Jennifer Lorch

Since its explosive premiere in Rome in 1921, Six Characters in Search of an Author has gained worldwide recognition. Pirandello's challenge to the very notion of stage representation was taken up by the leading directors of the time. The playwright incorporated details from the early performances into his revised text, which he directed himself in 1925. Jennifer Lorch examines the two texts in the context of different theatrical traditions and traces Pirandello's growing awareness of the development of advanced theatrical facilities outside Italy. She also offers an analysis of selected productions of the play in Italy, England, France, the USA, Germany and Russia in both commercial and avant-garde theatres. This comprehensive study includes a production chronology, bibliography and illustrations from major productions.

Pirandello:Six Characters in Search of an Author

Susan Bassnett

First Published in 1993. Contemporary Theatre Studies is a book series of special interest to everyone involved in theatre. This collection of documents is the first attempt in English to bring together a body of material on Luigi Pirandello as multi-faceted man of the theatre. Because relatively few of his works have been easily available to English language readers, he is thought of most frequently as a playwright, the author of Six Characters in Search of an Author and Henry IV in particular, and his contribution to theatre, both in theory and in practice, has tended to be overlooked. Emphasising his role as a director, the book traces the rise and fall of his own theatre company, the Teatro d’Arte where he struggled to instil new practices and comments on Pirandello’s attempts during the years of Fascism to give Italy a national theatre in a European context.

Luigi Pirandello in the Theatre

First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Jennifer Lorch

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