Very successful when first performed in London in 1908, Diana of Dobson’s introduces its audience to the overworked and underpaid female assistants at Dobson’s Drapery Emporium, whose only alternative to their dead-end jobs is the unlikely prospect of marriage. Although Cicely Hamilton calls the play “a romantic comedy,” like George Bernard Shaw she also criticizes a social structure in which so-called self-made men profit from the cheap labour of others, and men with good educations, but insufficient inherited money, look for wealthy wives rather than for work. This Broadview edition also includes excerpts from Hamilton’s autobiography Life Errant (1935) and Marriage as a Trade (1909), her witty polemic on “the woman question”; historical documents illustrating employment options for women and women’s work in the theatre; and reviews of the original production of the play.

This volume explores the history of American drama from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It describes origins of early republican drama and its evolution during the pre-war and post-war periods. It traces the emergence of different types of American drama including protest plays, reform drama, political drama, experimental drama, urban plays, feminist drama and realist plays. This volume also analyzes the works of some of the most notable American playwrights including Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller and those written by women dramatists.

First published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 2001.The standard work on its subject, this resource includes every traceable British entertainment film from the inception of the "silent cinema" to the present day. Now, this new edition includes a wholly original second volume devoted to non-fiction and documentary film--an area in which the British film industry has particularly excelled. All entries throughout this third edition have been revised, and coverage has been extended through 1994.Together, these two volumes provide a unique, authoritative source of information for historians, archivists, librarians, and film scholars.

Publisher Description

Biography of Ashwell with material on her company, the Lena Ashwell Players.

For centuries, London theatre has celebrated a rich and influential history, and in 1976, the first volume of J. P. Wearing’s reference series provided scholars and other researchers with an indispensable resource of these productions. In the decades since the original calendars were produced, several research aids have become available, notably various reference works and the digitization of important newspapers and relevant periodicals. The London Stage 1900-1909 A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel, Second Edition provides a chronological calendar of London shows from January 1900 through December 1909. The volume chronicles more than 3,000 productions at 35 selected, major central London theatres during this period. For each entry the following information is provided: Title Author Theatre Performers Personnel Opening and Closing Dates Number of Performances Other details include genre of the production, number of acts, and references to reviews. A comment section includes other interesting information, such as a plot description, the first-night reception by the audience, noteworthy performances, staging elements, and details of performances in New York either prior to or after the London production. Among the plays staged in London during this decade were Candida, His House in Order, The Only Way, The Playboy of the Western World, Raffles (The Amateur Cracksman), and The Scarlet Pimpernel, as well as numerous musical comedies (British and American), foreign works, operas, and revivals of English classics. A definitive resource, this edition revises, corrects, and expands the original, well-received calendar. In addition, approximately 20 percent of the material—in particular, information of adaptations and translations, plot sources, and comment information—is new. Arranged chronologically, the shows are indexed fully by title, genre, and theatre. A general index also includes numerous subject entries on such topics as acting, audiences, censorship, costumes, managers, performers, prompters, staging, ticket prices, or other relevant subjects. An authoritative reference providing essential details, this work will be of value to scholars, theatrical personnel, librarians, writers, journalists, and historians.

Vols. for 1908-10 include the section: The Stage provincial guide; 1950-52: The Stage guide. (Other years published separately).