After In-Yer-Face Theatre

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvi

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2. Introduction: Reflections on In-Yer-Face from the Other Side of the Atlantic

   • William C. Boles

   Pages 1-17

3. Re-assessing the Movement

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 19-19

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   2. “In the Pursuit of New Writers”: The Royal Court Young Peoples’ Theatre and the Development of First-Time Playwrights in the 1990s

      • Nicholas Holden

      Pages 21-35

   3. “A Shop Window for Outrage”: Harold Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes, In-Yer Face Theatre and the Royal Court’s 1996 West End Season

      • Graham Saunders

      Pages 37-55

   4. “The Last Rolo”: Love, Conflict and War in Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator

      • Rachael Newberry

      Pages 57-70

   5. Mark Ravenhill’s Dialectical Emotions: In-Yer-Face as Post-Brechtian Theater

      • Anja Hartl

      Pages 71-85

4. A Movement’s International Influences

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 87-87

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   2. Undressing Sarah Kane: A Portuguese Perspective on In-Yer-Face

      • Cátia Faísco

      Pages 89-102

   3. Russian “In-Yer-Face Theatre” as a Problem or a Process

      • Elena Dotsenko

      Pages 103-119

   4. Surfing the Wave of In-Yer-Face Theatre on Australian Shores

      • Sandra Gattenhof

      Pages 121-136

5. A Movement’s Aftermath

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 137-137

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   2. The Hidden Dialogue Between Sarah Kane and Edward Bond: The Dramaturgy of Accident Time and Ethical Subjectivities

      • Chien-Cheng Chen

      Pages 139-152

   3. From “In-Yer-Face” to “In-Yer-Head”: Staging the Mind in Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane, and Anthony Neilson

      • Solange Ayache

      Pages 153-169

   4. Philip Ridley: Still In-Yer-Face

      • Thomas A. Oldham

      Pages 171-184

   5. Tales from the East End: Dialogic and Confessional Storytelling as Therapy (?) in the Plays of Philip Ridley

      • Cath Badham

      Pages 185-200

   6. Joe Penhall’s Fatherhood Plays: Escaping the Influence of Sam Shepard and the Lad

      • William C. Boles

      Pages 201-215

   7. “Experiential, not speculative”: Love In and After In-Yer-Face

      • Korbinian Stöckl

      Pages 217-230

   8. The Echo Chamber: Theater in a “Post-Truth” World

      • Shane Kinghorn

      Pages 231-246

6. Back Matter

   Pages 247-251

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This book revisits In-Yer-Face theatre, an explosive, energetic theatrical movement from the 1990s that introduced the world to playwrights Sarah Kane, Martin McDonagh, Mark Ravenhill, Jez Butterworth, and many others. Split into three sections the book re-examines the era, considers the movement’s  influence on international theatre, and considers its lasting effects on contemporary British theatre.  The first section offers new readings on works from that time period (Antony Neilson and Mark Ravenhill) as well as challenges myths created by the Royal Court Theatre about the its involvement with In-Yer-Face theatre. The second section discusses the influence of In-Yer-Face on Portuguese, Russian and Australian theater, while the final section discusses the legacy of In-Yer-Face writers as well as their influences on more recent playwrights, including chapters on Philip Ridley, Sarah Kane, Joe Penhall, Martin Crimp, Dennis Kelly, and Verbatim Drama.

• 1990s
• Cool Britannia
• Mark Ravenhill
• Jez Butterworth
• Sarah Kane
• Edward Bond
• Royal Court
• Philip Ridley
• Joe Penhall

• Rollins College, Winter Park, USA

  William C. Boles

William C. Boles holds the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Chair of English at Rollins College. His previous books are The Argumentative Theatre of Joe Penhall and Understanding David Henry Hwang.  He currently serves as the Director of the Comparative Drama Conference.

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