Cambridge University Press The Cambridge Companion to Edward Albee (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

Product Description Edward Albee, perhaps best known for his acclaimed and infamous 1960s drama Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, is one of America's greatest living playwrights. Now in his seventies, he is still writing challenging, award-winning dramas. This collection of essays on Albee, which includes contributions from the leading commentators on Albee's work, brings fresh critical insights to bear by exploring the full scope of the playwright's career, from his 1959 breakthrough with The Zoo Story to his recent Broadway success, The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (2002). The contributors include scholars of both theatre and English literature, and the essays thus consider the plays both as literary texts and as performed drama. The collection considers a number of Albee's lesser-known and neglected works, provides a comprehensive introduction and overview, and includes an exclusive, original interview with Mr Albee, on topics spanning his whole career. Review '… highly recommended for all libraries acquiring materials on literature and the theatre in English.' Reference Reviews Book Description A comprehensive survey of the work of one of America's greatest living playwrights, Edward Albee. About the Author Stephen Bottoms is Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies and Director of the Workshop Theatre, School of English, University of Leeds. He is the author of The Theatre of Sam Shepard: States of Crisis (Cambridge, 1998), Albee: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Cambridge, 2000), and Playing Underground: A Critical History of the 1960s Off-Off-Broadway Movement. He has also edited Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, and has published articles on a wide variety of topics in a number of scholarly journals. In 2004 his article 'The Efficacy-Effeminacy Braid: Unpicking the Performance Studies/Theatre Studies Dichotomy' (Theatre Topics, September 2003), was nominated for the ATHE prize.