"Arden is to me a writer a bit like Shakespeare in approach, in that the writing not only has to convey...the dialogue of characters speaking together, but also has to carry the sense of the social environment and the texture of people's lives." This first volume of Arden's dramatic work contains plays from the late fifties including The Waters of Babylon about political chancer Charles Butterthwaite at large in London; the one act industrial episode When is a Door not a Door; The Happy Haven, a comedy inspired by the painter Cranach about old age and rejuvenation; Live Like Pigs; "an amazing and lyrical play, beautifully poised between farce and tragedy" Michael Coveney and Serjeant Musgrave's Dance; "a spell-binding, mind-challenging drama that touches greatness" Michael Billington."Arden is a giant of modern playwriting. He wrote on an epic scale that few have attained since, the plays tumble into action, and with vivid human response." (Dominic Dromgoole)

This volume - the first of two featuring John Arden's early plays - contains Waters of Babylon, When is a Door not a Door?, Live Like Pigs, Serjeant Musgrave's Dance and The Happy Haven.

About the Author
John Arden (1930-2012) was a British dramatist, noted for his politically challenging and linguistically rich plays in the tradition of Brecht; he has written for radio and television as well as for the stage. After 1965 he collaborated on many works with his wife, the Irish playwright Margaretta D'Arcy. Arden's first professionally produced play was a radio drama, The Life of Mars, broadcast in 1956. In the late 1950s Arden was associated with the Royal Court Theatre, where his stark anti-war play Serjeant Musgrave's Dance opened in 1959. The play was something of a commercial failure at the time, but has been frequently revived since. It was during the 1960s that Arden produced most of his major stage works; these include The Happy Haven (1960), The Workhouse Donkey (1963), which concerns municipal corruption in Arden's native Barnsley, Armstrong's Last Goodnight (1964), which drew parallels between contemporary political events in the Congo and machinations in medieval Scotland, and Left-Handed Liberty (1965). In 1972 Arden and D'Arcy had a major argument with the RSC about the staging of their Arthurian play The Island of the Mighty. The argument culminated in Arden picketing the theatre and vowing that he would not write for the British stage again. He settled in Galway, Ireland, in 1971. He was elected to Aosdana in 2011, a year before his death.


Book Information
ISBN 9780413688002
Author John Arden
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Methuen Drama
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Weight(grams) 446g