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Theatre Book Prize 2004 Short List Announced
The following short list has been announced on behalf of the judges by president of the STR, actor Timothy West, at Samuel French’s Theatre Bookshop, which is celebrating its 175th Anniversary this year. The titles are:
Arguments with England by Michael Blakemore (Faber & Faber)
The Cambridge History of British Theatre edited by Peter Thomson, Jane Milling, Joseph Donohue and Baz Kershaw
(Cambridge University Press)
Happiness Indeed: An Actor’s Life by Denis Quilley (Oberon Books)
Inside the Royal Shakespeare Company by Colin Chambers (Routledge)
Margot Fonteyn by Meredith Daneman (Penguin/Viking)
Secret Dreams: The Biography of Michael Redgrave by Alan Strachan (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
The Theatre Book Prize was first awarded for 1997 to celebrate the Jubilee of the Society for Theatre Research. It was created to encourage the writing and publication of books on theatre history and practice, both those which present the theatre of the past and those which record contemporary theatre for the future. It is now presented annually for a book on theatre which an independent panel of judges considers to be the best published during the year. All new works of original research first published in English are eligible except for play texts and studies of drama as literature
The judges for books published in 2004 are Professor Elizabeth Schafer (Royal Holloway, University of London), critic Charles Spencer (The Daily Telegraph), and actor and dramatist Oliver Ford Davis. They will declare the final winner on 15th April, when the prize will be presented at the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden by the Society’s President, actor Timothy West, before a gathering of the leaders in the world of theatre and theatre books.
In 2004 an exceptionally large number of theatre related books were announced - over 90 titles, ranging from popular biographies to weighty academic tomes, books about and by actors, dancers, singers and directors, books about theatres and theatre making, books on panto, opera, dance, marionettes, from Irish fit-ups to the National Theatre and the RSC. Not all fitted the prize criteria, some have been delayed and some that might have stood a chance were not entered by their publishers. The judges still had to consider nearly 60 titles: more than any previous year.
In Arguments with England Michael Blakemore, respected director of classic and modern and plays from those of Chekov and O’Neill to David Hare, traces his career from its Australian beginning work for Robert Morley, through RADA and early acting years to his first West End success as director. The Cambridge History of British Theatre is a major three-volume undertaking that both presents an overview of British theatre history and through individual essays focuses on particular aspects of its story. Geernal Editor Peter Thomson was shortlisted in 2000 and was a judge for the prize in 2001. Happiness Indeed is the autobiography of the late much-loved actor Denis Quilley whose career ranged from early years in repertory to leads in West-End musicals and at the National Theatre. Inside the Royal Shakespeare Company by Colin Chambers, winner of the prize in 1997, investigates four decades of the artistic and business management of the RSC, looking at its working methods, people and politics in what has often been a fight for cultural survival. Meredith Daneman, herself a former dancer at Covent Garden and widow of actor Paul Daneman, has produced a definite biography in Margot Fonteyn, tracing the great ballerina private and working life that shows the real person behind the legend. Secret Dreams by Alan Strachan, is another searching autobiography that explores both the professional accomplishment of a great actor and his personal life, including an examination of his bisexuality.
The winner will be announced on 15th April at 11am at the Theatre Museum in London
10th March 2005
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