{"title":"Stephen Unwin","description":"\u003cp\u003eStephen Unwin’s works delve into the lives and legacies of iconic figures in theatre and culture, blending biography with insightful cultural analysis. Readers can expect richly detailed explorations of artistic lives, revealing the human stories behind celebrated playwrights and performers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a keen eye for drama and history, Unwin’s books invite reflection on the enduring impact of theatre in society. His writing offers a thoughtful journey through the arts, capturing both personal narrative and broader cultural themes with clarity and depth.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"shakespeare-and-brecht-by-stephen-unwin-9781350419612","title":"Shakespeare and Brecht","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis practical guide uncovers the roots of Brecht’s lifelong obsession with Shakespeare and makes the case for reading the two together today.\u003c\/strong\u003e By connecting these two great playwrights, Stephen Unwin imagines new possibilities for Brechtian productions of Shakespeare and outlines practical suggestions for how to stage such productions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on directing and performance experience in over 60 productions, Unwin’s knowledge of Brecht provides students, teachers, and practitioners with practical exercises for use in the classroom and rehearsal room. The book charts a chronology of Brecht’s engagement with Shakespeare before delving into his core theories and practices which detail a Brechtian approach to reading, performing and staging Shakespeare that is still pertinent today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnwin also provides an in-depth look at five of Shakespeare’s plays through Brecht’s own words and imagines a Brechtian staging for them. In simple, non-theoretical language, \u003cem\u003eShakespeare and Brecht\u003c\/em\u003e reveals how Brecht can help us understand Shakespeare, but also how an understanding of Shakespeare can help explain Brecht for a new chapter of Brechtian Shakespeare in the 21st century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471537389804,"sku":"9781350419612","price":32.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781350419612-shakespeare-and-brecht.jpg?v=1775246231"},{"product_id":"poor-naked-wretches-by-stephen-unwin-9781789146615","title":"Poor Naked Wretches","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWas Shakespeare a snob? \u003cem\u003e\u003ci\u003ePoor Naked Wretches\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e challenges the idea that our greatest writer despised working people, and shows that he portrayed them with as much insight, compassion, and purpose as the rich and powerful. Moreover, they play an important role in his dramatic method.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eStephen Unwin reads Shakespeare anew, exploring the astonishing variety of working people in his plays, as well as the vast range of cultural sources from which they were drawn. Unwin argues that the robust realism of these characters, their independence of mind and their engagement in the great issues of the day, makes them much more than mere 'comic relief'.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCompassionate, cogent, and wry, \u003cem\u003e\u003ci\u003ePoor Naked Wretches\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e grants these often-overlooked figures the dignity and respect they deserve.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Aiming to upend the notion that Shakespeare was a snobbish playwright with contempt for the poor... This original spin on Shakespearean studies delivers.'\u003c\/strong\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47597523501292,"sku":"9781789146615","price":57.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781789146615-poor-naked-wretches.jpg?v=1777955519"},{"product_id":"beautiful-lives-by-stephen-unwin-9781035424740","title":"Beautiful Lives","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor much of history, people with learning disabilities have been regarded as unworthy of interest—often seen as a threat to the social order and sometimes dismissed as barely human. While recent years have seen an improvement, learning-disabled people are still treated as fundamentally different.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeautiful Lives\u003c\/i\u003e is a personal and pragmatic account, told through the eyes of a father whose son has severe learning disabilities. From early civilisation to the chilling realities of twentieth-century eugenics, this powerful book uncovers a startling and rarely told history—one deeply embedded in the challenges still faced today.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnwin shapes this history into a powerful story of love, lived experience and the long struggle for a better future.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47734221242604,"sku":"9781035424740","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781035424740-beautiful-lives.jpg?v=1781216983"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/stephen-unwin.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}