|
The Art of the Dramatist
By J.B. Priestley
Oberon Books £12.99
232 pages
Dateline: 7th April, 2007
J.B. Priestley was a remarkable man. In his time, he was successful
as a playwright, novelist, broadcaster and general all-round literary
man. Some might argue that he was not top-notch in any of these fields
but his knowledge of theatre, both as playwright and theoretician, is
second to none.
He has also achieved one mark of greatness, in that Stephen Daldry's
revival of An Inspector
Calls proved indisputably that Priestley's work will live on
long after his death.
At times, there is repetition since the extracts selected by Priestley's
son Tom were not written or spoken to be collected together but despite
this, the writer comes across as an intelligent, thoughtful man whose
views on theatre are often as valid today as they were when they were
written.
The Art of the Dramatist itself is a section built around lectures
that he gave on the BBC under that title. These are combined with numerous
other theatre writings covering a period through the middle of the last
century.
In particular, Priestley's thesis that the drama consists of two different
elements that must be melded together in order for a play to be successful
should be compulsory reading for all budding playwrights.
As Priestley constantly points out, it is not enough for someone to
create something that is beautifully written or well plotted or timely,
or even all three. In addition, a good playwright knows about how to
operate in a theatre so that the actors are enabled to do their jobs
properly and the play can be a success.
One might argue that today, with so much director-led theatre and dramaturgs
galore available to writers, this is no longer necessary but you can
bet that a playwright who understands both aspects of the job will be
far better than one that does not.
The book is divided into distinct sections with several lengthy essays
complemented by shorter pieces. To start with, we find out how Priestley
himself became a playwright after falling in love with theatre as a
child in Bradford in the very early 1900s.
He then provides a brief history of theatre that is wider ranging than
many long volumes and could be strongly recommended as an introduction
to school pupils taking drama GCSE or A-level.
A long section representing a lecture delivered to the Fabian Society
covers The Arts Under Socialism, if nothing else showing that
the post-war expectations from Socialism, with an eye on the success
of the Moscow Art Theatre, have not come to fruition in society, even
though some of the artistic goals that Priestley set out enrich theatre
today.
The most important part of this book though considers the future of
theatre. While Priestley is idealistic he is also realistic and many
of the changes that he suggested around sixty years ago have now come
to pass. These include proper public funding of theatre (that might
be debatable but today's offering is better than the zero of his time)
and a fixed National Theatre Company.
In some ways, the world of theatre that we have today would come as
a shock to J.B. Priestley. However the core values that he identified
are as timeless as this book.
He puts it perfectly when he says, "We have to see the theatre
as something much more than a superior substitute for the reading of
dramatic literature. We have to prove that it is valuable and unique,
that it does something supremely well worth doing, and that nothing
else can take its place".
Philip Fisher
Articles from 2007
Articles from 2006
Articles from 2005
Articles from 2004
Articles from 2003
Articles from 2002
Articles from 2001
Articles from 2000
Articles from 1999
Articles from 1998
Articles from 1997
|
