Just a note to say that if you’d like to join me in Reading the Theatre — theatre-based books of any kind, fiction, nonfiction, plays, as well as actual live performances — I’ll be doing it again in April. This time of year feels dramatic to me, I suppose!
Some books I have my eye on:
- Shy by Mary Rodgers
- Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood
- Thornton Wilder by Penelope Niven
- Every Good Boy Does Fine by Jeremy Denk
- Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead
- The Dybbuk by S. Ansky
- Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor
Have you read any of these? What else would you recommend for a theatrical reading experience?
Have you read Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed? It revolves around a production of The Tempest.
Yes, I have – a couple of years ago I think. It’s a great tie-in!
I read Hag-Seed for the Tempest-themed Witch Week 2 years ago. Excellent, and much funnier than Shakespeare’s play.
I’m ready to commit to joining you, Lory: I’ve just downloaded Ruddy Gore (anything G&S-related has my vote). I’m also going to reread Beryl Bainbridge’s An Awfully Big Adventure, which has been patiently waiting on my shelves for decades.
Oh, I’ve been wanting to read that too, but unfortunately my e-library does not have it. Perhaps I can scout a secondhand copy.
What a fun and cool idea! I’m going to try to join in, although it’s been dog’s ages since I wrote any sort of proper post on the old blog. But I have a bunch of plays lying around my house that I haven’t read yet, and it would be great to clear some of them off the TBR docket.
You don’t need to write official posts, just read, watch, and enjoy. Maybe leave a comment when I get around to writing a post. Lovely to hear from you!
Lory, this looks like a fascinating subject!
Glad it appeals to you.
I’m glad you’re running this again, Lory, as I’ve already lined up Arthur Phillips’s The Tragedy of Arthur which includes the text of a “genuine” lost Shakespeare play, as you very probably know! I was also thinking that, if time allowed, I might read Ben Jonson’s Volpone as it’s an authentic Jacobean comedy, but we’ll see.
Perfect choice, can’t wait to hear your thoughts about either or both.
This sounds very tempting, I’ll try and join in if I can (most likely with a theatre-themed mystery)!
I love theatre-themed mysteries. There are two already on my shortlist and I’ve already come across some more.