Full Description
Ambivalences: A Portrait of Arnold Wesker from A to W is a document of Arnold Wesker in conversation with the Italian academic Chiara Montenero. In their wide-ranging discussions, Wesker and Montenero address his ideas on art and drama with a particular focus on some of his most enduring characters. Betraying his reputation as theatre's 'perennial outsider', Ambivalences finds Wesker in generous and engaging form, offering a rich and unique insight into the mind of one of the key figures in 20th-century drama.
Contents
Arnold Wesker F.R.S.L., born London 1932, has written nearly 50 plays, the most well-known being 'The Wesker Trilogy', The Kitchen, Chips With Everything, Love Letters on Blue Paper and Shylock, most of them performed worldwide from Buenos Aires to Tokyo, from Stockholm to Seoul, from Paris to New York, from Lisbon to Prague. His output has covered all the genres - poetry, short story, essay, and an autobiography, As Much as I Dare. In the last seven years he has written five new plays and other works, including his first novel, Honey, and in 2008 a first volume of poetry All Things Tire of Themselves. Recipient of honorary degrees and prizes, Wesker's vast archives have been purchased by Texas University. He was knighted in the 2006 New Year's Honours list for services to drama. Chiara Montenero, born Rome 1956, achieved her bachelor's degree in Modern Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Rome 'La Sapienza' with a thesis on Arnold Wesker, entitled Arnold Wesker, la trilogia e il centro 42 (Arnold Wesker, Th e Trilogy and Centre 42). As a journalist she has written for newspapers including Cahiers d'Art, Il Giornale, La Stampa, Mercedes Magazine and Investire, and currently contributes to the Art, Culture and Entertainment section of the daily newspaper Il Tempo. She is the author of two collections of poetry, Angeli in ascensore (Marsilio Editori, 1996) and Fragilita indistruttibili (Klimerik, 2009). Her screenplay adaptation of her short story, Noiseless Hotel, appeared on the Sky Culture channel in July 2010.
