Synopsis
Hot Irons - Diaries, Essays and Journalism
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From his work in the 1960s with Portable Theatre and the Royal Court, to his plays for the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, Brenton has confronted the pressing political issues of times and created a controversial theatre
This volume of essays and diaries, however, reveals a much more complex, humane and thoughtful person than the headlines and snap judgments would allow
The first part of the book offers a selection of occasional articles from the late 1980s
Topics include the resignation of Margaret Thatcher and the legacy of Bertolt Brecht, the 'unbearable heaviness' of being English and thoughts on the avant-garde in Paris and Amsterdam, amongst much else
The second part consists of four diaries, all previously unpublished
They centre on research trips to Far North Queensland and to Moscow and the Ukraine, on rehearsals for Berlin Bertie, and on a country-wide tour of solo readings of The Romans in Britain which he undertook himself to raise funds to fight its prosecution
All very different, the diaries are a revelation both of the man and the worlds he describes
The writing is frequently very funny, often finely angry, almost always overflowing with energy and passion
The stance is questioning, ironic, deeply non-conformist
The book as a whole is stimulating from start to finish
It will blow many a smouldering ember back into a flame ...
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