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Sweet Bird of Youth
Series: Student Editions
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Sweet Bird of Youth
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Description
Tennessee Williams's mordantly funny and deeply troubled meditation on the desperate dismay of ageing and the iniquities of racial bigotry. INDEPENDENT
It's a wonderfully weird play, starting claustrophobic, losing intensity as it introduces the locals… then regrouping for a devastating second half… This unruly, unforgettable play takes its unpredictable course to something that makes you feel afresh our powerlessness against time. THE TIMES
When Chance Wayne left the small town of St. Cloud, he did so with the ambition of being an actor: now, many years later, he returns as a gigolo and the companion of faded movie star Alexandra del Lago. But can Chance convince the town he did actually make it big and win over his childhood sweetheart? Or will the mistakes of his past punish him still?
Sweet Bird of Youth is Tennessee Williams's 1959 Broadway hit that explores the social and political climate of 1950s America, at a time when sexual freedom was a critical issue.
This edition includes an introduction by Alison Walls that explores the play's production history as well as the dramatic, thematic and academic debates that surround it.
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
iSweet Bird of Youth is hailed as a powerful exploration of themes such as lost dreams, the passage of time, and the destructive nature of fame. Critics often praise Tennessee Williams for his sharp, poignant writing and the way he delves into the complexities of human desire and societal decay. The play is generally regarded as a compelling blend of raw emotional intensity and hauntingly beautiful language.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781350238022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 24 August 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Methuen Drama
Edition: 2nd edition
Contributors:
- Volume editor Alison Walls
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 12.0mm
Width: 130.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 120g
Pages: 136
About the Author
Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948 and for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955. In addition, The Glass Menagerie (1945) and The Night of the Iguana (1961) received New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards. Alison Walls is Artistic Director at The Court Theatre, New Zealand. She holds a PhD from The Graduate Center, an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College, and an MA from Victoria University of Wellington. Publications include a monograph on nineteenth-century French literature, articles in The New Zealand Journal of French Studies, Language and Literature, Studies in Musical Theatre, The Tennessee Williams Annual Review, Theatre Journal, and The Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, and a chapter in The Routledge Companion to African American Theatre and Performance. She has taught Theatre and Performance Studies in the U.S., China, and New Zealand.
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