In-Yer-Face Theatre - British Drama Today

Examines the importance of the renaissance in British theatre that began in the 1990s with a rash of rude, provocative pieces by a group of twenty-something playwrights, whose debuts startled critics and audiences with their mix of sex, violence and street-poetry, notably Mark Ravenhill, Philip Ridley, Patrick Marber, Martin McDonagh. It also includes the last ever interview with Sarah Kane.

In-Yer-Face Theatre is the first book to look at this exciting outburst of creativity, controversy and theatrical innovation. It argues that plays such as Trainspotting, Blasted and Shopping and Fucking are much more than a collection of shock tactics - taken together, they represent a consistent critique of modern life, one which focuses on the problem of violence, the questioning of masculinity, the myth of post-feminism and the futility of consumerism.

The book contains extensive interviews with playwrights, and examines their work, giving a real feel of what's like to watch cutting-edge drama come alive on stage. Writers discussed include Simon Block, Jez Butterworth, David Eldridge, Harry Gibson, Nick Grosso, Sarah Kane, Tracy Letts, Martin McDonagh, Patrick Marber, Phyllis Nagy, Anthony Neilson, Joe Penhall, Rebecca Prichard, Mark Ravenhill, Philip Ridley, Judy Upton, Che Walker, Naomi Wallace and Richard Zajdlic.

In-Yer-Face Theatre contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: what is in-yer-face theatre? - A short history of provocation - The nasty nineties

Chapter 2: come to the shock-fest - Philip Ridley's Ghost from a Perfect Place - Phyllis Nagy's Butterfly Kiss - Tracy Letts's Killer Joe - Harry Gibson's Trainspotting

Chapter 3: Anthony Neilson - Normal - Penetrator - The Censor

Chapter 4: Sarah Kane - Blasted - Phaedra's Love - Cleansed - Crave

Chapter 5: Mark Ravenhill - Shopping and Fucking - Faust Is Dead, Sleeping Around and Handbag - Some Explicit Polaroids

Chapter 6: boys together - Naomi Wallace's The War Boys - Jez Butterworth's Mojo - Simon Block's Not a Game for Boys - David Eldridge's Serving It Up

Chapter 7: sex wars - Nick Grosso's Peaches and Sweetheart - Patrick Marber's Closer - Che Walker's Been So Long - Richard Zajdlic's Dogs Barking

Chapter 8: battered and bruised - Joe Penhall's Some Voices - Judy Upton's Ashes and Sand and Bruises - Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane - Rebecca Prichard's Yard Gal

Chapter 9 : Conclusion