Introduction
-
Jacqueline Bolton
Abstract
This introduction provides a concise overview of Dennis Kelly’s work. From his early writing and debut play, Debris (2003), to his most recent screenplay adaptation of Matilda the Musical (2022), the chapter covers the breadth of Kelly’s diverse catalogue across stage and screen. In doing so, the introduction situates Kelly’s ‘grimy’ drama within existing scholarship, drawing out key themes and questions pertinent to our understanding of the playwright. Through summary introductions of each of the volume’s fourteen chapters, it illustrates the range of critical responses to Kelly’s two-decade oeuvre, which has ultimately earned him a place at the centre of British cultural production.
Abstract
This introduction provides a concise overview of Dennis Kelly’s work. From his early writing and debut play, Debris (2003), to his most recent screenplay adaptation of Matilda the Musical (2022), the chapter covers the breadth of Kelly’s diverse catalogue across stage and screen. In doing so, the introduction situates Kelly’s ‘grimy’ drama within existing scholarship, drawing out key themes and questions pertinent to our understanding of the playwright. Through summary introductions of each of the volume’s fourteen chapters, it illustrates the range of critical responses to Kelly’s two-decade oeuvre, which has ultimately earned him a place at the centre of British cultural production.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of illustrations vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- A foreword xii
- Introduction 1
- I Incubation 19
- 1 DNA in the classroom 21
- 2 Suspended in time and place 39
- 3 ‘I’ll teach you a thing or two’ 55
- II Antibodies 71
- 4 ‘Are you sick, yet? / Are you disgusted, yet?’ 73
- 5 Utopia 90
- 6 Beautiful doom 105
- 7 Subjectivity in Dennis Kelly’s early drama 118
- III False positives 135
- 8 ‘I just want it to be your words’ 137
- 9 ‘What is the difference between made up and real?’ 152
- 10 ‘What else isn’t true?’, or, Dennis Kelly’s expressionism 170
- 11 Atopia 184
- IV Variants 201
- 12 ‘Now look, are you going to tell me a story or not?’ 203
- 13 Dennis Kelly’s The Gods Weep at the Royal Shakespeare Company 217
- 14 Performing stories, engaging audiences 233
- Conclusion 251
- Index 264
- Plates 267
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- List of illustrations vii
- Notes on contributors viii
- A foreword xii
- Introduction 1
- I Incubation 19
- 1 DNA in the classroom 21
- 2 Suspended in time and place 39
- 3 ‘I’ll teach you a thing or two’ 55
- II Antibodies 71
- 4 ‘Are you sick, yet? / Are you disgusted, yet?’ 73
- 5 Utopia 90
- 6 Beautiful doom 105
- 7 Subjectivity in Dennis Kelly’s early drama 118
- III False positives 135
- 8 ‘I just want it to be your words’ 137
- 9 ‘What is the difference between made up and real?’ 152
- 10 ‘What else isn’t true?’, or, Dennis Kelly’s expressionism 170
- 11 Atopia 184
- IV Variants 201
- 12 ‘Now look, are you going to tell me a story or not?’ 203
- 13 Dennis Kelly’s The Gods Weep at the Royal Shakespeare Company 217
- 14 Performing stories, engaging audiences 233
- Conclusion 251
- Index 264
- Plates 267
