The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes is an anthology of theatrical anecdotes comprising four-hundred years of world theatre history, from Shakespeare to the present day, edited by "lifelong theatre-lover Gyles Brandreth in the Oxford tradition."[1]
The book is "[d]ivided into eight sections, each headed with a Shakespearean quote," which is followed by "a brief selection of quotes about audiences and critics...before a return to stories about playwrights, producers and directors." The Daily Express noted a single error, which consisted of identifying David Kelly as a "charming, wiry, one-armed Irish character actor." In reality he had two arms, however he did play Albert Riddle, a one-armed character in Robin's Nest.[2]
Critical responseEdit
Christopher Hart, from Literary Review, called "[t]he inclusion of some of the recollections...baffling," and noted that Brandreth is "reliably funny."[3] Yorkshire Magazine's Sandra Collard noted that the reader "need[s] to be an avid reader and an even more avid theatregoer to appreciate even a soupçon..of anecdotes," and noted that "[t]he prologue of the book is a mini masterpiece in itself." As the book's release was during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Collard stated that the book "perhaps [makes you] feel sad at the demise of such a wonderful and necessary thing as live theatre."[4] Paula Donnelly, for The Daily Express, noted that "with theatres closed because of the coronavirus, [it] is about as close to a play we can get at the moment – and it is well worth the admission price."[2] Writing for The Sunday Times,Simon Callow opined that "[Brandreth] has put the theatrical profession and theatregoers everywhere heavily in his debt...[having] provided an alternative and very human history of the theatre."[5]The Spectator's literary editor Sam Leith described it as "a doorstopping compendium of missed cues, bitchy put-downs and drunken mishaps involving everyone from Donald Wolfit to Donald Sinden."[6]
Brandreth gave his first show on 10 October 2020 promoting the book at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, which, even though labelled "sold out" only had a quarter of the seats full under government restrictions and "[Brandreth] signed book and autographs from the edge of the stage from behind a four-foot square Perspex screen."[7]
ReferencesEdit
^Brandreth, Gyles. "The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes". Gyles Brandreth. from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
^ abDonnelley, Paul (15 November 2020). "The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes: Gyles Brandreth's cracker of a book". Daily Express. from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
^Hart, Christopher (1 October 2020). . Literary Review (490). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020.
^Collard, Sandra (28 July 2020). "The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes by Gyles Brandreth - Review". On: Yorkshire Magazine. from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
^Callow, Simon (30 December 2020). "The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes by Gyles Brandreth, review". The Sunday Times. from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
^Leith, Sam (21 October 2020). "Gyles Brandreth: Theatrical anecdotes". The Spectator. from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
^Brandreth, Gyles (11 October 2020). "The BBC does not deserve a Trojan Horse chairman". The Daily Telegraph. from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
September 01, 2023
oxford, book, theatrical, anecdotes, anthology, theatrical, anecdotes, comprising, four, hundred, years, world, theatre, history, from, shakespeare, present, edited, lifelong, theatre, lover, gyles, brandreth, oxford, tradition, editorgyles, brandrethauthorvar. The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes is an anthology of theatrical anecdotes comprising four hundred years of world theatre history from Shakespeare to the present day edited by lifelong theatre lover Gyles Brandreth in the Oxford tradition 1 The Oxford Book of Theatrical AnecdotesEditorGyles BrandrethAuthorVariousCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishGenreArt HistoryPublisherOxford University PressPublication date1 December 2020 2020 12 01 Pages832ISBN978 0 19 874958 5LC Class202934896Contents EditThe book is d ivided into eight sections each headed with a Shakespearean quote which is followed by a brief selection of quotes about audiences and critics before a return to stories about playwrights producers and directors The Daily Express noted a single error which consisted of identifying David Kelly as a charming wiry one armed Irish character actor In reality he had two arms however he did play Albert Riddle a one armed character in Robin s Nest 2 Critical response EditChristopher Hart from Literary Review called t he inclusion of some of the recollections baffling and noted that Brandreth is reliably funny 3 Yorkshire Magazine s Sandra Collard noted that the reader need s to be an avid reader and an even more avid theatregoer to appreciate even a soupcon of anecdotes and noted that t he prologue of the book is a mini masterpiece in itself As the book s release was during the COVID 19 Pandemic Collard stated that the book perhaps makes you feel sad at the demise of such a wonderful and necessary thing as live theatre 4 Paula Donnelly for The Daily Express noted that with theatres closed because of the coronavirus it is about as close to a play we can get at the moment and it is well worth the admission price 2 Writing for The Sunday Times Simon Callow opined that Brandreth has put the theatrical profession and theatregoers everywhere heavily in his debt having provided an alternative and very human history of the theatre 5 The Spectator s literary editor Sam Leith described it as a doorstopping compendium of missed cues bitchy put downs and drunken mishaps involving everyone from Donald Wolfit to Donald Sinden 6 Brandreth gave his first show on 10 October 2020 promoting the book at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre which even though labelled sold out only had a quarter of the seats full under government restrictions and Brandreth signed book and autographs from the edge of the stage from behind a four foot square Perspex screen 7 References Edit Brandreth Gyles The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes Gyles Brandreth Archived from the original on 11 January 2021 Retrieved 11 January 2021 a b Donnelley Paul 15 November 2020 The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes Gyles Brandreth s cracker of a book Daily Express Archived from the original on 11 January 2021 Retrieved 11 January 2021 Hart Christopher 1 October 2020 Never Work with Children or Audiences Literary Review 490 Archived from the original on 20 October 2020 Collard Sandra 28 July 2020 The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes by Gyles Brandreth Review On Yorkshire Magazine Archived from the original on 11 January 2021 Retrieved 11 January 2021 Callow Simon 30 December 2020 The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes by Gyles Brandreth review The Sunday Times Archived from the original on 11 January 2021 Retrieved 11 January 2021 Leith Sam 21 October 2020 Gyles Brandreth Theatrical anecdotes The Spectator Archived from the original on 11 January 2021 Retrieved 11 January 2021 Brandreth Gyles 11 October 2020 The BBC does not deserve a Trojan Horse chairman The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on 12 October 2020 Retrieved 11 January 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes amp oldid 1171894733, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
