Marilyn Monroe, Vincent van Gogh or the victims of rendition flights - the number and variety of historical and contemporary figures represented on British stages is amazing. This book develops a new theoretical framework for the representation of real life figures on stage and examines different ways in which they can be included in performances.
'This book offers a fascinating complement to the raft of recent publications on documentary theatre and theatres of actuality. While biographical theatre has proved consistently attractive to playwrights and audiences, the genre has been relatively neglected in academic scholarship to date. Through her analysis of a variety of theatrical case studies, Ursula Canton builds a strong argument for the importance of drama based on real lives.' - Dr Chris Megson, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre, Royal Holloway University of London