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How Plays Work
By Martin Meisel
Oxford University Press £18 99
276 pages
Dateline: 22nd December, 2007
One cannot help but admire Martin Meisel. He is the Professor Emeritus
of Dramatic Literature at Columbia University and wears his knowledge
relatively lightly.
That is something of a compliment, since the range of his knowledge,
as demonstrated in this well-produced book on reading and performance
is second to none. He ranges from the classics to John Patrick Shanley
and has the frame of reference to compare the Greeks with Sam Shepard
or Cervantes and Shakespeare.
The task that the professor has set himself is a major one. His goal
is to help readers to have a better understanding of plays that they
both read and see in a theatre. While the appeal will generally be to
drama students, and quite possibly their lecturers, the general reader
might also derive a lot from this book.
At times, the book can be close to impenetrable despite the attempts
at avoiding jargon. However, in chapters such as those covering the
role of the audience in theatre and Primal Attractions, which looks
at the magical use of crowd-pleasing tricks, the writing is straightforward
and the knowledge imparted of great value and interest.
This book is all-encompassing, considering such subjects as the art
of reading plays; seeing and hearing; the use of words; and the shape
of the action. When put together, it builds into an explanation of what
makes us enjoy trips to the theatre.
The Professor is also keen to encourage the reading of play scripts
and does his best, not always successfully, to improve the chances of
deriving meaning from words on a page, that have probably not been primarily
written to be read.
In some ways, the greatest pleasure that can be derived from reading
How Plays Work is the opportunity to get into the mind of a man
who has steeped himself in the subject seemingly for the whole of his
life.
Martin Meisel knows so much about theatre and is able to convey the
enjoyment that he derives, giving brief synopses of plays and explanations
of their attraction, which make one desperate to see them. He does this
not only with the most famous examples of the genre, but also so many
other hidden gems primarily from the European and English language canons.
For anyone who has a fairly deep knowledge of the subject but wants
to gain a better understanding of theatre, particularly those who need
to do so for academic purposes, this book is highly recommended.
Philip Fisher
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