Product Description

A unique book of criticism that brings both theatre and film studies within a single theoretical framework Martin Esslin is the author of seminal critical studies such as The Theatre of the Absurd and Brecht: A Choice of Evils. Covering artists as diverse as Duchamp and Brecht, Busby Berkely and Congreve, Pinter and WC Fields, Esslin's approach is fresh and genuinely inquisitive, examining various prepared positions and testing the jargon. Taking each element of drama - the actor, the setting, the text, the music - and making provocative cross-references to stage and screen, Esslin offers a carefully argued "system" of his own, much fuller and more sensitive than anything that has gone before.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #202683 in Books
• Published on: 1988-10-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

A great introduction to a potentially mystifying subject
Don't be fooled by this title - although it uses Theatre, TV, Cinema etc as a basis for the explanations of how semiotics works, I have found it invaluable in my work as a creative director for a UK production company. Finding the language to explain creative decisions to the lay person has always the holy grail of creative comunications in business. This book talks about the layers of semiotics, structure, and the way they are applied in theatre, cinema and television. The theory though, can also be applied to almost any piece of communication in business, from a poster to a video. A fascinating subject which Martin Esslin makes accessible.