Kirjahaku

Drawing on interviews with a breadth of different showgirls, from shows in Paris, Las Vegas, Berlin, and Los Angeles, as well as her own artworks and those by other contemporary and historical artists, this book examines the experiences of showgirls and those who watch them, to challenge the narrowness of representations and discussions around what has been termed ‘sexualisation’ and ‘the gaze’. An account of the experience of being ‘looked at’, the book raises questions of how the showgirl is represented, the nature of the pleasure that she elicits and the suspicion that surrounds it, and what this means for feminism and the act of looking. An embodied articulation of a new politics of looking, Viewing Pleasure and Being a Showgirl engages with the idea (reinforced by feminist critique) that images of women are linked to selling and that women’s bodies have been commodified in capitalist culture, raising the question of whether this enables particular bodies – those of glamorous women on display – to become scapegoats for our deeper anxieties about consumerism.

"Behind me, the sky was falling in. Slowly drifting down. That's the last thing my broken eye saw before it all went black. Do you believe me?" No one's touched the buffet, there's a big gap on the wall where a mirror's fallen off and something is stinking the place out. Julie and Ruby are sisters coming to terms with the death of formidable matriarch Iris who still manages to control their lives from beyond the grave. On the night of the funeral, Julie gets off with Gerry, the crime scene cleaner. Maybe that'll help. It doesn't. When their mother's unusual bequest unearths a story that leaves some indelible marks, something more than a deep clean is needed.

Drawing on interviews with a breadth of different showgirls, from shows in Paris, Las Vegas, Berlin, and Los Angeles, as well as her own artworks and those by other contemporary and historical artists, this book examines the experiences of showgirls and those who watch them, to challenge the narrowness of representations and discussions around what has been termed ‘sexualisation’ and ‘the gaze’. An account of the experience of being ‘looked at’, the book raises questions of how the showgirl is represented, the nature of the pleasure that she elicits and the suspicion that surrounds it, and what this means for feminism and the act of looking. An embodied articulation of a new politics of looking, Viewing Pleasure and Being a Showgirl engages with the idea (reinforced by feminist critique) that images of women are linked to selling and that women’s bodies have been commodified in capitalist culture, raising the question of whether this enables particular bodies – those of glamorous women on display – to become scapegoats for our deeper anxieties about consumerism.

'I've been waiting for something like this to happen. I'm surprised it's taken so long. The signs have been building up for a while.' An ordinary Tuesday turns really, really weird when the sky over the school playground suddenly rips open. Pupils and teachers are sucked up to a parallel universe, whilst a new set of people start raining down from above. 'Us' and 'Them' must come together to work out what is going on, and how they can get things back to how they were. Alison Carr's play Tuesday is funny and playful, with a little bit of sci-fi and a lot of big themes: friendship, family, identity, grief, responsibility – and what happens when an unexpected event literally turns the world upside-down. Written specifically for young people, the play formed part of the 2020, 2021 and 2023 National Theatre Connections Festivals and was premiered by youth theatres across the UK. It offers opportunities for a large, flexible cast of any size, age and mix of genders. This bilingual edition includes the original English play with a Welsh-language translation, Un Bore Mawrth, by playwright Daf James. Set Text >> Tuesday is a set play on WJEC's GCSE Drama specification. Un Bore Mawrth ''Wi 'di bod yn aros i rywbeth fel hyn ddigwydd. 'Wi'n synnu'i fod e 'di cymryd mor hir. Ma'r arwyddion 'di bod 'ma ers sbel.' Dydd Mawrth digon cyffredin yw hi, ond yn sydyn mae'n troi'n ddiwrnod rhyfedd iawn pan mae'r awyr uwch ben yr ysgol yn rhwygo'n agored. Caiff disgyblion ac athrawon eu sugno i fyny i fydysawd cyfochrog wrth i garfan newydd o bobl arllwys i lawr oddi uchod. Rhaid i 'Ni' a 'Nhw' ddod ynghyd i ddeall beth sy'n digwydd ac i ddatrys sut i gael pethau'n ôl fel yr oedden nhw. Mae'r ddrama wreiddiol hon gan Alison Carr, Tuesday, yn ddoniol ac yn chwareus, gyda phinsiad o ffugwyddoniaeth a thomen o themâu mawr: cyfeillgarwch, teulu, hunaniaeth, galar, cyfrifoldeb – a beth sy'n digwydd pan fydd digwyddiad annisgwyl yn llythrennol yn troi’r byd wyneb i waered. Wedi'i hysgrifennu ar gyfer pobl ifanc, roedd y ddrama'n rhan o Wyl National Theatre Connections yn 2020 a 2021, a chafodd ei llwyfannu am y tro cyntaf gan theatrau ieuenctid ar draws y DU. Mae'n cynnig cyfleoedd i gastiau mawr, hyblyg o unrhyw faint, oedran a rhywedd. Mae Tuesday yn waith gosod ar fanyleb TGAU Drama CBAC. Yn y gyfrol ddwyieithog hon, fe welwch y ddrama wreiddiol Saesneg ynghyd â chyfieithiad Cymraeg y dramodydd Daf James, Un Bore Mawrth.

‘I expect the plummet, I brace, but no. The wind is now a breeze is now a whisper and I’ve stopped; suspended in the sky…’ Greasy fish’n’chips, sticks of rock and a pot-bellied Spider-Man throwing himself off the pier; the annual ‘Birdman’ competition is in full flight. It’s the busiest weekend of the year in this faded seaside town, but Bayview B&B is somehow closed for business. A finalist in the Theatre503 Playwriting Award, Alison Carr's play Caterpillar is a darkly funny, searing and tender drama about those moments when we find ourselves teetering on the edge. Caterpillar was first performed at Theatre503, London, in September 2018 before transferring to the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, produced by Small Truth Theatre in association with Theatre503 and Michelle Barnette Productions.

‘The end-of-the-world quiz waits for no man, literally. Onwards, ever onwards, to our fiery decline. Round three…’ It's the end of the world. The last night on Earth. An asteroid is heading straight for us and there's nothing we can do about it. Except for maybe host a pub quiz – which is exactly what landlady Kathy and her quizmaster Rav are doing. But, with time ticking, some unexpected guests explode on the scene – Bobby wants to settle old scores, and Fran wants one last shot at love. Alison Carr's play The Last Quiz Night on Earth is an innovative comedy-drama featuring a fully interactive pub quiz for the audience to participate in, complete with real teams, real questions and real swapping each other's answers for marking. It was premiered by Box of Tricks in 2020 on a UK tour, taking in a host of theatres, community venues and pubs. Ideal for performance by amateurs – either in theatres or more unconventional spaces (such as theatre bars and local pubs) – this play offers rich opportunities for audience participation. Quizzing compulsory, alcohol optional.