was set against the backdrop of post-war deprivation. After
working as a secretary for British Rail, Brenda saved up and, without
telling her parents, enrolled at Guildford Drama School. Told with
sparkling wit and engaging honesty, Mixed Fancies is the moving and
often hilarious story of her journey from the Plains of Waterloo to the
National Theatre and on to television, Hollywood and stardom. HB
ISBN 0 7432 4859 7
BLAIR, ISLA
A TIGER’S WEDDING — My childhood in exile.
Actress Isla Blair tells her extraordinary, moving and uplifting story
of her childhood in India, where she was born in Bangalore, and her
separation from her parents when she was sent off to boarding school
at the age of five. ISBN 978 0 955 32532 8
BOUCICAULT, DION
DION BOUCICAULT. Richard Faulks
Dion Boucicault was the greatest dramatist of his age. Richard Fawkes
has written a fascinating biography of this remarkable man who, as Sir
Nicholas Hynter points out in his Foreword, was ‘perhaps the most
complete man of the theatre London has ever produced.’ ISBN 978 0
7043 7234 4
BOGARDE, DIRK
DIRK BOGARDE — The Authorised Biography. John Coldstream
John Coldstream, who knew Bogarde well, has interviewed scores of
relatives, friends and professional colleagues. The result is a searching
study of a complex, fugitive, fascinating figure who said that when he
died, “just forget me”. ISBN 0 297 60730 8 (HB)
DIRK BOGARDE THE AUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY. John
Coldstream
ISBN 0-75381-985-6
BOOTH, TONY
WHAT’S LEFT? Tony Booth
This is an enthralling account of a life that is always full of surprises.
ISBN 0 297 82946 7 HB
BOWLES, PETER
ASK ME IF I’M HAPPY An Actor’s Life Peter Bowles
From New York’s Broadway in 1956 London’s Theatre Royal
Haymarket in 2006, Peter Bowls has had a stellar theatrical career.
His career also covers the history of British television especially
playing villains. But it was a comedy in the early ‘80s, with viewing
figures of over 20 million, that made Peter Bowles a household name.
That series was To the Manor Born. ISBN 978 1 84739 903 8
BRAGG, BERNARD
LESSONS IN LAUGHTER — The Autobiography of Deaf Actor.
Bernard Bragg as signed to Eugene Bergman. HB
Bernard Bragg, an accomplished actor, director, playwright, and
lecturer, tells the story of his life in the way he does best — through
a series of stories that are sometimes humorous, sometimes painful,
sometimes touching, and sometimes outrageous. ISBN 0 930323 46 7
BRANAGH, KENNETH
KENNETH BRANAGH. Mark White.
Based on extensive research in previously untapped archival materials
and on numerous interviews, Mark White’s new biography traces the
vicissitudes of Branagh’s career, examining his meteoric rise and the
backlash that accompanied it. ISBN 0-571-22069-X
BRANDO, MARLON
BRANDO UNZIPPED.Bad Boy, Megastar, Sexual Outlaw. Darwin
Porter
Marlon Brando understood sexual liberation long before the rest of
us. Here, as interpreted by Darwin Porter, is a portrait of Hollywood’s
most seductive bad boy as you never could have dreamed. HB ISBN
0 9748118 2 3
BREWSTER, YVONNE
THE UNDERTAKER’S DAUGHTER —The Colourful Life of a
Theatre Director. Yvonne Brewster
Theatre is never for the faint-hearted, but for the teenaged Jamaican
girl in the 1960s it presented truly formidable barriers of race, culture
and tradition. The Undertaker’s Daughter is the story of how Yvonne
Brewster broke through those barriers and achieved her present
eminence. ISBN 1 901969 24 X
BROOK, PETER
THE OPEN CIRCLE — Peter Brook’s Theatre Environments. Andrew
Todd and Jean-Guy Lecat
In the The Open Circle, Brook gives a full account of his own ideas and
inspirations and the story of the International Centre’s journey is told,
one of the most thrilling adventures in theatre space since Shakespeare
and Molière. ISBN 0 571 21490 8 (HB)
THE SHIFTING POINT — Forty Years of Theatrical Exploration:
1946-1987. Peter Brook.
Peter Brook gives a unique view of some of the great theatrical events
of the past forty years as he explores his entire career from his early
West End and Stratford successes in the 1940s to his epic version of
The Mahabharata. Illustrated.
BROWNE, CORAL
CORAL BROWNE ‘This Effing Lady” A Biography by Rose Collis
Generous and loyal to her many friends, she even befriended the exiled
spy Guy Burgess while on tour in Russia. This episode inspired Alan
Bennett’s drama An Englishman Abroad, in which Coral played herself
and won the Best Actress BAFTA. She married Vincent Price in 1974
and they became one of Hollywood’s most popular and celebrated
couples. Rose Collis’s definitive biography draws on interviews with
friends and family, and a wealth of previously unpublished material,
including correspondence with Alec Guinness and love letters between
Coral and Vincent, to produce a fascinating portrait of a remarkable
and truly original star. HB ISBN 978 1 84002 764 9
Wells and Charles Laughton as well as a book on acting which has
been the mainstay of every generation of up-and-coming actors since
1984. Now he has written an equally unpredictable autobiography —
an alternative autobiography. ISBN 978 1 8484 2171 4
BURTON, RICHARD
CAMPBELL, KEN
RICHARD BURTON Prince of Players Michael Munn
Here is the full story of Richard Burton’s life and remarkable career,
revealed by a writer who knew him from 1968 up to the time of his
last film in 1984. Munn recounts Burton’s deepest and often darkest
thoughts and secrets, revealing hell-raising stories that Hollywood
quashed to save Burton’s early film career including affairs with Lana
Turner and Marilyn Monroe, being caught in a brothel with Errol Flynn
and a fist fight with Frank Sinatra. He also movingly recalls nursing
Burton through an epileptic seizure of a kind that gripped him from his
early days, and witnessing a terrifying encounter Burton had with an
East End gangster that ended in violence. In writing this intimate and
moving biography, Michael Munn draws on his friendship with Burton
over the years and on formal interviews and informal conversations
with a great many of the stars who knew and worked with Burton.
ISBN 978 1 906217 86 0
KEN CAMPBELL THE GREAT CAPER The Authorised Biography
Michael Coveney Foreword by Richard Eyre
Theatre critic Michael Coveney was given unrestricted access to
Campbell’s letters, notebooks and original scripts. From these and from
interviews with Campbell’s many devoted/bemused collaborators, he
has chronicled the life of the anarchic and uncompromising genius that
was Ken Campbell. ISBN 978 1 84842 076 2
THE RICHARD BURTON DIARIES. Edited by Chris Williams
From Richard Burton’s personal diaries emerges a different person
from the one we know - a family man, a father, a husband, a man often
troubled and always keenly observing. Understood through his own
words, day to day and year by year, Burton becomes a fully rounded
human being who, with a wealth of talent and a surprising burden of
insecurity, confronts the peculiar challenges of a life lived largely in
the spotlight. ISBN 978 0300 1 8010 7
BYNG, DOUGLAS
BAWDY BUT BRITISH! The Life of Douglas Byng
One of the greatest names in British light entertainment, Douglas Byng
was a comedian, actor, revue artiste, prolific songwriter and legendary
pantomime Dame. His humour, sophisticated, witty and often risqué,
won him a legion of fans and he was once rewarded the sobriquet
‘the highest priest of camp’. In the 1920s and 30s he was London’s
highest paid cabaret artiste entertaining Royalty and ‘the smart set’
nightly at The Café de Paris and The Monseigneur. In this revealing
memoir Patrick Newley, friend and manager to Byng for nearly 20
years, examines the life and career of one of the 20th century’s most
talented, yet eccentric, theatrical figures.
ISBN 978 1 898576 40 2
CAMUS, ALBERT
ALBERT CAMUS — A Life. Olivier Todd.
The author understands his subject and his times so well, he brings to
the life (of Camus) a rare immediacy and perception, evoking a great
writer and his world with force and subtlety.
CAPEK, KAREL
LETTERS FROM ENGLAND— By Karel Capek. With illustrations
by the author. Translated by Geoffrey Newsome. With a foreword by
Roger Scruton.
Humorous, insightful and imbued with a profound humanity, Capek’s
letters convey a bemused admiration for a country which in the 1920s
still lived according to the memory of its greatness. With a light touch
and artistic flourish, Capek described the virtues and vices of Europe’s
newest. Letters from England was banned by the Nazis and later by
the Communists. Geoffrey Newsome’s new translation gives us a rare
opportunity to enjoy the unusual foundations of a national culture.
ISBN 0 8264 8485 9
CHAPMAN, GEORGE
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF GEORGE CHAPMAN 1559 — 1634.
Hitchen’s Elizabethan “Poet, Playwright and Translator.” John
Gardiner
This monograph traces the life and times of Elizabethan poet,
playwright and translator, George Chapman. Based on facts, conjecture
and logical assumption it gives a fascinatingly detailed account of his
birth, family, schooldays, theatrical career in London, imprisonment
and eventual death in abject poverty. ISBN 0-9542192-0-1
CALDWELL, ZOE
CHAPLIN, CHARLIE
I WILL BE CLEOPATRA — ZOE CALDWELL.
An Actress’s Journey.
An affecting and inspiring memoir from one of our greatest performers,
I Will Be Cleopatra reveals the essence of the actor’s art. ISBN 0 393
32360 9
CHAPLIN’S MUSIC HALL. The Chaplins and their Circle in the
Limelight. Barry Anthony
This book tells the stories of Chaplin’s family and their music hall
circle from “dashing” Eva Lester to the great Fred Karno and from
Chaplin’s parents Hannah Hill and Charles Chaplin to “the great
Calvero” himself. Barry Anthony reveals the difficult and often
tragic lives of London’s variety community in the late-Victorian and
Edwardian years and in doing so sheds important new light on the
inspiration behind Chaplin’s genius, providing a fascinatingly fresh
perspective on this popular cultural icon of the twentieth century.
ISBN 978 1 7807 6314 9
CALLOW, SIMON
LOVE IS WHERE IT FALLS. An Account of a Passionate Friendship.
Simon Callow.
“This extraordinary memoir brilliantly evokes one of the most
formidable and influential figures on recent British cultural history,
Peggy Ramsay, muse, patron and scourge of the post Look Back In
Anger generation… Those of us who loved her will be astonished by
the vivid accuracy of Simon Callow’s portrait; but even those ignorant
of her existence will surely be touched, fascinated and challenged”
Christopher Hampton, Sunday Times. ISBN 9 781854 599766
MY LIFE IN PIECES An Alternative Autobiography Simon Callow
Simon Callow can never be said to be predictable. He has acted
hundreds of roles on stage and screen, he has directed plays, films
and musicals and he has written the definitive biographies of Orson
CHEKHOV, ANTON
ABOUT CHEKHOV The Unfinished Symphony Ivan Bunin Edited
and Translated from the Russian by Thomas Gaiton Marullo
Although unfinished, Bunin’s biography of Chekhov is the honest and
insightful portrait for which his sister Maria had hoped. Bunin draws
on his intimate knowledge of Chekhov to depict the author at work,
in love and in relation to such writers as Tolstoy and Gorky. Through
anecdotes and observations, spirited exchanges and reflections, this
book offers a unique perspective on two of Russia’s greatest writers.
ISBN 978 0 8101 2388 5
ANTON CHEKHOV A Brother’s Memoir
Mikhail Chekhov Translated by Eugene Alper
Written by his younger brother, an illuminating biography of the man
Raymond Carver called “the best short story writer who ever lived.”
HB ISBN 978 0 230 61883 1
ANTON CHEKHOV A Life. Donald Rayfield
A comprehensive biography of the founding father of the modern
theatre, depicting a more complex man than the saint-like figure he is
conventionally portrayed as.
ISBN 978 0 5712 5373 9
ANTON CHEKHOV’S LIFE AND THOUGHT: Selected Letters and
Commentary. Edited and annotated by Simon Karlinsky. Translated by
Michael Henry Hein
First published in 1973, this collection of Chekhov’s correspondence
is widely regarded as the best introduction to this great Russian writer.
Michael Henry Heim’s excellent translation and Simon Karlinsky’s
masterly headnotes make this volume an essential text for anyone
interested in Chekhov.
DEAR WRITER, DEAR ACTRESS: LOVE LETTERS OF ANTON
CHEKHOV AND OLGA KNIPPER. Edited by Jean Benedetti
BRIEF LIVES: ANTON CHEKHOV Patrick Miles
Anton Chekhov is one of Russia’s most highly regarded dramatists and
short-story writers. Most famous for his plays The Cherry Orchard,
Uncle Vanya, The Seagull and Three Sisters, he also penned a
remarkable number of short pieces, and his work has enjoyed enormous
success both in Russia and throughout Europe. Acclaimed by such
writers as Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf and Samuel Beckett,
Chekhov had a profound influence on many twentieth-century authors.
Written by an author with forty years’ association with the work of
Anton Chekhov, this is a major new biography of one of Russia’s most
respected writers. ISBN 978 1 84391 900 1
CHEKHOV, MICHAEL
THE OTHER CHEKHOV — A Biography of Michael Chekhov, the
Legendary Actor, Director, and Theorist. Charles Marowitz
Charles Marowitz was granted special access to the Chekhov archives
in Devon, England, and he interviewed actors — such as Gregory
Peck and Athony Quinn — and directors who worked closely with
Chekhov both in Europe and America. ISBN 1 55783 640 X
CHRISTIE, AGATHA
AGATHA CHRISTIE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY Includes Bonus CD
of Agatha Christie’s Voice Recordings
This new edition of Agatha Christie’s engrossing autobiography,
reproduced from the original first edition complete with photos and
colour plates, includes a free CD of highlights from newly discovered
tapes of Agatha Christie dictating the book for her typist, an incredibly
rare example of her voice dating back almost half a century. ISBN 978
0 00 731466 9
AGATHA CHRISTIE An English Mystery. Laura Thompson
With the blessing of her family, full access to unpublished letters,
papers and notebooks, and a craftsmanship of her subject’s work,
award-winning biographer Laura Thompson has embarked on the first
full-scale investigation into the author since 1984. Turning detective,
she explores Christie’s Edwardian upbringing her relationships with
her two husband, and daughter and, perhaps intriguing of all, the
motive behind her disappearance in 1926. ISBN 978 0 7553 1488 1
AGATHA CHRISTIE. The Grand Tour. Letters and Photographs from
the British Empire Expedition. Edited by Matthew Pritchard
With an ambitious itinerary that would take her across South Africa,
Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Canada before finishing in New
York, The Grand Tour is a unique record of Agatha Christie’s round-theworld journey of 1922, told through her own extensive and lively letters
home to her mother. Anyone interested in Agatha Christie will relish the
wit, wisdom, and true spirit of adventure of the Queen of Crime long
before her coronation. ISBN 978 0 0074 4768 8
AGATHA CHRISTIE’S SECRET NOTEBOOK Fifty Years of
Mysteries in the Making Includes Two Unpublished Poirot Stories
John Curran
Unearthed among Agatha Christie’s affairs at the family home of
Greenway were her private notebooks, 73 volumes in Agatha’s
almost unreadable handwriting. When archivist John Curran began
deciphering the notebooks the extent of this treasure trove became
apparent. ISBN 978 0 00 731057 9
DUCHESS OF DEATH THE UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF
AGATHA CHRISTIE Richard Hack
Drawing on over 5000 previously unpublished correspondences and
notes, this is the most authoritative, penetrating look at the personal
and literary life of Agatha Christie yet — a fascinating and compelling
portrayal of this unique and much-loved writer.
ISBN 978 1 906779 83 2
CIBBER CHARKE, CHARLOTTE
CHARLOTTE The True Story of Scandal and Spectacle in Georgian
London Kathryn Shevelow
Born into the famous, sometimes scandalous theatrical clan of Colley
Cibber, Charlotte was an actress destined for greatness. But she
rebelled, and started dressing as a man. When her father disowned her,
her life became an adventure extending from the pinnacles of London
society to its dangerous depths. ISBN 978 0 74757 958 8
COLLINS, JOAN
JOAN COLLINS. The Biography of an Icon. Graham Lord
Joan Collins is the last of the great glamourpuss stars of Hollywood, a
gorgeous woman whose beauty, wit, allure and lively naughtiness have
enchanted men all over the world and whose independence, strength
of character and indomitable optimism have won the admiration of
millions of women. Although she is still best known for her part in
Dynasty, she has appeared in more than seventy films, several TV
series, numerous TV and on stage plays and has written thirteen books.
ISBN 978 0 7528 9350 3
COURTENAY, TOM
DEAR TOM — Letters From Home. Tom Courtenay.
“It’s just something that makes a moment stay and you don’t forget
that time that’s all.” Annie Eliza Courtenay, on her letter-writing.
ISBN 0 552 999261
COWARD, NOËL
THE COMPLETE VERSE OF NOËL COWARD. Edited by Barry Day.
This book brings together the verse which The Master published during
his lifetime and a wealth of previously unreleased material discovered
in his correpsondence with family and friends. Beginning with his
youthful verse experiments, The Complete Verse arranges Coward’s
prolific public and personal verse writings in themed chapters which
tackle a wide variety of subjects including war, the theatre, love,
friends, travel, and God and the Infinite. HB ISBN 978 1 4081 3174 9
NOËL COWARD An Audio Biography Written and Narrated by
Sheridan Morley
Playwright, actor, singer, songwriter, poet and scriptwriter, Sir Noël
Coward used his “talent to amuse” to spectacular effect for almost sixty
years. Sir Laurence Olivier, Lord Mountbatten, John Gielgud, John
Mills, Sybil Thorndike and Joyce Carey are just some of the voices heard
paying tribute to the elegant star in this audio biography, written and
narrated by Noël Coward’s literary executor, Sheridan Morley. 2XCD
Running time 2hours 30 minutes. ISBN 978 1 4084 0074 6
COWARD. Sheridan Morley.
Noel Coward (1899-1973) personified the elegant, witty and faintly
outrageous way of life of the upper classes between the wars. He
responded to the changes of the post-war world through the medium
of cabaret performance and character acting while still writing hit
musicals. Sheridan Morley is the executor of Noel Coward’s literary
estate and will include hitherto unpublished material in this new
biography. ISBN 1-904341-88-8
THE LETTERS OF NOEL COWARD. Edited by Barry Day
With virtually all the letters in this volume previously unpublished,
this a revealing new insight into the private life of a legendary figure.
Coward’s multifaceted talent as an actor, writer, composer, producer
and even as a wartime spy (!), brought him into close contact with the
great, the good and the merely ambitious in film, literature and politics.
HB ISBN 978 0 7136 8678 7
THE LETTERS OF NOËL COWARD Edited by Barry Day
Paperback Version
ISBN 978 1 4081 0675 4
COWARD ON FILM. The Cinema of Noël Coward. Barry Day.
Foreword by Sir John Mills.
Significant as his film successes were, they have somehow been obscured
by his many other achievements. In Coward on Film: The Cinema of
Noël Coward, Barry Day restores the balance by documenting all of
Coward’s films and those based on hiswork. This key reference for
Coward fans and film enthusiasts is a valuable addition to any library.
HB ISBN 0-8108-5358-2
NOËL COWARD Future Indefinite. Noël Coward
This is the second volume of Noël Coward’s legendary autobiography.
With his celebrated panache, Coward shares anecdotes about his
South American travels, Hollywood encounters and his later theatrical
successes, including the Broadway triumph of Design for Living.
ISBN 0 413 77393 0
NOËL COWARD: IN HIS OWN WORDS. Compiled and Introduced
by Barry Day
This affectionate portrait of Coward’s life includes not only his bestloved witticisms and lyrics, but also excerpts from private papers and
hidden gems from unpublished material. Barry Day delves into the
whole range of Coward’s talents, as well as his thoughts on a wide
variety of subjects — including the theatre, England, the Arts, religion,
love and death — all the while giving insights into the man himself.
ISBN 0 413 77441 4
THE TREASURES OF NOËL COWARD. Star Quality. Barry Day
OBE
The Treasures of Noel Coward is a celebration of the life and work of
this legendary figure, still a household name nearly 40 years after his
death.
HB ISBN 978 0 233 00349 8
CROFT, DAVID
YOU HAVE BEEN WATCHING … The Autobiography of David
Croft.
The man behind Dad’s Army, Hi-De-Hi!, Are Being Served? and ’Allo
’Allo tells his remarkable tale of a fascinating lifetime in comedy.
ISBN 0 563 48739 9 (HB)
DEBUSKEY, MERLE
THE GENTLEMAN PRESS AGENT: Fifty Years in the Trenches
with Merle Debuskey Robert Simonson
“… The Gentleman Press Agent takes us right into Debuskey’s world,
revealing the hidden side of Broadway during one of the most exciting
times in its history. I just love this book!” Samuel Goldwyn,Jr.,
Chairman and CEO, Samuel Goldwyn Company
HB ISBN 978 1 55783 765 3
DENCH, JUDI
JUDI DENCH AND FURTHERMORE
In And Furthermore Judi Dench writes in depth on the highs and lows
of her career. There are far fewer of the latter than the former, but
her truthfulness in acting also extends to her writing, so she has not
omitted them either.
HB ISBN 978 0 297 85967 3 PB ISBN 978 0 7538 2807 6
JUDI DENCH. Scenes from my Life. Edited and introduced by John
Miller
Here is Britain’s most loved actress snapped in early childhood and
from early appearances in the York Mystery Plays through a career
that has encompassed stage, film and television, from Shakespeare
to James Bond and situation comedy, winning her countless awards,
including a Hollywood Oscar. ISBN 1 841 88266 6
JUDI DENCH — With A Crack in Her Voice. John Miller
In this revealing biography of a great actress and a very special woman,
the author shows why Judi Dench has risen to the very peak of her
profession, and how she has moved audiences to tears and laughter
by her truthfulness and a natural instinct that can only be described as
genius. ISBN 978 0 7528 4894 5
DEWHURST, JONATHAN
JONATHAN DEWHURST — The Lancashire Tragedian. 1837-1913.
Philip and Susan Taylor. Foreword by Peter Thomson
“My great-great uncle was Jonathan Dewhurst and for most of my
life all I knew about him was that he was an actor who, at the turn of
the twentieth century, had managed the Theatre Royal in Leigh. This
“Local actor” provided to be a serious tragedian of substance … who
himself enjoyed an international career and ran his own … company.
But despite his achievements, what is known of him today? Our book
is a tribute to Jonathan Dewhurst and to all those unsung heroes of the
stage without whose contributions our theatrical heritage would be far
less colourful.” ISBN 1 85776 524 9
EVERETT, RUPERT
RED CARPETS AND OTHER BANANA SKINS. Rupert Everett The
Autobiography.
A superb raconteur and a keen observer of human folly (especially
his own), Rupert Everett turns his life into a captivating story of love,
nostalgia, fame, glamour, gossip, and drama. From the eccentricities
of the British upper classes to the madness of Hollywood, from the
Russian steppes to an Easter-egg hunt in Elizabeth Taylor’s garden,
Everett reveals himself as a consummate storyteller and a charming
guide to life lived in the fast lane. ISBN 978 0 349 12058 4
EYRE, RICHARD
UTOPIA AND OTHER PLACES — Memoir of a Young Director.
Richard Eyre
In the captivating autobiography, Richard Eyre, who was Director of
the Royal National theatre for a decade, gives his view on acting and
politics alongside striking portraits of friends and colleagues such as
Ian Charleson, Laurence Olivier, Ian McKellen, Peter Brook and Judi
Dench. An unforgettable recreation of Dorset childhood and a portrait
of his extraordinary family, Utopia and Other Places is also a hilarious,
if scathing, account of his own brief acting career, Witty and poignant,
this is a remarkable work of honesty from one of our most celebrated
creative talents. ISBN 0 7475 6839 1
FAYE, ALICE
ALICE FAYE, A Life Beyond The Silver Screen. Jane Lenz Elder
A biography of Alice Faye. ISBN 978 1 6047 3586
FIFE, STEPHEN
BEST REVENGE — How The Theatre Saved My Life and Has Been
Killing Me Ever Since. Stephen Fife
A middle-aged playwright in conflict with his ex-wife, his current
girlfriend, and a legion of creditors … Journeys from Hollywood to
Atlanta to work with the idol of his youth, legendary avant-garde
director Joseph Chaikin. Thus begins a roller coaster ride of a very
unusual sort, combining personal revelations with theatrical obsessions,
the step-by-step disclosure of a master director’s rehearsal process with
a search for spiritual truth (and a decent night’s sleep). Just hop aboard
and get a backstage pass to the “holding-on-by-your-fingernails” reality
or contemporary American theatre. ISBN 1 885942 24 9
FLEETWOOD, SUSAN
A LASS UNPARALLELED — A PORTRAIT OF SUSAN
FLEETWOOD. Keith Connelly
Having gathered together a wealth of facts, photographs, anecdote and
reviews of Susan’s work, Keith Connelly has skilfully moulded them
into an entertaining and valuable account of the many achievements
of this of this beautifully, talented, hard-working and highly respected
British actress. ISBN 1 873203 92 6
FFRANGCON-DAVIES, GWEN
FOREVER JULIET — The Life and Letters of Gwen FfrangconDavies 1891-1992. Martial Rose
Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies was a great actress whose work spanned
almost the whole of the twentieth century; she had also a great gift for
friendship. This book is therefore illuminated by letters form her many
friends who included Edith Evans, Sybil Thorndike, Peggy Ashcroft,
Laurence Olivier, Walter Sickert, Thomas Hardy, Dodie Smith and
most notably, John Gieldgud. ISBN 1 904006 12 4
FOOTE, HORTON
from the council estates of pre-war Glasgow to the glamour of the
1960s Hollywood and beyond, this is the story of a star in the ascendant
on a fearless journey of self-discovery. Looking back over his life, love
affairs, friendship and films, John Fraser paints a candid self-portrait
and presents such legendary figures as Rudolf Nureyev, Hedy Lamarr,
Dirk Bogarde and Bette Davis in a new and startling light. This is a
richly entertaining book written by a seasoned movie insider with an
outsider’s eye ISBN 1-84002-504-2
FRAYN, MICHAEL
MY FATHER’S FORTUNE: A LIFE Michael Frayn
An unknown place. This was what Michael Frayn’s children called the
shadowy landscape of the past from which their family had emerged.
In My Father’s Fortune one of our most distinguished and best-loved
authors sets out to rediscover that lost land before all trace of it finally
disappears beyond recall.
HB ISBN 978 0 571 27058 3 PB ISBN 978 0 5712 7059 0
FRY, STEPHEN
FAT CHANCE — Simon Gray.
In February 1995, Simon Gray’s Cell Mates opened at the Albery
Theatre, London, starring Stephen Fry and Rik Mayall. A few days
later, Stephen Fry mysteriously — and famously — vanished, leaving
in the wake a mixture of anger and incomprehension, turmoil and
gallantry. Fry’s understudy stepped in, a replacement was found, but
just three weeks later the play closed. Fat Chance is Simon Gray’s
inside story of how a West End play was made and unmade, a classic
account of theatrical misadventure. ISBN 1 86207 746 0
STEPHEN FRY — Paperweight. Stephen Fry
“Fry is by turns observer, humorist, reviewer, philosopher, parodist,
autobiographer, academic, scourge, clown and, as often as not, an
antic amalgam of all these and more, and his variant style conforms
flawlessly with each selected role.” Alan Coren, Literary Review
HORTON FOOTE — A Literary Biography. Charles S. Watson
This literary biography thoroughly investigates how Horton Foote’s life
and worldview have shaped his works for stage, television, and film.
Tracing the whole trajectory of Foote’s career from his small-town
Texas up-bringing to the present day, Charles Watson demonstrates that
Foote has created a fully imagined mythical world from the materials
supplied by his own and his family’s and friend’s lives in Wharton,
Texas, in the early twentieth century. ISBN 0 292 79160 7 (HB) ISBN
978 0 2927 1935 4 (PB)
GAMBON, MICHAEL
FORMBY, GEORGE
GERSHWIN
IT’S TURNED OUT NICE AGAIN! Sue Smart and Richard Bothway
Howard
In this major new biography of George Formby Smart and Bothway
Howard cast a welcome, fresh light on the lives of the two great George
Formbys. Meticulously researched, using previously unpublished
sources, It’s Turned Out Nice Again! debunks the many tedious cliches
and myths that have grown around the accounts of Formby’s life,
career and relationships. ISBN 978 1 9077 3259 1
GERSHWIN — Ruth Leon
This biography evokes brilliantly the pace and colour of New York in
1920s and 1930s, and firmly places Gershwin at the centre of the Jazz
Age. ISBN 1 904341 23 3
FRASER, JILL
MY WATERMILL STORY Jill Fraser
In 1981 Jill Fraser MBE and her husband James, bought the Watermill
theatre near Newbury in Berkshire and this is Jill’s story of her all but
twenty-five years as Artistic and Executive Director of the Watermill.
It captures her blazing honesty, her deep morality and obvious passion
for her friends and family, the environment and also for her beloved
theatre. ISBN 978 0 9563792 0 7
FRASER, JOHN
CLOSE UP: An Actor Telling Tales. The Autobiography of John Fraser
Sometimes outrageous, often hilarious, and always rigorously honest,
GAMBON — A LIFE IN ACTING — Mel Gussow
Michael Gambon has created a judicious blend of high-definition
performances in the theatre with a wide range of award-winning
television roles and cameos on film. This book, the first to be devoted
to him, offers a candid and revealing account in his own words of his
life in acting. It is published just as he tackles Falstaff for the first time.
ISBN 1 85459 806 6
GIELGUD, JOHN
GIELGOODIES! The Wit and Wisdom (& Gaffes) of John Gielgud.
Compiled by Jonathan Croall. Prologue by Simon Callow
Gielgud’s excruciating gaffes — affectionately known as his Gielgoodies, even by his victims — were legendary. This extensive collection includes both famous and previously unrecorded ones. Whether
he committed them backstage, in the wings or in rehearsals, on film
sets or in television studios, they bring vividly to life this merry and
mischievous man of the theatre. ISBN 9781 8494 3448 5
GIELGUD’S LETTERS — Introduced and Edited by Richard Mangan
Here is a rich life seen through eighty years of letter-writing before the
age of e-mail. ISBN 0 75381 850 7
JOHN GIELGUD: An Actor’s Life. Gyles Brandreth.
Drawn from conversations Gyles Brandreth had with Sir John Gielgud
over thirty years, and written with his subject’s blessing, this handsome
new biography provides a revealing, and at times touching, portrait of
a fascinating personality and an authoritative and compelling account
of a remarkable career. ISBN 0 7509 2752 6
JOHN GIELGUD Matinee Idol to Movie Star Jonathan Croal
The definitive biography of the greatest classical actor of the twentieth
century. Based on hundreds of letters, many previously unpublished,
to and from the stars of the day, including Laurence Olivier, Peggy
Ashcroft, Noël Coward, Edith Evans and Ralph Richardson. Includes
the memories of scores of today’s leading actors and directors.
HB ISBN 978 1 4081 3106 0 PB 978 1 4081 7945 1
JOHN GIELGUD — Stage Directions
Sir John Gielgud’s long illustrious career has given him a wide
experience of modern and classical drama, and a profound understanding
of the particular demands made by both acting and directing. Here he
blends memories of his own performances and productions with critical
comment on a range of parts and plays, giving an insight into the world
of theatre which is as valuably instructive as it is entertaining.
right), the author of the acclaimed The Smoking Diaries meets triumph
and disasters and treats those two impostors just the same — which
is to say with the mixture of wit, anger, vexation and candour that
has made Simon Gray one of Britain’s greatest writers of comedy —
including the comedy that lurks in tragedy. ISBN 1 86207 745 2
FAT CHANCE — Simon Gray.
In February 1995, Simon Gray’s Cell Mates opened at the Albery
Theatre, London, starring Stephen Fry and Rik Mayall. A few days
later, Stephen fry mysteriously — and famously — vanished, leaving
in the wake a mixture of anger and incomprehension, turmoil and
gallantry. Fry’s understudy stepped in, a replacement was found, but
just three weeks later the play closed. Fat Chance is Simon Gray’s
inside story of how a West End play was made and unmade, a classic
account of theatrical misadventure. ISBN 1 86207 746 0
GILBERT, W S
THE LAST CIGARETTE The Smoking Diaries Simon Gray
In their combination of comedy and serious reflection, of sharp
observation and painful self-disclosure, Simon Gray’s diaries have
reinvented the memoir form and are destined to become classics of
autobiography. The beauty of them lies in their struggle to put a finger
on some kind of personal truth. The Last Cigarette takes us to many
places — Suffolk, a Greek island, the Caribbean, New York — but not
least to a man’s heart. ISBN 978 0 5712 4144 6
GILBERT OF GILBERT & SULLIVAN His Life and Character
Andrew Crowther
In his time Gilbert had been many things: journalist, theatre critic,
cartoonist, comic poet, stage director, writer of short stories, dramatist.
In this book, Gilbert’s glorious, contradictory character is explored and
brought vividly to life.
HB ISBN 978 0 7524 5589 1 PB 978 0 7524 6860 0
SIMON GRAY The Early Diaries An Unnatural Pursuit & How’s That
for Telling ’Em Fat Lady?
Exasperated, hilarious, Gray gives his inimitable observations on
casting, miscasting, rehearsal-room egos and altercations, the horrors
of Los Angeles, first-night paranoia, first-night-party paranoia and the
terrors of critical reception.
ISBN 978 0 571 25491
GILROY, FRANK D
THE SMOKING DIARIES — Simon Gray
“Has a man ever written such a sustained and hilarious diatribes against
himself? His latest volume of diaries is a ramble — mad, maudlin,
cross, nostalgic, despairing and very, very, funny” Craig Brown, Mail
on Sunday. ISBN 1 86207 723 1
WRITING FOR LOVE AND/OR MONEY Outtakes from a Life on
Spec: The Early Years Frank D Gilroy
At fourteen, a boy in the Bronx, addicted to gambling (craps, horses,
ball games, cards), moved by forces unknown to him, writes a one-page
story that his aunt, who works on The World Telegram, asks a reporter
to assess. The reporter sends it back with the notation: “The boy has
narrative ability. Tell him to stay away from journalism.” Twenty-six
years later the reporter (Ed Wallace) interviews the “boy” when he
wins a Pulitzer prize for playwriting. ISBN 978 157525 571 2
GRAHAM, DAVID
CASTING ABOUT — A Memoir. David Graham
This is a candid account of the actors agent David Graham and his
life-long search to find love and happiness. Starting from his family
experience of a broken home and his inherited lack of ability to
share his feelings, it then concentrates on his homosexuality and the
problems this bought to his career. ISBN 0 595 17770 0
GRAY, SIMON
CODA Simon Gray
During a holiday with his wife in Crete the celebrated diarist and
playwright Simon Gray recalls the scans and consultations that have
dominated the previous months in this frank, moving and often
painfully funny account of what he refers to as “the beginning of
my dying”. Wonderfully comic depictions of the medical team are
interrupted by unforgettable portraits of fellow tourists, digressions
on everything from crimes of passion to a brief history of his athletic
career, and a masterfully tense distraction, composed while waiting his
final prognosis and smoking one last cigarette. PB 9781847081001
ENTER A FOX — Further Adventures of a Paranoid — Simon Gray
How much can go wrong in a day? How much can go wrong in a life?
In this chronicle of a year of things going wrong (and just occasionally
THE YEAR OF THE JOUNCER. Simon Gray
A great many writers use their own lives as the raw material for their
work but few have done it with the wit and courage of Simon Gray.
Like his previous best-seller, The Smoking Diaries, this new book has
the rare ability to make you laugh aloud on one page and ponder the
sad mysteries of mortality on the next, and sometimes to do both at the
same time. ISBN 1 86207 907 2
GREGORY, AUGUSTA
LADY GREGORY. An Irish Life. Judith Hill.
Lady Gregory, founder of Dublin’s Abbey Theatre, close friend,
collaborator and patron of W. B. Yeats, author of numerous essays,
plays and translations of Irish legends, was the daughter of a Galway
landowner and never expected to make her mark on the literature or
land of her birth. In this new biography Judith Hill investigates Augusta
Gregory’s many varied relationships, explores the contradictions and
achievements of her life, and, for the first time, brings her out from the
shadow of Yeats to stand alone. HB ISBN 0-7509-4086-7
GRENFELL, JOYCE
JOYCE GRENFELL — Janie Hampton
Joyce Grenfell was one of Britain’s most popular entertainers. Known
to millions for roles in the classic St Trinians films and numerous stage,
television and radio appearances, she was also a journalist, government
adviser, preacher, poet and secret philanthropist. Janie Hampton grew
up knowing Joyce and for this, the first biography, talked to many of
Joyce’s friends, relations and colleagues. ISBN 0 7195 6490 5
GRIMALDI, JOSEPH
THE PANTOMIME LIFE OF JOSEPH GRIMALDI Laughter,
Madness and the story of Britain’s Greatest Comedian Andrew
McConnell Stott
Drawing on a wealth of source material, Stott has written the
definitive biography of Grimaldi and a highly nuanced portrait of
Georgian theatre in London, from the frequent riots at Drury Lane to
the spectacular excess of it’s arch-rival Sadler’s Wells.Grimaldi left
an indelible mark on British theatre and the performing arts but his
legacy is one of human struggle, battling demons and giving it his all
in the face of adversity. ISBN 978 1 84767 761 7
GUINNESS, ALEC
THE AUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY ALEC GUINNESS. Piers Paul
Read
After Alec Guiness’s death in August 2000, his widow Merula asked
the author Piers Paul Read, who had been a friend of her husband, to
write his authorised biography. Given full co-operation by the Guiness
family and free access to Sir Alec’s papers, including his private and
unpublished diaries, Read has written an enjoyable, yet penetrating
and perceptive account of an intriguing and complex man.
ISBN 0 7434 1614 7
ALEC GUINNESS — A Celebration. John Russell Taylor
This lavishly illustrated volume is a tribute to Alec Guinness’s life,
achievements and passions, chronicling his rise through film, theatre
and writing. ISBN 1 86205 501 7
ALEC GUINNESS — A Positively Final Appearance.
A Positively Final Appearance takes us through an eventful time for the
writer — and the nation. From eye surgery in 1996 to the 1997 general
election and beyond, Sir Alec Guinness guides us through his life, rich
with reminiscences, theatre visits, observations of art and literature set
against a background of political change and the death of Diana. These
fascinating, affectionate and acerbic journals are a delightful addition
to his acclaimed earlier volumes. ISBN 0 140 27006 X
ALEC GUINESS — The Unknown. A Life. Garry O’Connor
Backed by impeccable research, including interviews with Guiness
himself as well as those close to him, this riveting biography will at
last fill the gaps, adding a new depth to our understanding not just of
Guiness’s life but of his remarkable acting ability. ISBN 0 330 48959 3
HALL, PETER
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF PETER HALL — Making An
Exhibition Of Myself
The autobiography of a railway worker’s son who, with dazzling
speed, rose to be one of the most powerful, outspoken and charismatic
figures in European theatre. Peter Hall chronicles fascinatingly how,
against all the odds, he achieved his ambition.
PETER HALL’S DIARIES — The story of a Dramatic battle. Edited
by John Goodwin
In these intimate diaries, Hall chronicles the eight frenzied years
between 1972 and 1980 when he conducted the historic move of
the National Theatre from the Old Vic to the South Bank, and then
triumphantly consolidated its position as the leading showcase
for theatre in Britain. With remarkable candour Hall describes his
relationships with friends and colleagues including Alec Guinness,
John Gielgud, Harold Pinter, etc.
HAMILTON, PATRICK
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY The Life of Patrick Hamilton Nigel
Jones
Patrick Hamilton was, in Keith Waterhouse’s words, “A riveting
dissector of English life.” He was also a man of great contradictions,
as Nigel Jones convincingly shows, through the full access he had to
Hamilton’s own letters and notes. Despite a privileged background,
Hamilton increasingly inward in frustration and bitterness. And
despite early success, both critical and material, he suffered under allconsuming obsessions and the almost life-long addiction to alcohol
that caused his early death. ISBN 978 0 948238 39 0
HANCOCK, SHEILA
THE TWO OF US — My Life With John Thaw. Sheila Hancock
This is a remarkable book — a biography of a born actor and the
complex man behind the roles, a tender memoir of a marriage, and a
study of Britain from the 1930s to the present. Full of insight and vivid
memories, it evokes two lives lived to the utmost.
ISBN 0 7475 7709 9
HARE, DAVID
DAVID HARE — Acting Up
Hare’s hilarious diary of his experience on both sides of the Atlantic
tells of his difficulties in coming to terms with his frightening change
of career, but also grapples with more serious questions about what
the difference is between acting and performance, whether anyone can
learn to do either.
HARRISON, JOHN
NOT QUITE FAMOUS. A Life in the Theatre. John Harrison
… A Pre-war childhood in Battersea; war-time prep-schoolmaster and
Home Guard in Devon; actor at Birmingham Playhouse and Stratfordon-Avon in the 1940’s; Director of the Nottingham Playhouse in the
1950’s; Director of the Leeds Playhouse/West Yorkshire Playhouse for
20 years; playwright; BBC TV director; ITV TV Producer and writer,
including “Upstairs, Downstairs”; Director of Paul Scofield in “The
Tempest” at Wyndham’s theatre in the 70’s. Colleague and friend of
Peter Brook, Paul Scolfield and Sir Donald Sinden, John Harrison,
though highly respected in his profession, remains in his own words,
“Not Quite Famous”. So, in his 80th year we publish his very own
story. ISBN 0 9546903 0 3
HART, MOSS
ACT ONE — An Autobiography. Moss Hart
A classic, richly humorous, moving and wonderfully exciting
autobiography traces Hart’s career from his years as an office boy,
through the succession of plays written and rejected, to his eventual
success with Once in a Lifetime.
MOSS HART, A Prince of the Theatre. Jared Brown
Moss Hart, A Prince of the Theatre is the first biography to be
written with the full support and co-operation of Hart’s family and
friends. Author Jared Brown had access to documents (such as Hart’s
diary) previously unavailable to biographers, and conducted lengthy
interviews with Hart’s wife and children, as well as with some of the
most prominent performers he worked with, such as Julie Andrews,
Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert and Robert Goulet. This long awaited
biography, featuring dozens of never-before-published photographs,
is truly the definitive picture of an extraordinary man and a theatrical
giant. HB ISBN 9 780823 078905
HAWKINS, DOREEN
DRURY LANE TO DIMAPUR Wartime Adventures of an Actress
Doreen Hawkins
Glamorous, ambitious and headstrong, Doreen Lawrence as she then
was, entertained audiences in Britain throughout the Blitz and from
1942 the troops abroad in Africa, India and Burma. At the outbreak
of war, she hastily married a soldier, who was soon posted abroad.
Doreen threw herself into work. Nightly during the Blitz after the
curtain fell, she journeyed home in the blackout past burnt-out trams,
still smouldering fires. Through ENSA, the organization set up to
provide entertainment for the troops, she joined the India Repertory
Company, the first company to be sent abroad to perform a repertoire
of plays instead of musical acts. ISBN 978 1 904 34966 2
HAWTHORNE, NIGEL
NIGEL HAWTHORNE ON STAGE. Kathleen Riley
This is the authorised and fully documented history of the 50-year career
of the late Sir Nigel Hawthorne, beloved star of Yes, Minister, Privates
on Parade, Shadowlands and The Madness of George III. Enriched
and illuminated by the personal insights of the actor himself, it also
includes interviews with his close friends and colleagues, including
Alan Bennett, Nicholas Hytner, Samuel Goldwyn Jnr, Thelma Holt,
Jonathan Lynn and Sheridan Morley. ISBN 1 902806 29 8 HB
NIGEL HAWTHORNE — STRAIGHT FACE. The Autobiography.
In this exceptional autobiography — written throughout his long
battle with cancer — Nigel gives the most compelling entertaining,
and intimate portrait of his life. Completed only a few days before he
died, Nigel Hawthorne’s honest and witty autobiography is a moving
testament to this most courageous, brilliant and self-effacing of actors.
ISBN 0 340 76943 2
HELLMAN, LILLIAN
A DIFFICULT WOMAN. The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian
Hellman. Alice Kessler-Harris
She was a literary icon and a groundbreaking figure as the most
successful female playwright in American history. She was also one of
the few artists who stood up to the political witch hunts of the 1950s,
with her crisp declaration “I will not cut my conscience to fit this
year’s fashions.” A Difficult Woman is a major work of literary and
intellectual history that illuminates the turbulent intersection of culture
and politics in twentieth-century America. ISBN 978 1 5969 1363 9
HOLLOWAY, STANLEY
AN ARM OF IRON — The Life and Times of The Entertainer Stanley
Holloway O.B.E. 1-10-1890 to 30-1-1982. By Roy Walding. ISBN 0
9529166 0 6
HOLM, IAN
IAN HOLM — ACTING MY LIFE — THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
This is a compelling mix of anecdote and observation, taking in not
only half a century of acting but also the experience of growing up
next to the mental asylum run by his father. Often candid and funny, his
autobiography combines his personal and professional lives. He talks
with insight about his on-stage breakdown (which led to a prolonged
absence form the stage), the women in his life, the nervous condition
which still haunts him and his battle with cancer. He also provides a rare
and intimate window into the lives of the peculiar people who inhabit
the strange profession. Ian Holm’s story is both honest and touching. His
one lifelong commitment has been to his acting, and that same intensity
and captivating charm now enrich his writing. ISBN 0 593 05214 5
HOPE, BOB
BOB HOPE — Peter Carrick
This absorbing biography of one of the entertainment world’s bestknown and loved personalities traces in fascinating detail the great
entertainer’s multi-sided career It also gives a unique insight into
Bob Hope, the man behind the public image. Peter Carrick not only
takes the reader into the world of show business, but also explores the
disasters, disappointments, fear and frustrations of one of the world’s
greatest comics. ISBN 0 7090 7299 6
HOWERD, FRANKIE
FRANKIE HOWERD — Stand-Up Comic. Graham McCann
Through close examination of his public career, and original research
into the secrets and insecurities of Howerd’s precarious private life,
Graham McCann celebrates the real Frankie Howerd; a brilliantly
original, highly skilful and wonderfully funny stand-up comedian
whose talent and impact were profound as those of Bob Hope, Jack
Benny or any of the other internationally recognised greats. ISBN 1
84115 310 9 (HB)
IRVING, HENRY
SIR HENRY IRVING: A Victorian Actor and His World. Jeffrey
Richards
Sir Henry Irving was the greatest actor of the Victorian age and was
thought of by Gladstone as his greatest contemporary. He transformed
the theatre, in Britain and America, from a disreputable and marginal
entertainment into a respected, civilising and uplifting art form. In Sir
Henry Irving: A Victorian Actor and his World, published to mark the
centenary of Irving’s death, Jeffrey Richards gives an account not only
of Irving himself and his career, but also of his impact on Victorian life
as a whole. 1 85285 591 6
JAMESON, REX
THE AMAZING MRS SHUFFLEWICK. The Life of Rex Jameson.
Patrick Newley
In this candid and incisive biography, Patrick Newley, who managed
Jameson’s later career, examines the life of the man who was lionised
by comedians such as Bob Monkhouse, Barry Cryer, Danny La Rue and
Barry Humphries. ‘Rex was a comic genius,’ said Roy Hudd. “Even in
his cups he was gloriously funny,’ The Amazing Mrs Shufflewick pays
tribute to Jameson’s Talent. ISBN 978 1 898576 21 1
JARRY, ALFRED
ALFRED JARRY Jill Fell
Jarry’s spirited life and inventions clearly emerged as both model and
caution to many of his successors in twentieth-century theatre, art
and literature, and this new biography will inform and delight readers
wishing to learn more about a fascinating and wholly unconventional
individual. ISBN 978 1 86189 755 8
JEFFERSON, JOSEPH
THE MAN WHO WAS RIP VAN WINKLE. Joseph Jefferson and the
Nineteenth-century American Theatre. Benjamin McArthur
The most beloved American comedic actor of the nineteenth-century,
Joseph Jefferson made his name as Irving Washington’s Rip Van
Winkle. In this book, a compelling blend of biography and theatrical
and cultural history, Benjamin McArthur chronicles Jefferson’s
remarkable career and offers a lively and original account of the heroic
age of the American theatre. HB ISBN 978 0 300 12232 9
JERROLD, DOUGLAS
DOUGLAS JERROLD 1803-1857. Michael Slater
Douglas Jerrold, close friend of Charles Dickens and literary sparring
partner of Thackeray, leading light of satirical weekly Punch and
indefatigable campaigner against social and political oppression,
militarism and capital punishment, died in 1857 at the height of his
fame. There has been no biography of “the wittiest man in London”
since 1918, and most of his writings have sunk into oblivion. Drawing
on his detailed study of Jerrold’s writings, and on much hitherto
unpublished correspondence, Michael Slater sets out to restore
Douglas Jerrold to his place at the very heart of the record of theatrical
and journalists life in London in the first half of the nineteenth century.
ISBN 0 7156 2824 0 (Hardback)
JONSON, BEN
BEN JONSON A LIFE. Ian Donaldson
Close friend of William Shakespeare and his most famous rival; poet,
scholar, playwright, and principal masque-writer to the early Stuart
court; provocateur and felon, Ben Jonson was a complex and volatile
character. Drawing on freshly discovered work by and about Jonson,
Ian Donaldson reveals his mysterious and fractured life. ISBN 978 0
1981 2976 9
KANTOR, TADEUSZ
KANTOR WAS HERE. Edited by Katarzyna Murawska-Muthesius
and Natalia Zarzecka
Between 1972 and 1982, the Polish avant-garde artist Tadeusz Kantor
and his Cricot 2 Theatre came to Britain five times, visiting the
Edinburgh Festival, Glasgow, Cardiff, and London. Kantor stunned
British audiences with his inimitable performances, which exploded
the boundaries between the theatrical and the painterly, figurative
and abstract, and were extensively discussed by British critics. This
volumes examines Kantor’s impact on the British art world of the 70s.
ISBN 978 1 0973 1732 3
KOPS, BERNARD
SHALOM BOMB — Scenes From My Life. Bernard Kops. HB
Like so many new writers of his generation, Kops soon found himself
on the outside, in his case with no where to go except into the speedfuelled world of drug addiction. Kop’s very soul was enraged, a
nightmare had begun and it lasted twenty-five years, this book charts
his struggle to regain self-respect and the love of his family.
THE WORLD IS A WEDDING From East End to Soho Bernard Kops
The World is a Wedding moves from Bernard Kops’ childhood years of
absolute poverty in London’s Jewish East End through to the dens of
Soho and his emergence as a major writer in the 1950s. Along the way
Kops survived years of despair; drug addiction and madness, roaming
aimlessly across London, France and North Africa.
ISBN 978 1 905512 33 1
KARLIN, MIRIAM
KUSTOW, MICHAEL
SOME SORT OF A LIFE My Autobiography Miriam Karlin As told
to Jan Sargent.
In Some Sort of a Life, which began as a series of conversations
between Miriam and her old friend, the director Jan Sargent, she is
fearlessly opinionated and outspoken, talking candidly and movingly
about her compulsive nature, her family, the actors and politicians
she has known and worked with, her love affairs and her battles with
eating disorders and serious illness. This is an autobiography full of
the passion, wit and earthly humour of one of our finest actors. HB
ISBN 978 1 84002 780 8
IN SEARCH OF JERUSALEM Michael Kustow
Ranging across the years, In Search of Jerusalem conjures up the spirited
encounters of Michael Kustow’s many-sided life: a tender evocation of
his parents; portraits of actors, stage directors, painters, film-makers;
vivid descriptions of post-war and modern Paris, Mumbai, Tel Aviv
and the occupied West Bank; the early days of Channel 4 Television;
and new insights a moment of challenge and change. A life shaken up
is reassembled in Kustow’s cavalcade of survival and renewal. HB
ISBN 978 1 84002 872 0
KAZAN, ELIA
ELIA KAZAN. A Biography. Richard Schickel
“This book is a fountain of useful information about Kazan’s
theatrical productions and films augmented by startling passages from
the subject’s diaries. It is also, as any critical biography should be,
remarkably insightful. Schickel has a razor-sharp understanding of the
many ways in which his subject’s life and work affected one another.”
Martin Scorsese. ISBN 978 0 06 095512 0
KEMBLE, FANNY
FANNY KEMBLE: A Performed Life. Deirdre David
Charismatic, highly intelligent, and splendidly talented, Fanny Kemble
(1809-93) was a Victorian celebrity, known on both sides of the Atlantic
as an actress and member of the famous Kemble theatrical dynasty, as
a fierce opponent of slavery despite her marriage to a wealthy slave
owner, as a brilliantly successful solo performer of Shakespeare, and
as the author of journals about her career and life on her husband’s
plantations. She was, in her own words, irresistible as a “woman who
has sat at dinner alongside Byron … and who calls Tennyson, Alfred.”
HB ISBN 978 0 8122 4023 8
FANNY KEMBLE.The Reluctant Celebrity. Rebecca Jenkins
“A vivid picture of a clever, vital, snobbish and self-obsessed woman…
Fanny Kemble poignantly catches its subject’s complex desire, typical
of many strong Victorian women, to conform and rebel, and to be
cosseted and free” Janet Todd, TLS
KILGARIFF, MICHAEL
BACK STAGES Michael Kilgariff
Michael Kilgariff first trod the boards over half a century ago, a working
lifetime spent as an actor and musician, entertainer and author. Doctor
Who fans know his name well (he has worked with four doctors), his
radio adaptation of J RR Tolkien’s The Hobbit has long been an audio
best-seller and his monumental book Sing US One of the Old Songs: A
guide to Popular Song 1860-1920 is unique in its scope and detail.
ISBN 978 0 85778 047 8
LAPOTAIRE, JANE
TIME OUT OF MIND — If I am not myself, then who am I? — Jane
Lapotaire
Jane Lapotaire is one of the lucky ones. Many people do not survive,
let alone live intelligently and well again, once they have suffered
cerebral haemorrhage. In the long haul back to life — “nearly dying
was the easy bit” — there was some hard lessons to be learned. A
few relationships become casualties; family relationships had to be
redefined; and her work as an actress took a severe battering. Moving,
darkly funny, honest, this is about what happens when the “You”
you’ve known all your life is no longer quite the same. ISBN 1 86049
977 5 (HB)
LAWSON, LEIGH
THE DREAM An Actor’s Story Leigh Lawson
A passionate, clear-sighted look at the day-to-day life with the Royal
Shakespeare Company, The Dream follows Leigh Lawson as he
performs with the Royal Shakespeare, taking in a brief excursion to
America to appear in a Coward double-bill. Invited by the RSC to
play both Oberon and Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he
navigates his way through the separate difficulties posed by each role,
survives the first night at London’s Barbican, and returns to Stratford
upon Avon, the scene of many of his childhood escapades and the
source of his love affair with the theatre. Vivid, warm-hearted and
perceptive, The Dream will delight everybody with an interest in the
theatre. HB ISBN 978 1 84002 867 6
LEE, CHRISTOPHER
LORD OF MISRULE — THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
CHRISTOPHER LEE. Introduction by Peter Jackson
With a cast list taking in everyone from Orson Welles to Muhammad
Ali, locations across Europe, Hollywood and Africa, and packed with
mesmerising anecdotes, Lord of Misrule is the perfect vehicle for the
astonishing experiences of the man the Guardian describes simply as
“the coolest actor on the planet”. ISBN 0 75285 770 3 HB
LEE, GYPSY ROSE
LOWE, ARTHUR
LADY OF BURLESQUE The Career of Gypsy Rose Lee Robert
Strom Foreword by John Fricke Afterword by Noralee Frankel
“Robert Strom has written the most complete, well researched account
of my mother’s career — a ‘must have’ reference for anyone interested
in Gypsy Rose Lee. And the photographs delight. Many of them have
never been published; some I had never even seen; all will return you
to an era of show business when glamour reigned supreme.”
Erik Preminger, Son of Gypsy Rose Lee ISBN 978 0 7864 3826 6
ARTHUR LOWE — Graham Lord
This first in-depth biography of Lowe is a vivid and moving account
of his poor childhood and early days on Manchester, his bizarre army
career during the Second World War in Egypt and Palestine that was
sometimes as hilarious as anything in Dad’s Army, his hard years
learning his craft in provincial repertory theatre, his increasingly
acclaimed appearances in the West End, and his string of TV triumphs.
ISBN 0 75284 229 3
LEIGH, VIVIEN
LUDLAM, CHARLES
A SEASON WITH VIVIEN LEIGH The Life and Art of an Actress
by Dilys Gater
Actress Vivien Leigh, who died in 1967, was a brilliant, flawed, iconic
star. Remembered for her outstanding beauty and her Oscar-winning
film roles as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind and Blanche
DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, her private life was shadowed
by manic depression and an obsessive love for her husband, Laurence
Olivier. ISBN 978 1 898670 11 7
RIDICULOUS! The Theatrical Life and Times of Charles Ludlam.
David Kaufman
In this amazing and unstoppable biography of Charles Ludlam, David
Kaufman captures the times and the man, the wild Manhattan of the
1960s and 70s and the creative genius of Ludlam, who married real
learning to raucous laughter in his flamboyant theatre, which included
tributes to Callas, Camille, the Dowager Empress, and James M. Cain.
This is a glorious celebration of the Aristophanes of the 20th century,
America’s greatest comic spirit.” — Donald Lyon
ISBN 1 55783 588 8. HB
LINNEY, ROMULUS
ROMULUS LINNEY Maverick of the American Theater John Fleming
With over fifty plays to his credit, Romulus Linney continues to thrill
and challenge audiences as his eclectic array of subjects include
great figures from history, the poetic eccentricities of Appalachia,
adaptations of great literature and a healthy dose of love and desire
between the sexes. With the full cooperation of Linney, Fleming
crafts an accessible incisive look at the playwright’s life and career.
Directors, actors, teachers, students and fans will discover why Linney
remarked: “Fleming knows more about my career than I do”
ISBN 978 1 57525 598 9
LIPMAN, MAUREEN
MAUREEN LIPMAN — Lip Reading
“ The lead-up to the day of Atonement involved 17 back-to-back
performances of Oklahoma!, a hip replacement, a Hoedown, Bells
Palsy, 2,600 egg-cups, a tooth abscess and a car crash. Shall I go on?”
LLOYD WEBBER, ANDREW
ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER John Snelson
In this book — the first comprehensive survey of Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s creative career — John Snelson explores the vast range of
influences that have informed Lloyd Webber’s work, from film, rock
and pop music to Lloyd Webber’s own life story. This rigorous and
sympathetic survey will be essential reading for anyone interested in
Lloyd Webber’s musicals and the world of modern musical theatre that
he has been so instrumental in shaping. ISBN 978 0 300 15113 8
LORCA, FEDERICO GARCIA
LORCA — A DREAM OF LIFE. Leslie Stainton. HB
Drawing on more than hundred recently discovered letters as well as
interviews with Lorca’s friend, family and acquaintances, and dozens
of newly discovered notes, articles and other archival materials, the
author brings Lorca convincingly to life.
LORTEL, LUCILLE
LUCILLE LORTEL — The Queen of Off Broadway. By Alexis Greene
“For anyone aware of the lady merely as a benign dowager patron of
the arts, Lucille Lortel: The Queen of off Broadway is a revelation.
Who today is aware of the pioneering, risk-taking spirit that compelled
Lortel to be an early Champion of Sean O’Casey, Jean Genet and and
Athol Fugard in the American theatre? Alexis Greene’s meticulous,
clearly written biography is a perceptive portrait of an inimitable
producer.” — Michael Sommers, Newhouse Newspapers
ISBN 0 87910 302 7(HB)
MAJOR, TOM
MY OLD MAN— A Personal History of Music Hall. John Major
In this colourful personal history, former Prime Minister John Major
takes a remarkable journey into his own unconventional family past
to tell the story of the rise and fall of the British music hall. HB ISBN
978 0 0074 5013 8
MALONE, EDMOND
EDMOND MALONE — Shakespearean Scholar. A Literary
Biography. Peter Martin
Edmond Malone (1741-1812) was the greatest early editor of
Shakespeare’s works, the first historian of early English drama, the
biographer of Shakespeare, Dryden and Reynolds, and a relentless
exposer of literary history through manuscripts and early editions
laid the foundations for the scholar’s code and the modern study of
literature. Yet he was also a gregarious man, attracting many friends
— and enemies — among his contemporaries. This first modern fulllength biography of Edmond Malone illuminates in a unique way both
the intensely private world of the scholar and the highly public world
of the late eighteenth— century artist. ISBN 0 521 61982 3
MAMET, DAVID
DAVID MAMET — A Whore’s Profession. Notes and Essays
A new series of essays. Included are autobiographical vignettes from
childhood fear to adult nostalgia in the re-creation of the past.
DAVID MAMET A Life in the Theatre A Biography by Ira Nadel
In this first major study of Mamet’s life, Ira Nadel uncovers the man
behind the private persona and success to deliver a revealing and
insightful biography of one of the great writers and directors of our
time. Charting Mamet’s complicated family life and his early career,
he provides an intimate look at the ways in which Mamet’s upbringing,
relationship with Judaism, connection to Chicago and views on
masculinity influenced him. HB ISBN 978 1 4081 0451 4 PB ISBN
978 0 2303 7871 1
MACLAREN-ROSS, JULIAN
FEAR AND LOATHING IN FITZROVIA —The Bizarre Life of
Writer, Actor , Soho Dandy.Julian Maclaren-Ross — Paul Willets
This is the first full, authorised account of both his bizarre life and the
raffish world within which he was such a pivotal figure.
ISBN 1 899235 69 8
MARLOWE, CHRISTOPHER
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE. Poet & Spy. Park Honan
In this major new biography, Park Honan brings substantial new evidence
to bear on the life of Marlowe—his early years and his life as a rebellious
student in Cambridge; his challenges to the religious and sexual status
quo; his reputation amongst his fellow writers, and his relationship with
Shakespeare and Kyd, and with the scientific freethinkers of the day;
his career as a spy for Queen Elizabeth’s Privy Council; and the events
which led to his murder in Deptford. Christopher Marlowe: Poet & Spy
brings us closer than ever to one of the most enigmatic figures in literary
history. ISBN 978 0 19 923269 7
MASSEY, ANNA
TELLING SOME TALES. Anna Massey
“Massey writes with passion about her progress from boulevard comedies
to what she calls “legitimate democratic theatre”, and with moving
candour about her personal battles with insecurity, stage fright and eating
disorders … I am sure that I am not alone in finding her extraordinarily
sexy, sympathetic and fascinating. She should be made a Dame.” Hugh
Massingberd, Sunday Telegraph. ISBN 978 0 099 48694 7
MAUGHAM, W SOMERSET
THE SECRET LIVES OF SOMERSET MAUGHAM Selina Hastings
Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was one of the most famous writers in
the world, yet he lived much of his life under cover. A spy in both world
wars, predominantly homosexual, though married with a child, Maughm
led a dramatic double life as exciting and intriguing as any in his own
brilliant novels and short stories. ISBN 978 0 7195 6555 7
MCBURNEY, SIMON
WHO YOU HEAR IT FROM. Essays by Simon McBurney
Simon McBurney is a director, actor and writer. Since he co-founded his
theatre company Complicite in 1983, his productions have toured the
world and won more than fifty major global awards. This collection of
original essays, beautifully presented with a sleeve in the inside cover
containing four small postcards, reflects on his life, career, and the theatre.
ISBN 978 0 9565 8541 7
MCKELLEN, IAN
COVERING MCKELLEN: An Understudy’s Tale by David Weston
The stage is set for what promises to be one of the greatest tours in the
history of theatre. A whole host of stars led by Sir Ian McKellen and Sir
Trevor Nunn set off to take the world by storm with their new production
of King Lear — only to endure injuries, critical backlash and almost
constant controversy. As understudy to the King himself, Weston’s frank
and funny account takes us right through from the London rehearsals, to a
Stratford Season, out across the globe and back to the glittering West End.
Punctuated with hilarious celebrity anecdotes, insightful travelling tales,
and lessons for any aspiring thespian, Weston deftly lifts the curtain on the
Royal Shakespeare Company’s much heralded tour and reveals the chaos
underneath. ISBN 978 0 9565 3680 8
IAN McKELLEN. An Unofficial Biography. Mark Barratt
Hugely readable and immensely entertaining, Mark Barrat’s intimate
biography gives a rare and informed insight into the life and work of
one of Britain’s best loved actors. ISBN 0 7535 1074 X
MCKENNA, VIRGINIA
THE LIFE IN MY YEARS Virginia McKenna
Foreword by Joanna Lumley
At the heart of The Life in My Years, actress and campaigner Virginia
McKenna’s new book about her life, is a cry for a change in attitude —
to respect nature and all that it provides. But how long can we wait?
Urgent action is needed. Virginia has pushed aside the glamour of movie
stardom, classical theatre and the West End, where she starred in major
musicals like The King and I and A Little Night Music. She now focuses
on her personal mission with the Born Free Foundation, supported by a
network of like-minded celebrities. ISBN 978 1 84943035 7
MENDES, SAM AND RUSSELL BEALE, SIMON
CATCHING THE LIGHT. A Working Partnership. By Mark Leipacher.
Foreword by Kevin Spacey
Sam Mendes and Simon Russell Beale have forged one of the most
successful working partnerships in contemporary theatre history. Mark
Leipacher’s correspondence with Mendes and Beale and his thorough
research into archival material on their collaborations offers a detailed
account of the productions and, uniquely, Mendes’ and Beale’s own
observations on their method of work and on the discoveries they made
in each of the plays. ISBN 978 1 8 4002 9697
MERMAN, ETHEL
BRASS DIVA The Life and Legends of Ethel Merman Caryl Flinn
Brass Diva takes us from Merman’s working-class beginnings through
the extraordinary career that was launched in 1930 when, playing a
secondary role in a Gershwin Brothers’ show, she became an overnight
sensation singing “I Got Rhythm.” From there, we follow Merman’s
hits on Broadway, her uneven successes in Hollywood, and her afterlife
as a beloved camp icon. In this definitive work on the phenomenon that
was Ethel Merman, Publishers Weekly says, “Flinn masterfully analyzes
Merman’s work on stage, screen and TV with a sophisticated eye for
detail that will delight theater buffs.” HB ISBN 978 0 520 22942 6
MILLER, ARTHUR
ARTHUR MILLER Christopher Bigsby
This is the long awaited biography of one of the twentieth century’s
greatest playwrights whose postwar decade of work earned him
international critical and popular acclaim. His refusal to give evidence
against others to the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee
in 1956 gave him a heroic role to play. In that same year, Arthur Miller
momentously married the young actress Marilyn Monroe, a marriage that
remains famous to this day. Christopher Bigsby’s gripping, meticulously
researched biography, based on boxes of papers made available to him
before Miller’s death, offers new insights into their marriage and sheds
new light on how their relationship informed Miller’s subsequent great
plays. Christopher Bigsby’s supremely authoritative biography does full
justice to Miller’s life and art. ISBN 978 0 7538 2615 7
ARTHUR MILLER — A Life. Martin Gottfried
This first full biography reveals the relationships between Arthur
Miller’s life and his work, from the early, autobiographical plays to
his personal and political references in After the Fall. All is work is
discussed, from tentative idea to completed production, with chapters
on the major works: Death of a Salesman, All my Sons, After the Fall,
A view from the Bridge and The Crucible. Using these materials in
conjunction with notebooks, annotated scripts and correspondences
as well as interviews with those who know Miller, biographer Martin
Gottfried crafts the complete life and work of a true man of the century,
a nation’s conscience, an international legend and a theatre giant in his
own time: Arthur Miller. ISBN 0-571-21947--0
ARTHUR MILLER A PLAYWRIGHT’S LIFE AND WORKS. Enoch
Brater
Professor Brater follows Miller’s career from his prizewinning student
days at the University of Michigan, through the landmark success of
his 1949 drama, Death of a Salesman, to his doomed marriage to the
actress Marilyn Monroe and beyond. HB ISBN 0-500-51242-6
ARTHUR MILLER 1962 — 2005 Christopher Bigsby
Christopher Bigsby brilliantly and elegantly maps out the journey of
Miller’s life and work, shedding new light on Miller’s complexities and
revealing previously unknown facts about his public and private life,
Bigsby shares new insights and perspectives crucial to an understanding
of one of the world’s greatest playwrights. ISBN 978 0 297 86315 1
THE CRUCIBLE IN HISTORY AND OTHER ESSAYS. Arthur Miller
In The Crucible in History, Miller recounts with candour the intimate
details of his own peril and despair during Senator Mcarthy’s infamous
anti-communist crusade. In two other essays included here, Miller
looks back at the writing of Death of a Salesman on the occasion of its
fiftieth anniversary, and reflects on the inspiration for The Price ISBN
0-41377524-0
REMEMBERING ARTHUR MILLER. Edited by Christopher Bigsby
Remembering Arthur Miller is a celebration of a life committed to
writing, to upholding liberty and to speaking out against injustice. Over
eighty pieces from actors,writers, directors, reviewers and others, who
knew or worked with Miller, attest to the enduring legacy that he has
left and the honour in which he is held. HB ISBN 0-413-77552-6
“SALESMAN” IN BEIJING. Arthur Miller.
“Very few people write well about the art of directing a play. Miller,
however, has a specific and intricate problem to explain: how you
direct, listening to your own play coming across in a language you
cannot hope to understand…
The result, then, is not merely the lucid diary of a unique production
in China; it is also a very clear account of the kind of process any
production might go through, and of the thoughts running through the
mind of any considerate director.” The Times ISBN 0-413-77545-3
TIMEBENDS. A Life. Arthur Miller. With a foreword by Richard Eyre
From the moment of its first publication, Arthur Miller’s Timebends
has been recognised as a classic of modern autobiography. This new
edition contains a foreword by Richard Eyre and an afterword by
Christopher Bigsby.
“A beautifully structured narrative: tough, very moving … a book and
a half” Harold Pinter. ISBN 0-413-77544-5 PB 978 1 40883631 6
MILLER, JONATHAN
IN TWO MINDS. A Biography of Jonathan Miller. Kate Bassett
In Two Minds is the first comprehensive biography of Jonathan
Miller — the story of one of post-war Britain’s most intriguing
polymaths. Jonathan Miller is one of the most multi-talented Britons
of his generation, celebrated for his dazzling intelligence and antiestablishmentarian wit. Drawing on in-depth interviews, this is an
entertaining and illuminating portrait of a fascinatingly complex man.
ISBN 978 1 8494 3451 5
MILLS, JOHN
STILL MEMORIES — An Autobiography In Photography. John Mills
Throughout John Mills’ extraordinary career he has been clicking his
beloved Leica. More than seven thousand photographs and transparencies
present a unique chronicle of a unique man and a unique family.
MIRREN, HELEN
HELEN MIRREN — THE BIOGRAPHY. Ivan Waterman.
A fascinating read, this book charts an incredible woman through her
struggle to the top , her dramatic decision to move LA, her relationships
with fellow actors, including Liam Neeson, and her marriage to film
director Taylor Hackford. A must-read for Mirren fans and film buffs
alike, this book is not to be missed.
ISBN 1 84358 053 5 (HB)
IN THE FRAME My Life in Words and Pictures. Helen Mirren
Helen Mirren has been an internationally acclaimed actress and the
recipient of many awards, transferring between stage, cinema and
television for over 40 years. Stranded in London by the Bolshevik
revolution Helen’s Russian aristocratic grandfather had only a trunk of
papers and photographs of Helen’s Russian antecedents. She has kept a
rich seam of photographs and memorabilia from her life, and her parents,
family life, childhood, teenage and early years as an actress living in
insalubrious flats are vividly documented. ISBN 978 0 7538 2434 4
MITCHELL, ADRIAN
JUST ADRIAN. Edited by Celia Mitchell and Daniel Cohen
Just Adrian is a patchwork tour of a legendary playwright, poet and
activist’s life in the theatre. It is a fascinating first-hand account of
groundbreaking productions featuring figures like Kenneth Tynan,
Peter Brook and Peter Hall as well as adventures in alternative theatre.
These notes and essays explore Adrian’s many interests, from drama for
children to musical theatre, in a voice that combines playful irreverence
with compassion and insight. Taken together, with many appearing in
print for the first time, they are a funny, moving testament to a great
theatre lover. ISBN 978 1 8494 3047 0
MONROE, MARILYN
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN. Colin Clark
In 1956, fresh from Oxford, 23-year-old Colin Clark worked as a
humble “gofer” on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl. The film
united Britain’s leading actor, Laurence Olivier, with Hollywood’s most
glamorous sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe — and clashes between them
entered film legend.
For one glorious week, the world’s biggest film star sought comfort
in the arms of the set’s most junior employee. This is the frank, fresh
and comic story of how Clark came to share Monroe’s confidences —
and her bed! Now a major motion picture starring Michelle Williams,
Kenneth Brannagh and Judi Dench. ISBN 978 0 0074 3158 8
MONTANO, LINDA M.
LETTERS FORM LINDA M. MONTANO — Linda M. Montano.
Edited by Jennie Klein
Letters from Linda M. Montano is an exceptional anthology of writings
by one of the seminal performance artists of the past century. It provides
a candid autobiographical and historical record of Mantano’s life and
artistic practice over the past thirty years, collecting together stories,
fairy tales, letters, interviews, manifestos, and other writings, many
previously unpublished. ISBN 0 415 33943 X
MORLEY, SHERIDAN
BUT WHAT COMES AFTER — Ruth Leon
But What Comes After is Ruth Leon’s searingly honest and deeply
moving account of her marriage to Sheridan Morley, and of what it
means to take responsibility for the life of another human being after
he suffered from a stroke. ISBN 978 1 8452 9570 7
MORTIMER, JOHN
A VOYAGE ROUND JOHN MORTIMER. The Authorized Biography
Valerie Grove
A Voyage Round John Mortimer is revealing of many aspects of
Mortimer’s legal and literary career, from his first novels and his
devotion to his blind barrister father through to his triumph in the
Oz trial, his stance on freedom of speech and his creation, in Horace
Rumpole, of the most popular barrister ever to emerge from the Old
Bailey. ISBN 978 0 141 01954 3
MOODY, RON
A STILL UNTITLED (NOT QUITE) AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY RON
MOODY
Actor Ron Moody has enthralled generations with his masterly
performance as Fagin in both the stage and film versions of Oliver! –
one of the great classics of British theatre and cinema. In this highly
original, idiosyncratic and often very funny memoir, he looks back
describing in frank detail the twists and turns of his career and the
performances that led up to Oliver! HB ISBN 978 1 907532 11 5
NEWMAN, DANNY
TALES OF A THEATRICAL GURU. Danny Newman
In Tales of a Theatrical Guru, legendary showman Danny Newman
brings together thirty-three profiles of key arts people he’s known
during his amazing career, many of them connected with Lyric Opera
of Chicago. Ranging from hilarious to sombre, these fascinating
vignettes and anecdotes provide a backstage pass to insider stories
from the dynamo who’s kept the American arts thriving. ISBN 978 0
2520 3164 9
NIVEN, DAVID
NIV — The Authorised Biography of David Niven. Graham Lord
Written with the full co-operation and assistance of Niv’s children,
Niv is the authorised account of a remarkable life. Graham Lord has
interviewed scores of people from all over the world, among them
Niv’s ninety-six-year-old sister Grizel and his great friends Lauren
Bacall, John Hurt, Patrick Macnee, Roderick Mann, Sir Roger Moore,
Sir John Mills, Sir John Mortimer, Michael Parkinson, Fiona Thyssen,
Sir Peter Ustinov, and Robert Wagner. ISBN 0 75285 928 5
OLIVIER, LAURENCE
LORD LARRY. The Secret Life of Laurence Olivier. A Personal and
Intimate Portrait Michael Munn
Laurence Olivier considered by so many to have been Britain’s
greatest actor, was a man of many secrets. In this gripping, intimate
biography, Michael Munn explores the experiences that shaped Olivier
as a man and performer. In this affectionate, revealing look at the
actor’s incredible life Munn shows us what was really going on behind
Olivier’s famous façade. HB ISBN 978 1 86105 977 9
OLIVIER. Francis Beckett
Francis Beckett is a journalist, author and contemporary historian,
writing mainly about education, politics and society for several national
newspapers. Theatre is his passion, however, and this biography looks
at Olivier, possibly Britain’s greatest actor of the 20th of century, from
the viewpoint a social historian. ISBN 1-904950-38-8
OLIVIER Anthony Holden “The Definitive Life Of Olivier” The
Times.
Oscar-winning Hollywood star, onstage and off, Olivier played many
parts and lived many lives. During his long and distinguished career,
he worked closely with John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, played
opposite Marilyn Monroe and Dustin Hoffman, led the British theatre
in a Golden Age and packed theatres in New York. But what of the
character behind the make-up? In his perceptive, witty and penetrating
portrait, Anthony Holden investigates the truth behind rumours of
Olivier’s alleged homosexual affairs with the likes of Marlon Brando
and Danny Kaye, for a long time covered up by Olivier’s family. HB
ISBN 978 1 904435 89 1
O’MARA, KATE
VAMP UNTIL READY — A Life Laid Bare. Kate O’Mara
Off stage, her personal life has been equally dramatic, featuring rape,
desertion, adoption, divorce and a string of relationships. Feisty funny,
sometimes sad but always entertaining, Vamp Until Ready is the nohold-barred eagerly awaited autobiography of Kate O’Mara, one of
Britain’s most popular icons and a woman who really lives life to the
full. ISBN 1 86105 700 8 (HB)
Madam, Pal Joey, Wonderful Town, The King and I and My Fair Lady,
to name but a few. He is also a composer in his own right. “If I Ruled
the World’ from Pickwick, the musical he wrote with Wolf Mankowitz
and Leslie Bricusse, became a world-class hit and turned into what was
virtually the late Sir Harry Secombe’s theme tune. With wit, wisdom and
humility he candidly discusses the triumphs and disasters of his lifelong
love affair with Show Business. HB ISBN 978 1 84624 166 6
ORTON, JOE
ORTON DIARIES. John Lahr
From December 1966 until his murder in August 1967, Orton kept a
series of diaries that prove to be one of the most candid, unfettered
accounts of his literary success, sexual escapades and ‘marriage’ to
Kenneth Halliwell, while encapsulating life during six months in the
heady, optimistic, exuberant sixties.
PRICK UP YOUR EARS —The Biography of Joe Orton. John Lahr
John Lahr reconstructs both the life and death of Joe Orton in another
extraordinary biography that was chosen book of the year by Truman
Capote and Nobel Prize-winning novelist Patrick White when it first
appeared in 1978. ISBN 0 7475 6014 5
OSBORNE, JOHN
JOHN OSBORNE. A Patriot For Us. John Heilpern
John Osborne, unapologetic rebel and original Angry Young Man,
blow-torched his way into our lives, changing the face of modern British
theatre in 1956 with Look Back In Anger. As iconoclastic as Shaw
or Wilde, he defined England in many controversial ways. An actor
turned playwright, there was about him the public showmanship of his
own tragic invention, Archie Rice in The Entertainer. But Osborne hid
his anguished nature and immobilising depressions from the outside
world in his secret notebooks. This startlingly candid, authorised but
intimate and informal biography is the first to have access to these
sensational notebooks and private letters. ISBN 978 0 099 27586 2
PAGETT, NICOLA
DIAMONDS BEHIND MY EYES. Nicola Pagett and Graham
Swannell
By turns funny, bizarre, distressing and moving, this is a searingly
honest account of mental illness. Nicola Pagett spares herself nothing
in her determination to explain, openly and in a manner that mirrors
her condition, what happened to her and how she was cured.
PAIGE, ELAINE
MEMORIES Elaine Paige Celebrating 40 years in the Theatre
Foreword by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Elaine Paige is the undisputed First Lady of Musical Theatre. In
Memories she takes us through her career in the earliest stage
appearances, which included the celebrated first UK production of
Hair, and working with Joan Littlewood’s ground-breaking Theatre
Workshop in London’s East End, to her starring roles in some of
the biggest musicals of the past 40 years: Grease, Evita, Cats, Chess
and Sunset Boulevard. She also talks about the challenges of taking
on established roles in works as diverse as Anything Goes, Piaf and
Sweeney Todd. HB ISBN 978 1 84002 852 2
PETHERBRIDGE, EDWARD
ORNADEL,CYRIL
SLIM CHANCES AND UNSCHEDULED APPEARANCES. Edward
Petherbridge.
REACH FOR THE MOON. A Portrait of My Life Cyril Ornadel
The name of Cyril Ornadel may not be known to many outside musical
theatre. The back of his head however, was for many years the most
famous on television, for Cyril Ornadel was the conductor in the
orchestra pit for ITV’s Sunday Night at the London Palladium. He was
also the musical director of many West End ‘hit’ shows: Kismet, Call Me
In this fascinating collection of essays, Edward Petherbridge tells the
story of his life in the theatre (low ebbs included), from his first acting
lesson, watching Norman Evans in Humpty Dumpty at the Bradford
Alhambra, and his early years in ‘tatty’ rep, through his frustrations
and triumphs at the Old Vic under the leadership of Laurence Olivier,
to his role in the formation of the democratic Actors’ Company and his
membership of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Along the way he
recounts several ‘unscheduled’ appearances, in Peter Brook’s Oedipus,
for instance, and in Wormwood Scrubs as a young conscientious
objector.
his Hackney childhood to his current eminence. This new edition
includes a full transcript of the Nobel lecture, as well as an additional
chapter and accompanying photographs covering the years 1996-2006.
ISBN 978 0 571 23476 9
PHILLIPS, CONRAD
MUST YOU GO? My Life with Harold Pinter Antonia Fraser
Harold Pinter and Antonia Fraser lived together from August 1975
until his death thirty-three years later on Christmas Eve, 2008. ‘ O! call
back yesterday, bid time return’cries one of the courtiers to Richard
the II. This is Antonia Fraser’s way of doing so. HB ISBN 978 0 7538
2758 1. PB ISBN 978 0 7538 2878 6
COULD YOU DIE A LITTLE LOUDER? An Actor Remembers.
Conrad Phillips
Conrad Phillips shot to fame with his magnificent portrayal of William
Tell in the television series of the 1950s, but this role was only one
episode in a long acting career and in a remarkable life. This lively
autobiography sweeps through three crowded decades of mid-century
history. It shows us the reality of an actor’s life, against the background
of a changing England from the 1940s to the 1960s, and it reveals its
author not only as a talented actor, but as a remarkably perceptive man
and a gifted writer. ISBN 0 9514838 7 0
PHILIPS, LESLIE
HELLO The Autobiography Leslie Philips
For more than seventy years, Leslie Phillips has been a working
actor, appearing alongside Dame Anna Neagle in the 1930s and John
Malkovich in the twenty-first century, as well as just about every star
in between. Born in the smoggy depths of Tottenham, by the 1960s he
was recognised around the world for his comic roles in the Carry On
and Doctor series when he made the word ‘Hello’ uniquely his own.
ISBN 978 0 7528 8178 2
PHILIPS, NEVILLE
THE STAGE STRUCK ME! Neville Phillips
The Stage Struck Me is a funny, informative and sometimes sad
account of the life of a jobbing actor and writer in the 1940s and 1950s,
full of anecdotes about the famous, the infamous, the charming and the
downright loopy people he met along the way. The Stage Struck Me
is a fascinating and sometimes poignant account of times, places and
people that played such an important part in a young aspiring actor’s
life. ISBN 978 1906510 435
PHILLIPS, SIÂN
SIÂN PHILLIPS — The Autobiography — Private Faces
In this remarkably vivid, funny and touching autobiography Siân
Philips describes her extraordinary childhood in the remote Welsh
countryside around the Black Mountain where life has stood still for
centuries.
PIAF, EDITH
A CRY FROM THE HEART — Biography of Edith Piaf. Margaret
Crosland with contributions from Ralph Harvey.
This definitive biography sheds new light on the phenomenon that
was Piaf, enlarging on and in some cases correcting the half-truths
provided by Piaf in her two biographies. ISBN 1 900850 50 8
PINTER, HAROLD
CONVERSATIONS WITH PINTER. Mel Gussow
A unique sequence of interviews, in which Pinter talks candidly about
his plays, offering valuable pointers to their origins and intentions.
HAROLD PINTER — The Life And Work Of. Michael Billington.
In this ground-breaking book — the first authorized biographical study
— the author examines Pinter’s work in the context of his life. He
emerges as a man of infinite complexity whose imaginative world is
shaped by his private character. This book offers a radical reassessment
of Pinter.
HAROLD PINTER New and Updated Edition Michael Billington
Michael Billington’s engrossing biography takes Harold Pinter from
PISCATOR, ERWIN
THE PISCATOR NOTEBOOK. Judith Malina
Judith Malina and The Living Theatre have been icons of political
theatre for over six decades. What few realise is that she originally
studied under another giant of 20th century culture, Erwin Piscator,
in his Dramatic Workshop at The New School in New York. The
Piscator Notebook is a striking record of the genealogy of political
theatre practice in the 20th century, from Europe the the US. But it is
also a stunningly personal reflection on the pleasures and challenges of
learning about theatre, charged with essential insights for the student
and teacher, actor and director. ISBN 978 0 4156 0074 3
PLATER, ALAN
ALAN PLATER. Doggin’ Around. Illustrated by the Author
Alan Plater describes this book as ‘memoirs of a jazz-crazed playwright,
some of the stories are autobiographical and some of them are true.’It
started the day he heard Mood Indigo at his grandparents’house in
Jarrow and continued in his adolescence when he fell in love with
cowboy bands. Music has been the vital ingredient throughout his
career,with an extraordinary range of collaborators, including Alex
Glasgow, the Watersons, Dave Greenslade, John Dankworth, Sir Peter
Maxwell Davies, Kenny Baker and Alan Barnes.
ISBN 978 0 9550 9080 6
PLUMMER, CHRISTOPHER
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER In Spite of Myself A Memoir
Plummer writes about the great producers with whom he worked,
about Lillian Hellman, Leonard Bernstein, Elia Kazan and the miracle
that was the new Stratford Revival in Canada, where he blossomed in
the classics under the extraordinary Tyrone Guthrie. HB ISBN 978 1
906779 86 3
PEARCE, JACQUELINE
JACQUELINE PEARCE: From Byfleet to the Bush. An
Autobiography
The actress Jacqueline Pearce’s career has taken her from RADA to
Hollywood, via starring roles in international comedy films, Hammer
Horror, BBC Shakespeare, and London’s West End. So how did she
end up living in the African bush with her belongings in black bin
bags? Find out with this gripping memoir of an extraordinary life —
from Byfleet to the Bush. ISBN 978 1 9062 6387 4
POLIAKOFF, STEPHEN
ON STAGE AND SCREEN — Robin Nelson
Over four decades, Stephen Poliakoff has proved himself to be a highly
distinctive dramatist in theatre, film and television. This book is the
first to offer a comprehensive overview of Poliakoff’s work for stage
and screen and a framework for its critical evaluation.
ISBN 978 1 4081 3108 4
POLLOCK, SHARON
MAKING THEATRE: A LIFE OF SHARON POLLOCK Sherrill Grace
Distinguished author, scholar and teacher Sherill Grace has written
the story of Pollock’s life from her family roots in New Brunswick
through her pioneering years as a Canadian playwright to the present
as she continues to make theatre. It focuses attention on Pollock’s
career as a playwright, director, actor and artistic director and it places
her story in the context of what is the flowering of Canadian theatre,
the four decades from 1967 to the present. Grace also discusses each of
Pollock’s major plays and many of their most interesting productions
in Canada, as well as their productions in the United States, Japan and
England. ISBN 978 0 88922 566 2
POSTLETHWAITE, PETE
A SPECTACLE OF DUST — The Autobiography
Pete Postlethwaite, described by Steven Spielberg as ‘the best actor in
the world’, has been a well-known face on stage, cinema and television
for over twenty years. Candid and vibrant, this autobiography —
completed shortly before he died — recounts the life of a much-loved
and remarkably talented man.
ISBN 978 0 2978 6493 6
PURCHASE, BRUCE
CHANGING SKIES An Actor’s Life Bruce Purchase
Born in New Zealand in 1938, Bruce Purchase won a scholarship to
study acting in England. Based there ever since, his career has ranged
from Shakespeare to Casualty, MyFairLady to Doctor Who. Bruce’s
memoir starts with Sir Laurence Olivier and breezes through colourful
and candid anecdotes, always fascinating, often funny. In between times
he discovers an unexpected gift for painting, and endures a personal
crisis that would splinter his life forever. Bruce/s stories and his cast
of characters, many leading lights of stage and screen, from Franco
Zeffirelli to Sir Ian McKellan, provide an intimate insight into an actor’s
life richly lived, both on and off the stage. ISBN 978 1 877448 29 4
QUICK, DIANA
A TUG ON THE THREAD: From the British Raj to the British Stage
Diana Quick
‘This is a remarkable, evocative and alluring hybrid, at once a detective
story, a family memoir, a social history of the British in India, an elegy
for a lost father and an actor’s autobiography.’ Hermione Lee
ISBN 978 1 84408 592 7
QUILLEY, DENIS
HAPPINESS INDEED— AN ACTOR’S LIFE. Denis Quilley
A man of many parts, Denis Quilley’s acting career ranged from
Shakespeare to Sondheim via Chekhov, O’Neill and Beckett.
Musicals, comedies and tragedies were all part of an extraordinary life
that covered sixty years of theatre, television and film, working with
many of the greats of stage and screen. Happiness Indeed is Quilley’s
story told with his inimitable ebullience, humour and panache. ISBN
1 84002 268 X (HB)
RAMSAY, MARGARET
LOVE IS WHERE IT FALLS. An Account of a Passionate Friendship.
Simon Callow.
“This extraordinary memoir brilliantly evokes one of the most
formidable and influential figures on recent British cultural history,
Peggy Ramsay, muse, patron and scourge of the post Look Back In
Anger generation… Those of us who loved her will be astonished by
the vivid accuracy of Simon Callow’s portrait; but even those ignorant
of her existence will surely be touched, fascinated and challenged”
Christopher Hampton, Sunday Times. ISBN 9 781854 599766
PEGGY — The Life of Margaret Ramsay, Play Agent. Colin
Chambers.
The compelling story of the woman who nurtured several generations
of writing talent — the most influential behind-the-scenes figure in the
British theatre since the war.
RATTIGAN, TERENCE
TERENCE RATTIGAN A Biography Geoffrey Wansell
The greatest plays of Terence Rattigan (1911-77) — including The
Browning Version, The Deep Blue Sea, Separate Tables and The
Winslow Boy — are now established classics. There have been regular
revivals of his work, including recent productions in the West End, at
Chichester Festival Theatre and by the Peter Hall Company, which
makes this first paperback edition of Geoffrey Wansell’s acclaimed
biography particularly timely. From the heady days of Rattigan’s
success to the darker days of his decline in popularity, Wansell paints a
captivating portrait of one of the twentieth century’s greatest theatrical
lights. ISBN 978 1 84002 838 6
TERENCE RATTIGAN The Man and His Work Michael Darlow
In his lifetime Rattigan was a well-known public figure, yet despite
his friendships with people such as Noël Coward he always publicly
hid his homosexuality. Michael Darlow has been able to describe this
important aspect of his life and fully consider it in relation to his work.
This portrait of a complex and fascinating man unfolds to provide
a compelling case for Rattigan to be accepted as one of the great
dramatists of the last century. ISBN 978 0 7043 7197 2
REDGRAVE
THE HOUSE OF REDGRAVE. The Secret Lives of a Theatrical
Dynasty. Tim Adler
More than seventy years ago, after a performance of Hamlet at the Old
Vic, Laurence Olivier stepped out from behind the curtain to announce,
“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight a great actress has been born: Laertes
has a daughter.” Her parents had already named her Vanessa. Between
them, Michael Redgrave’s children and grandchildren would go on to
win four Golden Globes, a Tony award and an Oscar. The Redgrave
family story is a febrile mix of ambition, scandal and tragedy that for
some of them ends in a remote country churchyard, 80 miles north of
Manhattan ... HB ISBN 978 1 8451 3623 9
THE REDGRAVES. A Family Epic. Donald Spoto
For more than a century, the Redgraves have defined thatre and film
while captivating the public eye. Their history is a rich tapestry of
singularly talented individuals whose influence is felt to thhis day.
From the zenith of Academy awards and Queen’s honours to the nadir
of frequent bereavements and salacious revelations in the emdia, the
Redgrave family calls to mind tragic heroes and heroines who attracted
too much attention from the gods. ISBN 978 1 8495 4394 1
REDGRAVE, MICHAEL
SECRET DREAMS — A Biography of Michael Redgrave. Alan
Strachan
Of all the great actors of the twentieth century Michael Redgrave was
the most wide ranging in his talent and the most private with a personal
life of utmost complexity, often secret in its detail. Using Redgrave’s
diaries and archives, Alan Strachan has uncovered the full story of
an unorthodox life, with private guilts, demons and tensions “which
informed the public work with so much of its uniquely troubling
intensity.” ISBN 0-75286-548-X
RICHARDSON, IAN
WE COULD POSSIBLY COMMENT: Ian Richardson Remembered
Sharon Mail
Looking at the life and work of a truly unique performer, We Could
Possibly Comment gives an insight into this special man through
tributes from more than fifty actors, directors, producers, writers,
admirers and others. It includes the author’s personal recollections of
a dear friend and extracts from a lengthy interview conducted during a
memorable visit to the actor’s home. 978 1848761 84 1
RIDLEY, ARNOLD
RUBY, THELMA & FRYE, PETER
GODFREY’S GHOST From Father to Son Nicolas Ridley
In his youth, Arnold Ridley was celebrated as the author of the classic
comedy thriller, The Ghost Train. In old age he played the character,
Private Godfrey in television’s Dad’s Army. Nicolas Ridley provides
with an original, touchingly truthful account of the life of a muchloved father. ISBN 978 1 906132 98 9
DOUBLE OR NOTHING: Autobiography of Thelma Ruby and Peter Frye
In this moving memoir, of theatrical life in Canada, the United States,
England and Israel, Thelma tells of her struggles and successes on
stage where she worked with Orson Welles, Tyrone Power, Judi Dench
and Kenneth Williams, to name but a few. Peter Speakes of the way
his career was cruelly blighted when he was blacklisted during the
McCarthy era as a result of his fight for justice during the Spanish Civil
War. Among his students of acting in New York were Lee Marvin,
Walter Matthau, Rod Steiger and Patricia Neal.
RIGG, DIANA
DIANA RIGG — The Biography. Kathleen Tracy
Tracy reveals fascinating professional and personal life of this
rebellious, outspoken icon of feminism — from her childhood in India
and early days with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London
to her tenure on The Avengers, her role in the Bond film On Her
Majesty’s Secret Service and her distinguished stage career. ISBN 1
932100 27 X
ROACH, PAT
IF — The Pat Roach Story. Pat Roach with Shirley Thompson.
Foreword by Arnold Schwarzenegger
For the first time, wrestler-turned-film-and-television actor Pat Roach
tells his unique life from poverty-stricken childhood to famous
celebrity, revealing ‘the man behind the image’, and covering his
considerable achievements in the fields of sport, film and television.
The range of contributors and subjects is extremely diverse including
Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Steven Spielberg and many other actors,
directors, photographers, museum curators, entrepreneurs, stunt men,
fans, film crew and sports personalities. Illustrated. ISBN 1 85858 209 1
ROBBINS, JEROME
SOMEWHERE. The Life of Jerome Robbins. Amanda Vaill
Somewhere is the story of a true American theatrical genius, Jerome
Robbins. As a choreographer and/or director of such groundbreaking
musicals as West Side Story, On the Town, Gyps and Fiddler on the
Roof and such classic ballets as The Cage, Afternoon of a Faun and
Dances at a Gathering, he dominated the performing arts in America
for half a century. HB ISBN 978 0 297 84797 7
ROOSE-EVANS, JAMES
OPENING DOORS AND WINDOWS A Memoir in Four Acts James
Roose-Evans
Opening Doors and Windows is a fresh and absorbing story of
continuous search for answers, a constantly colourful, entertaining and
moving account of a many-sided life and what the author stands for. It
will captivate and interest readers from all walks of life; and above all,
it will inspire them. HB ISBN 978 0 7524 5406 1
ROSENTHAL, JACK
BY JACK ROSENTHAL — An Autobiography in Six Acts. With a
PostScript by Maureen Lipman. ISBN 1 86105 748 2 (HB)
Paperback edition. ISBN 1 861 05960 4
ROSTAND, EDMOND
THE MAN WHO WAS CYRANO. A Life of Edmond Rostand,
Creator of Cyrano de Bergerac by Sue Lloyd
This is the first full-length biography of Edmond Rostand to be
published in English. Written for those who love Cyrano de Bergerac,
it throws new light on the origins of his most famous play, and reveals
how Rostand expressed his own character and ideals in his heroes,
especially Cyrano. This book also introduces readers to his other plays,
such as Chanticler, thought by some to be his masterpiece.
ISBN 978 1 5883 2072 8
RUSSEL, LILLIAN
LILLIAN RUSSELL A Biography of “America’s Beauty” Armond
Fields
At a time when serious plays dominated the stages, Lillian Russell was
one of the first to popularize musical theater. With her beauty, voice
and grace, she was the symbol of the new American woman. She used
those attributes to attain power, social status and wealth and then to
become one of the earliest champions of women’s equality. Her life
and career are covered here in detail, with particular emphasis on the
way she influenced theatre history and popular culture. ISBN 978 0
7864 3868 6
RUSSELL, ROSALIND
FOREVER MAME. The Life of Rosalind Russell Bernard F Dick
When it comes to living life to its fullest, Rosalind Russell’s Auntie Mame
is still the silver screen’s exemplar. Mame, the role Russell (1907-1976)
would always be remembered for, embodies the rich and rewarding life
Bernard F Dick reveals in the first biography of this Golden Age star. HB
ISBN 978 1 57806 890 6 PB ISBN 978 1 6047 3962 6
RUSSELL BEALE, SIMON AND MENDES, SAM
CATCHING THE LIGHT. A Working Partnership. By Mark Leipacher.
Foreword by Kevin Spacey
Sam Mendes and Simon Russell Beale have forged one of the most
successful working partnerships in contemporary theatre history. Mark
Leipacher’s correspondence with Mendes and Beale and his thorough
research into archival material on their collaborations offers a detailed
account of the productions and, uniquely, Mendes’ and Beale’s own
observations on their method of work and on the discoveries they made
in each of the plays. ISBN 978 1 8 4002 9697
RUTHERFORD, MARGARET
MARGARET RUTHERFORD Dreadnought With Good Manners A
Biography by Andy Merriman
For this new biography — the first for over 25 years — Andy Merriman
has interviewed scores of people who knew Margaret Rutherford,
from stage and screen directors, Peter Brook, Frith Banbury and Ken
Annakin, fellow actors like Claire Bloom, Richard Briers, Anna Massey
and Virginia Mckenna to confidantes and close friends and those who
kept house for her. The result is an immensely compassionate and
sometimes shocking portrait of an eccentric, vulnerable, naïve, lovable
woman, generous to a fault, who delighted audiences with some of the
finest comic performances of any British actress.
ISBN 978 1 84513 585 0
SALLIS, PETER
FADING INTO THE LIMELIGHT. The Autobiography Peter Sallis in
Collaboration with John Miller
Peter Sallis is known to millions of viewers as Clegg in Last of the
Summer Wine, which has been on TV for more than three decades,
and to a new generation of fans as the voice of Wallace in the Oscarwinning Wallace and Gromit. Now he reflects on a rich and varied
career, from his early acting experiences in the RAF during the
war, and the scholarship to RADA after he was demobbed, to his
performances with most of the greats, including John Gielgud, Ralph
Richardson, Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles and Judy Dench. In this
highly entertaining and revealing autobiography, Peter Sallis writes
candidly about a fascinating career that has spanned more than sixty
years. ISBN 978 0 7528 8166 9
SCALES, PRUNELLA
PRUNELLA. The Authorised Biography of Prunella Scales. Teresa
Ransom
Prunella Scales has played parts by writers as diverse as Alan Bennett,
Anton Chekhov and the creators of supermarket advertising campaign.
Through this biography a portrait emerges, for the first time, of the
intriguing and dedicated woman behind her many familiar masks.
ISBN 0 7195 5698 8
SCHOENFELD, GERALD
MR BROADWAY. The Inside Story of the Shuberts, the Shows and the
Stars. A Memoir by Gerald Schoenfeld. Foreword by Hugh Jackman.
Introduction by Alec Baldwin.
This is a story about the American theatre and the dominant forces
that shaped its growth and evolution throughout the last century.
It’s a story about the Shubert brothers — Sam, Lee, and J.J. — and
their successors, and about how my life ecame entangled with the
exceedingly strange Shubert family. ISBN 978 1 5578 3827 8
SHAUGHNESSY, ALFRED
A CONFESSION IN WRITING. Alfred Shaughnessy.
In A CONFESSION IN WRITING the author recalls some of the more
dramatic incidents of his career and includes humorous anecdotes. He
describes encounters with many famous actors, writers and directors
and gives much insight into the arts of directing and scriptwriting. The
book will be compulsive reading for those who are interested in the
world of British screen and TV film and theatre, and provide a fund of
information for its students. HB ISBN 1 873951 30 2
SHAW, GEORGE BERNARD
BERNARD SHAW — The One Volume Definitive Edition. Michael
Holroyd.
Holroyd’s multi-volume life of Bernard Shaw is now available for the
first time in a lively and accessible abridgement by the author.
BERNARD SHAW. Michael Holroyd
Michael Holroyd has done a masterly job of editing his definitive
mult-volume biography of Bernard Shaw and presenting a lively and
succinct one-volume Life. Here is the essential GBS for the general
reader, with its pace and verve, its comedy, drama and politics, it shows
a provocative and paradoxical figure sympathetically and movingly
portrayed. ISBN 978 1 8459 5185 6
EDWARDIAN SHAW — The writer and His Age. Leon Hugo
By going to unused contemporary documents by Shaw and other
writers, the author has opened up new and challenging perspectives
on a perennially challenging subject. In this study of Shaw’s public
career from 1901 to 1910 the author shows how Shaw confronted a
highly conservative world and gradually overcome its opposition to
a dominant radical voice of the age. Aspects of Shaw’s career are
highlighted: his self advertisement campaigns, his crusade against
vaccination, his Fabian causes, his onslaughts on stage censorship and
his progress as a playwright.
SHER, ANTONY
BESIDE MYSELF An Actor’s Life Antony Sher
In Beside Myself, Antony Sher takes us to the heart of what it means
to be an actor today, describing the journeys he undertakes in order to
inhabit the roles for which he is famous including The History Man (his
TV breakthrough), Macbeth, Tamburlaine, Cyrano, Stanley Spencer
and Richard III. Utterly involving and often startlingly revelatory,
Beside Myself will both inspire and inform seasoned theatregoers. For
this edition, published to mark his 60th birthday, Sher has written a
new foreword and epilogue. ISBN 978 1 84842 035 9
THE YEAR OF THE KING — Antony Sher. ISBN 1 85459 753 1
Antony Sher’s stunning performance for the Royal Shakespeare
Company as Richard III on crutches — the so-called “bottled spider” —
won him both the Laurence Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for
Best Actor. This book records — in the actor’s own words and drawings
— the making of this historic theatrical event. ISBN 1 85459 753 1
SHERRIN, NED
NED SHERRIN The Autobiography. ISBN 978 0 7515 3424 2
GREAT SHOWBIZ AND THEATRICAL ANECDOTES A
Connoisseur’s Collection Ned Sherrin
From Gambon to Gielgud and from Edith Evans to Errol Flynn, and
covering television, musicals, operetta and the theatre, this is an
hilarious, outrageous and fascinating anthology of showbiz stories
collected and collated by the master of gossip and connoisseur of
showbiz lore. ISBN 978 1 906217 84 6
SHERWOOD, ROBERT E
ROBERT E SHERWOOD The Playwright in Peace and War
Harriet Hyman Alonso
In this compelling book, Harriet Hyman Alonso unravels Sherwood’s
inner struggle and portrays his political journey. Relying largely on his
letters, diaries, plays, films, essays and biography of Roosevelt and
Harry Hopkins, she traces Sherwood’s obsession with the world of
politics and its effect on his life and art, from his experience as a soldier
in World War I to the Cold War. She also describes his participation in
the Algonquin Round Table, his friendships and working relationships
with such notables as Alfred Lunt, Lynn Fontanne, Edna Ferber,
Spencer Tracy, Harry Hopkins and Franklin D Roosevelt, his two
marriages and uneasy relationship with his daughter and his leadership
role in the Broadway community. ISBN 978 1 55849 619 4
SIM, ALASTAIR
ALASTAIR SIM The Star of Scrooge and the Belles of St Trinian’s
Mark Simpson
Alastair Sim was an enigmatic character both on and off the screen.
His idiosyncratic style of acting in films such as The Belles of St
Trinian’s endeared him to a cinema-going audience desperate to
escape the day-to-day dreariness of an invasive, bureaucratic post-war
Britain. He offered them an opportunity to laugh, without any feeling
of guilt, in joyful films, devoid of malice. In private he was a curiously
contradictory character, prejudiced and yet tolerant, thoughtful but
sometimes inconsiderate. Alastair Sim offers a rare and fascinating
insight into the life of one of Britain’s most respected and best-loved
actors. HB ISBN 978 0 7509 4966 8
SIMKINS, MICHAEL
WHAT’S MY MOTIVATION — Michael Simkins
It’s not all Oscars and ovations. This is a true tale of one man’s
relentless pursuit of the actor’s life. It begins with a boy with nurtured
an illicit taste for Gilbert and Sullivan performed in Sussex scout huts,
while his friends were more sensibly, out getting laid and stoned. It is a
story of an obsessive who, despite his share of successes, has endured
the ritual humiliations of his profession — end-of-the-pier seasons,
Christmas panto hell, minimum wages in straight-to-video flops and
TV fillers, patently doomed provincial tours with rancid digs, theatre
workshop at the sewage works, the challenge of safety training videos
and dressing up as a chicken to advertise TV dinners — all in the quest
for the elusive perfect role. ISBN 0 091 89229 5
SIMON, NEIL
STACEY, BARRIE
NEIL SIMON — A Memoir. The Play Goes On.
This is the second act to Neil Simon’s acclaimed Rewrites. Simon’s
same willingness to open his heart to the reader permeates The Play
Goes On. ISBN 0 684 86980 2
A TICKET TO THE CARNIVAL. Barrie Stacey
The author was born and raised on the south coast and, after a stint of
National Service, left for London to follow his calling — entertainment
in all its many guises. Barrie Stacey is a well-known figure on the
London entertainment scene and has worked in various aspects of the
entertainment business for decades, proving that style never goes out
of fashion. ISBN 978 1 849 63135 8
SMILES, ROY
FUNNY PEOPLE — Roy Smiles
Funny People is Roy Smiles’ whimsical account of his life in comedy;
from his childhood growing up with the star actors and comedians
on television, stand-up and film in the 1960s and 1970s, through to
his own work, writing hit plays that pay tribute to those legends of
comedy who had a vital influence on both him and British popular
culture of the postwar years. ISBN 978 1 8494 3034 0
SMITH, LIZ
OUR BETTY. Scenes from my Life. Liz Smith
Liz Smith, once called the nation’s favourite fictional grandmother,
is a familiar face to all TV and cinema viewers. She is most often
recognized for her portrayal of Nana in the Royle Family. Written
episodically and illustrated by Liz, Our Betty is like its author, original,
amusing and fascinating on the struggles, hopes and successes endemic
of a life in front of the camera. HB ISBN 0 7432 8533 6
SONDHIEM, STEPHEN
SONDHEIM. Martin Gottfried.
Gottfried brings a wide background in music and theatre criticism
to this subject. His own narrative of Sondheim’s life is enhanced by
general quotations from the artist himself. Illustrated. HB 978 0 8109
3844 1
SOWERBY, GITHA
LOOKING FOR GITHA Patricia Riley
When Githa Sowerby’s first play, Rutherford & Son, made its debut
in London’s West End in1912, critics hailed her as a talent to compare
with Ibsen. At a time when women were commonly believed to be put
on this earth to bear children and run the home, she broke the mould.
And yet within her own lifetime this unique Tyneside playwright —
the granddaughter of Gateshead’s world-famous Sowerby’s Ellison
Glass Works faded from public view. Published to coincide with the
first everTyneside production of Rutherford & Son, this long overdue
biography is the first ever to examine Githa Sowerbury’s life and
works. ISBN 978 0 9558829 4 4
STEAFEL, SHEILA
WHEN HARRY MET SHEILA The Autobiography of Sheila Steafel
Foreword by Claire Rayner OBE
When Harry Met Sheila is the story of highly acclaimed comedy
actress Sheila Steafel, her relationship with Steptoe and Son actor
Harry H Corbett and how a woman, who should have had the world
at her feet, ultimately destroyed her marriage and promising career.
This is a powerful story of one woman’s journey of self discovery and
her struggle to finally let go of the demons of the past. HB ISBN 978
1 906358 83 9
TANGUAY, EVA
QUEEN OF VAUDEVILLE. The Story of Eva Tanguay. Andrew L.
Erdman
In her day, Eva Tanguay was one of the most famous women in
America. Widely known as the “I Don’t Care Girl” — named after
a song she popularized and her independent, even brazen persona —
Tanguay established herself as a vaudeville and musical comedy star
in 1904 with the New York City premiere of the show My Lady and
never looked back. ISBN 978 0 8014 4970 3
TERRY, ELLEN
ELLEN TERRY. Joy Melville
Ellen Terry (1847 — 1928) rose to fame as an actress in the 19th
century, when her stage partnership with Henry Irving at London’s
Lyceum Theatre drew capacity crowds. A perfectionist on stage,
she was cruelly forced to continue to act beyond a point she found
appropriate in order to earn enough money to support her children.
As her sight and memory worsened, and her partnership with Irving
ended, her acting career closed. She reinvented herself as a lecturer,
touring Britain and America speaking on Shakespeare’s heroines. HB
ISBN 1 904950 14 0
WOLE SOYINKA — Ibadan. The Penkelemes years. A Memoir 1946-65
Winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, Ibadan is Wole Soyinka’s
autobiographical account of his boyhood and young manhood as a
political activist — a celebration of an optimistic Nigeria on the brink
of transformation, and a passionate account of a nation’s betrayal.
ISBN 0 413 74420 5
A STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY The Dramatic Lives of Ellen
Terry, Henry Irving and their Remarkable Families Michael Holroyd
Henry Irving and Ellen Terry were the king and queen of the Victorian
stage. In his first major biography for fifteen years, Michael Holroyd
explores their public and private lives, showing how their artistic
legacy and lines of inheritance came to influence the modern world.
An epic story spanning a century of European cultural change, A
Strange Eventful History finds space for the intimate moments of daily
existence as well as the bewitching fantasies played out by its subjects.
Michael Holroyd has created an unforgettable drama and a vivid world
that will engage and enchant his readers. HB 978 0 701 17987 8
SPENCER, JUNE
THOMAS, DYLAN
THE ROAD TO AMBRIDGE My Life, Peggy & The Archers June
Spencer
June takes us back in time as she affectionately recalls the slower pace
of childhood, life during the Second World War, and coping with the
return from Burma of a husband she barely knew. With an amazing 60
years of life with The Archers, she has much to reveal about playing
Peggy. Infused with humour and a Joie de vivre makes The Road to
Ambridge a fascinating and inspiring read.
HB ISBN 978 1 907532 25 2
DYLAN THOMAS — A NEW LIFE. Andrew Lycett
In this riveting new biography, Andrew Lycett goes behind the fables
to reveal Dylan Thomas. He returns to Thomas’s roots to suburban
Swansea and rural Carmarthenshire to illuminate the world of the
“Rimbaud of Cwndonkin Drive”. With access to original material
form archives and personal papers, he shows the development of the
budding bard and brings important new insights to Thomas’s poetry.
ISBN 0 75381 787 X
SOYINKA, WOLE
THAW, JOHN
THE TWO OF US — My Life With John Thaw. Sheila Hancock
This is a remarkable book — a biography of a born actor and the
complex man behind the roles, a tender memoir of a marriage, and
a study of Britain from the 1930s to the present. Full of insight and
vivid memories, it evokes two lives lived to the utmost. ISBN 0 7475
7020 5 (HB)
THORNDIKE, SYBIL
SYBIL THORNDIKE A Star of Life Jonathon Croall
With unique access to hundreds of unpublished letters, Jonathon
Croall has produced a sympathetic but critical authorised biography
of the vicar’s daughter who became a theatrical legend. Through
interviews with nearly two hundred actors, directors and playwrights
and extended conversations with members of her family, he captures
her larger-than-life personality. He also reveals the intense, often
violent nature of her relationship with Lewis Casson, and her struggles
to combine motherhood with a glittering stage career and an active
political life. HB 978 1 905791 92 7
TRINDER, TOMMY
YOU LUCKY PEOPLE! The Tommy Trinder Story Patrick Newley
Tommy Trinder was one of Britain’s greatest comics, an aggressive,
working class performer who was regarded by many as the greatest
ad-libber in showbusiness. His catchphrases, “You Lucky People”
and “If it’s laughter you’re after, Trinder’s the name!” became famous
nationwide and his act, filled with insult and innuendo, was rarely
scripted. In this revealing biography Patrick Newley, author of the
acclaimed “The Amazing Mrs Shufflewick”, examines the life and
career of the man who was described by Roy Hudd as “Britain’s first
alternative comedian”. ISBN 978 1 8985 7623 5
TYNAN, KENNETH
KENNETH TYNAN — A Life. Dominic Shellard
This biography offers the first complete appraisal of Tynan’s powerful
contributions to post-war British theatre, set against the context of the
fifties, sixties and seventies and of his own turbulent life.
ISBN 0 300 09919 3 (HB)
THE DIARIES OF KENNETH TYNAN. — Edited by John Lahr
Irreverent indiscreet, wildly funny, sad, shocking and inspiring, the
legendary diaries of Kenneth Tynan are above all compelling literature.
For over three decades, on both sides of the Atlantic, Tynan was at
the epicentre of the theatre and film worlds. He knew everybody; and
everybody wanted to know him. His diaries bear superb witness to the
fame he courted and the price he paid for it. ISBN 0 7475 5841 8
USTINOV, PETER
over twenty-five years and thanks to her undoubted talent, infectious
spirit and self-deprecating humour we have taken her to our hearts.
Now she tells us her own story, in her own words.
ISBN 978 0 7538 2608 9
WEILL, KURT
KURT WEILL ON STAGE — Form Berlin to Broadway.
Foster Hirsch
This biography concentrates on Weill’s career in the United States, but
its aim is to explore the truth in the comment made by Weill’s wife,
the unforgettable Lotte Lenya: “There is no American Weill, there is
no German Weill. There is no difference between them. There is only
Weill.” ISBN 0 87910 990 4
WESKER, ARNOLD
AMBIVALENCES. A Portrait of Arnold Wesker from A to W
Ambivalences is a document of Arnold Wesker in conversation with the
Italian academic Chiara Montenero. In their wide-ranging discussions,
Wesker and Montenero address his ideas on art and drama with a
particular focus on some of his most enduring characters. Betraying
his reputation as theatre’s “perennial outsider”, Ambivalences finds
Wesker in generous and engaging form, offering a rich and unique
insight into the mind of one of the key figures in 20th-century drama.
ISBN 978 1 8494 3132 3
WEST, MAE
MAE WEST. It Ain’t No Sin. Simon Louvish.
Sex Goddess, Hollywood star, transgressive playwright, author,blues
singer and vaudeville brat — Mae West remains the twentieth
century’s greatest comedienne — a woman who blazed her own trail
through Broadway plays such as Sex and The Constant Sinner, and
movie classics such as She Done Him Wrong, Klondike Annie and
I’m No Angel.Mae West: It Ain’t No Sin is the first biography to make
use of Mae’s recently uncovered personal papers, with different script
versions of both her known works and hitherto unknown drafts and
plays. HB ISBN 0-571-21948-9
WEST, TIMOTHY
TIMOTHY WEST — A MOMENT TOWARDS THE END OF THE
PLAY. An autobiography.
“ A moment towards the End of the Play … is a theatrical memoir that
doesn’t cloy, and is filled with insight, wit and a sense of the ultimate
absurdity of life …” Judith Flanders, TLS
ISBN 1 85459 687 X
WHITFIELD, JUNE
THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER. The Authorised Biography. Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov has collaborated full with John Miller, and talks frankly
about all aspects of his multi-faceted career. This warm and revealing
biography also looks behind the public image to give an enthralling
portrait of a man whose unique gift of laughter has made him one of
the world’s most popular and respected entertainers. ISBN 0 75284
262 5
AT A GLANCE An Absolutely Fabulous Life June Whitfield
June Whitfield is a legend, a legend who in her eighties still gets up at
dawn to prepare for yet another day in front of the cameras. In her long
and rich career she has kept meticulous scrapbooks and these form
the backbone to this highly illustrated account of her life and times. It
is peppered with hilarious anecdotes and sage reflections on the cast
of stars she has worked with as well as recounting some of the most
iconic moments in comedy history. HB ISBN 978 0 297 85562 0
WALTERS, JULIE
WILDE, CONSTANCE
JULIE WALTERS — Seriously Funny. An Unauthorised Biography.
Lucy Ellis and Bryony Sutherland
The authors have interviewed Walter’s friends, teachers and colleagues
to create the first-ever biography of this British “national treasure”.
ISBN 0 7535 0940 7
CONSTANCE: THE TRAGIC AND SCANDALOUS LIFE OF MRS
OSCAR WILDE. Franny Moyle
In the spring of 1985 the life of Constance Wilde changed irrevocably.
Up until the conviction of her husband Oscar, for homosexual crimes,
she had held a priviliged position in society. Part of a gilded couple, she
was a popular children’s author, a fashion icon and a leading campaigner
for women’s rights. That spring her life was eclipsed by scandal. Forced
to flee to the Continent with her two sons, her glittering literary and
THAT’S ANOTHER STORY The Autobiography Julie Walters
Julie Walters has been described as the nation’s most popular actress
and comedienne. She has been delighting us on screen and on stage for
political career ended abruptly. Having changed her name, she lived in
exile until her death. Franny Moyle now tells Constance’s story with a
fresh eye and remarkable new material. HB ISBN 978 1 8485 4162 7.
PB 978 1 8485 41641
WILDE, OSCAR
BRIEF LIVES: OSCAR WILDE Richard Canning
Irish-born Oscar Wilde was one of the most controversial figures of
the late nineteenth century. Notorious for his flamboyant lifestyle as
much as for his unorthodox views, he penned a series of poems, plays,
criticism and fairy stories. It is however the theatrical masterpieces The
Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband that have secured
his reputation as one of the sharpest wits of all time. This new biography
presents a fresh, modern take on the life and trials of Oscar Wilde from
an academic renowned in the field of gay literature. ISBN 978 1 84391
905 6
CONSTANCE: THE TRAGIC AND SCANDALOUS LIFE OF MRS
OSCAR WILDE. Franny Moyle
In the spring of 1985 the life of Constance Wilde changed irrevocably.
Up until the conviction of her husband Oscar, for homosexual crimes,
she had held a priviliged position in society. Part of a gilded couple, she
was a popular children’s author, a fashion icon and a leading campaigner
for women’s rights. That spring her life was eclipsed by scandal. Forced
to flee to the Continent with her two sons, her glittering literary and
political career ended abruptly. Having changed her name, she lived in
exile until her death. Franny Moyle now tells Constance’s story with a
fresh eye and remarkable new material. ISBN 978 1 8485 4162 7
OSCAR WILDE. Vyvyan Holland
“Oscar Wilde ... could have made no complaint of his younger son, Mr
Vyvyan Holland, as his biographer ... for simplicity and sympathy, for
lack of rancour or special pleading, the ... text of his volume could not
be bettered.” The Times Literary Supplement
OSCAR WILDE — A Certain Genius. Barbara Belford
This is a biography for a new generation of readers: portraying Wilde
as neither the martyr, nor the self-destructive fop, Barbara Belford
brings new understandings to his life in all its complexity, genius and
humanity. “An elegant and affectionate biography of this controversial
man” Daily Mail. ISBN 0 7475 5325 4
OSCAR WILDE — Ruth Robbins
This comprehensive and readable introduction offers readers and
students a lively and informative guide to Wilde’s significance in
the context of his own time and his extensive afterlife in literature,
criticism and popular culture.
ISBN 978 0 8264 9852 6
THE SECRET LIFE OF OSCAR WILDE — Neil McKenna
This biography sets out to tell the story of Oscar Wilde’s emotional and
sexual life, to chart his odyssey to find his true sexual self, from the
troubled and uncertain first stirrings of his feelings for other men, to
the joyous paganism of his last years in exile.
ISBN 0 09 941545 3
WILLIAMS, EMLYN
EMLYN WILLIAMS — A life. James Harding
Emlyn Williams made a major contribution to the dramatic contribution
to the dramatic arts during a career that spanned over fifty years. Writer,
dramatist, actor, director, biographer and mentor to younger actors most
notably Richard Burton. Emlyn Williams led a colourful personal life
and enjoyed the friendship of theatrical giants such as Noel Coward
and John Gielgud. With full access to his personal papers, James
Harding has pieced together an absorbing and entertaining biography
of one of Wales’ greatest sons. ISBN 1 86057 020 8
WILLIAMS, KENNETH
BORN BRILLIANT The Life of Kenneth Williams The Authorised
Biography Christopher Stevens
This biography traces the complex contradictions that characterised an
extraordinary life, and presents the first full portrait of a star who was
born brilliant. HB ISBN 978 1 84854 195 5. PB 978 1 8485 4197 9
THE KENNETH WILLIAMS DIARIES. Edited by Russell Davies
After his death in 1988, the thought of Kenneth William’s diaries being
published sent a shiver through the theatrical world. This condensed
volume is honest, controversial, malicious, hilarious and portrays one
of Britain’s most misunderstood actors. “Unputdownable ... with the
appeal of eavesdropping on the conversation of a unique personality”.
Michael Codron, Financial Times
THE KENNETH WILLIAMS LETTERS. Edited by Russell Davies
A collection of correspondence with an assortment of people including
Alec Guinness, Jo Orton and Elizabeth Taylor. Kenneth Williams took
his mail seriously and was disappointed when the morning failed to
deliver some letters. Comic monologues as well as serious letters make
up this book.
KENNETH WILLIAMS UNSEEN The Private Notes, Scripts and
Photographs Wes Butters & Russell Davies
Kenneth Williams remains one of Britain’s most respected and loved
comic actors. From his early days in radio with Tony Hancock and
Kenneth Horne to his scene stealing performance in the classic Carry
On films, his inimitable voice and expressions are unforgettable.
But Williams is also remembered for his haunted personal life and
the bouts of depression and self-loathing he frequently experienced,
ending in his tragic death which is still shrouded in mystery.
HB 978 000 728 085 8
WILLIAMS, TENNESSEE
CONVERSATIONS WITH TENNESSEE WILLIAMS. Edited by
Albert J. Devlin
Chosen from hundreds of interviews, Conversations encompasses
five decades of an intense literary life. Filled with revealing insights,
contradictions and self-promotion.
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS Memoirs With an Introduction by John
Waters Tennessee Williams’s Memoirs provides a unique perspective
on one of the twentieth century’s greatest playwrights, from his
early years as an impoverished writer to his literary success with the
Glass Menagerie in 1944 and the years of decline that followed. But
Memoirs is, most importantly, about his personal life, coming out as a
gay man, his liaisons and love affairs and the intense depression that
blighted his existence. In witty, gossipy vignettes he recalls amazing
friends and acquaintances from stage, screen and literature; Carson
McCullers, Truman Capote, Ernest Hemingway and Marlon Brando
among them. Touching, frequently self deprecating and completely
candid. Memoirs is told with all compassion and insight of Williams’s
plays. ISBN 978 0 141 18929 1
THE SELECTED LETTERS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS. Volume
1. 1920 -1945. Edited by Albert J. Devlin and Nancy M. Tischler. HB.
ISBN 1 84002 226 4
THE SELECTED LETTERS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS.Volume 2
1945 — 1957. Edited by Albert J Devlin. Co-edited by Nancy M Tischler.
“Anyone who knew Tennessee Williams will recognise in these letters
his living human voice: about his friends, his loves, his hates and,
above all his work. To read these letters is to be directly in touch with
him.” Sir Peter Hall. HB ISBN 1 84002 227 2
WILMER, DOUGLAS
STAGE WHISPERS The Memoirs Douglas Wilmer
Douglas Wilmer enjoyed a long and distinguished career as one of
Britain’s most versatile film and theatre actors. As a rising star he was
cast in numerous iconic films, notably EL CID, Cleopatra, Jason and the
Argonauts, Octopussy and the fall of the Roman Empire. Remembered
for playing Sherlock Holmes in the ‘60s BBC TV series, many consider
his to be the definitive portrayal. ISBN 978 0 9556564 9 1
WILSON, ROBERT
ROBERT WILSON FROM WITHIN. Edited by Margery Arent
Safi. ISBN 978 2 080201072
GENERAL
ACTING WALES — STARS OF STAGE AND SCREEN — Peter Stead
This discussion of Welsh acting on stage and screen ranges from the
career of matinée idol Ivor Novello down to the present impact of
Catherine Zeta Jones and Ioan Gruffund and the so-called Taff Pack.
ISBN 0 7083 1623 9 HB
A COMPANION TO HENSLOWE’S DIARY. Neil Carson
ISBN 0 521 54346 0
DAPHNE by Justine Picardie
It is 1957. The author Daphne du Maurier, beautiful and famous,
despairs as her marriage falls apart. Seeking distraction from her
misery, Daphne becomes passionately interested in Branwell, the
reprobate brother of the Bronte sisters, and begins a correspondence
with the enigmatic scholar Alex Symington as she researches a
biography. But behind Symington’s respectable surface is a slippery
character with much to hide, and soon truth and fiction have become
indistinguishable. The last untold Bronte story, Daphne is a tale of
obsession and possession; of love lost and love found. It is a beautiful,
original novel from the acclaimed author of If the Spirit Moves You.
HB ISBN 978 0 7475 8702 6
DIARY OF A MAD PLAYWRIGHT — Perilous Adventures on the
Road with Mary Martin and Carol Channing. James Kirkwood
A hilarious, heartbreaking, no-holds-barred account of the making of
Legends! staring those Broadway legends themselves, Mary Martin
and Carol Channing (and concerned family members Charles Lowe
and Larry Hagman); along with prizewinning playwright James
Kirkwood, Powerhouse producer Ahmet Ertegun and that unflappable
director Clifford Williams. ISBN 1 55783 567 5
LETTERS FROM BACKSTAGE. The Adventures of a Touring Stage
Actor. Michael Kostroff. Foreword Jason Alexander.
“Not only is Letters from Backstage an insider’s view of the wacky
world of professional theatre that most people never get to see, but it
is also an entertaining guide to each of the cities that Michael visits
on tour. Interesting places to see, fabulous places to eat, ghost stories,
folklore, the quirks of each town, and a vivid picture of the people and
diverse culture in the various regions… “ Lisa Ann Richard, Actress,
Mamma Mia! ISBN 1-58115-441-0
RICHARD EYRE — NATIONAL SERVICES. DIARY OF
DECADE.
During the ten years from 1987 to 1997 that he was Director of the
National Theatre, Richard Eyre kept a diary — a record that disarmingly
captured a life at the heart of British cultural and political affairs. The
powerful and the famous inevitably strut and fret upon its pages, but
National Service is also a moving personal journey, charted faithfully
by a fiercely self-aware and frequently self-doubting individual.
ISBN 0 7475 6590 2
VOICES MADE FLESH — Performing Women’s Autobiography.
Edited by Lynn C. Miller, Jacqueline Taylor and M. Heather Carver
Fourteen bold, dynamic, and sassy women take the stage in this
collection of women’s lives and stories. Individually and collectively,
these writers and performers speak the unspoken and perform the
heretofore unperformed. ISBN 0 299 18424 2