Dominic Dromgoole

'An absolute delight ... boozy, bawdy, generous-hearted ... utterly original and relishable' Sunday TimesShakespeare has always been a big part of Dominic Dromgoole's life. This is the story of how he has stumbled, shambled and occasionally glided through the years with Shakespeare as his guide - whether reading Julius Caesar aloud to cows as a boy, listening to Peter O'Toole crack dirty jokes at his parents' kitchen table, acting in car-crash student productions or putting on his own. Along the way he shows us what Shakespeare's rough-and-ready genius can teach us about love, war, sex, death, drunkenness, friendship ... and just about everything. 'Friendly, inclusive, I warmed to it immediately ... A terrific book' Evening Standard'The book is clearly a triumph ... You laugh out loud and cringe in equal measure' Spectator'Superb ... thrillingly entertaining ... throbs with vigour, honesty and passion' Daily Telegraph'A record of a lifelong obsession - articulate, intelligent and passionately set down ... Dromgoole's enthusiasm has a sincerity and warmth that are infectious' Observer'Irresistibly seductive' Independent on Sunday

As Shakespeare and his contemporaries wrote for the epic scale, the imaginative commitment and the 360-degree embrace of the Globe so, three hundred years later, generations of playwrights wrote for the velvety darkness, the enclosed acoustic and the picture framing of the proscenium arch. For a century, the story of the changing world was told inside proscenium theatres, by a series of remarkable playwrights. In over sixty irreverent, illuminating pen portraits - of both famous giants and lesser-known talents - Dominic Dromgoole takes us on a journey from 1865 to 1965, revealing how these writers used the framed stage to reflect the social upheavals of their times. Brought vividly to life by a generously erudite and experienced theatre director, Time Frames is a hugely entertaining journey through a fascinating theatrical century, the era of the proscenium playwrights.

A SUNDAY TIMES BEST FILM AND THEATRE BOOK OF 2022 'Anyone in love with the arts will fall in love with this beautifully written and fascinating book' Kathy Burke Astonish Me! is an adrenaline-charged rollercoaster through history's seismic first nights, exploring how individual artists can change and shape the story of culture - and allow us to see ourselves in new ways. It tells of times when 'the air between people seems to alter' as art achieves profound change, across the globe and across history. Dominic Dromgoole has created a radical and fresh canon. He begins in New York in 1963, as Lorraine Hansberry remakes American theatre and a nation's perception of race. And then, as the lights go up, we find ourselves in Renaissance Florence, watching Michelangelo's David being hauled into the Piazza della Signoria. The dust settles and we are transported to the birth of theatre in fifth-century Athens - and then to Paris to meet with Diaghilev and Stravinsky for the Rite of Spring. We witness kabuki's creation, as a radical women's performance, in Kyoto; the Sex Pistols shattering Thatcherite Britain at Manchester's Free Trade Hall; and watch as Hitchcock directs Psycho.

A SUNDAY TIMES BEST FILM AND THEATRE BOOK OF 2022 'Anyone in love with the arts will fall in love with this beautifully written and fascinating book' Kathy Burke Astonish Me! is an adrenaline-charged rollercoaster through history's seismic first nights, exploring how individual artists can change and shape the story of culture - and allow us to see ourselves in new ways. It tells of times when 'the air between people seems to alter' as art achieves profound change, across the globe and across history. Dominic Dromgoole has created a radical and fresh canon. He begins in New York in 1963, as Lorraine Hansberry remakes American theatre and a nation's perception of race. And then, as the lights go up, we find ourselves in Renaissance Florence, watching Michelangelo's David being hauled into the Piazza della Signoria. The dust settles and we are transported to the birth of theatre in fifth-century Athens - and then to Paris to meet with Diaghilev and Stravinsky for the Rite of Spring. We witness kabuki's creation, as a radical women's performance, in Kyoto; the Sex Pistols shattering Thatcherite Britain at Manchester's Free Trade Hall; and watch as Hitchcock directs Psycho.

Two years, 190,000 miles, 197 countries, one play. For the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth the Globe Theatre in London undertook an unparalleled journey to share Hamlet with the entire world. The tour was the brainchild of Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of the Globe, and in Hamlet Globe to Globe, Dromgoole takes readers along with him on this wildly ambitious expedition. From performing in sweltering deserts, capital and remote cities, heaving marketplaces and on Pacific islands, and despite food poisoning in Mexico, the threat of ambush in Somaliland, an Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and political upheaval in Ukraine, the Globe's players tirelessly pushed on. They carried their own props, instruments, and costumes throughout the journey, and could construct an entire set in less than two hours. Dromgoole introduces this impressive cast of sturdy souls, recounting the highs and lows of their tour, paying witness to Shakespeare's power to transcend borders and bring people closer together. Dromgoole also shows us the world through the prism of Shakespeare and why, in its mystery, it resonates so widely how a sixteenth-century play can touch the lives of men and women in Sudan, citizens of Beijing, and Syrian refugees alike. Through the lens of this epic theatrical journey, Dromgoole gleans new insight into Shakespeare's masterpiece, exploring the play's history, its meaning, and its pleasures, and offering a dramatic and heartfelt testament to Shakespeare's enduring presence on the modern stage.

NEW YORK TIMES 100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2017Over two full years, Dromgoole, the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and the Globe players toured all seven continents, and almost 200 countries, performing the Bard's most famous play. They set their stage in sprawling refugee camps, grand Baltic palaces and heaving marketplaces - despite food poisoning in Mexico, an Ebola epidemic in West Africa and political upheaval in Ukraine. Hamlet: Globe to Globe tells the story of this unprecedented theatrical adventure, in which Dromgoole shows us the world through the prism of Shakespeare's universal drama, and asks how a 400-year-old tragedy can bring the world closer together.

Now out in paperback, this highly personal and comprehensive survey of contemporary drama which celebrates the plays and playwrights at the forefront of theatre today All the way from A-Z, Dromgoole's engaging and provocative short essays include his thoughts on Sebastian Barry, Edward Bond, April de Angelis, Pam Gems, David Hare, Sarah Kane, Martin McDonagh, Conor McPherson, Harold Pinter, Mark Ravenhill, and many, many more. Intelligent, partisan, enthusiastic and always illuminating, this is an insider's guide to the key shapers of theatre over the last decade, and essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary theatre. This edition includes a new afterword."We are living in the middle of a carnival, a free festival, a fete, a flower show, a harvest home, a steam fair, a rock festival, a grand glorious tender wild burst of new plays." Dominic Dromgoole

In this highly personal and comprehensive survey of contemporary drama, Dominic Dromgoole, one of Britain's most innovative young directors, celebrates the plays and playwrights at the forefront of theatre today All the way from A-Z, Dromgoole's engaging and provocative short essays include his thoughts on Sebastian Barry, Edward Bond, April de Angelis, Pam Gems, David Hare, Sarah Kane, Martin McDonagh, Conor McPherson, Harold Pinter, Mark Ravenhill, and many, many more. Intelligent, partisan, enthusiastic and always illuminating, this is an insider's guide to the key shapers of theatre over the last decade, and essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary theatre."We are living in the middle of a carnival, a free festival, a fete, a flower show, a harvest home, a steam fair, a rock festival, a grand glorious tender wild burst of new plays." Dominic Dromgoole