Mike Bartlett

Hailed as one of the most talented playwrights to have emerged in the late 2000s, Mike Bartlett's diverse range of plays strike at the heart of the various crises predominant in the early twenty-first century. Offering the first extensive examination of the plays and television series written by award winning playwright Mike Bartlett, this volume not only provides analysis of some of Bartlett's best-known works (Cock, Doctor Foster, King Charles III, and Albion), but also includes new interviews with Bartlett and some of his closest and oft relied upon collaborators. In this book, Bartlett's plays and television series are grouped together thematically, allowing the reader to observe the cross-pollination between his works on the stage and screen. The book also includes an introductory biographical chapter that discusses early influences on his writing (Harold Pinter, Mark Ravenhill, Tony Kushner, and Quentin Tarantino), his time in the Young Writers Programme at the Royal Court, and his work with the Apathists. Routledge Modern and Contemporary Dramatists is a series of innovative and exciting critical introductions to the work of internationally pioneering playwrights, giving undergraduate students an ideal point of entry into these key figures in modern drama.

William C. Boles is the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Chair of English at Rollins College, USA.

Acknowledgements PART I: Life, Career, Theories of Theatre 1 Mike Bartlett: An Introduction Biographical Information 2 Mike Bartlett: The Etch-a-Sketch Playwright The Audience The Language The Experience PART II: Key Plays 3 Institutional Expectations: Not Talking, My Child, and Cock Not Talking (2006): Societal Roles and Institutional Victimization My Child (2007): Morals or Money? Cock (2009): Challenging Definitions 4 Generational Crises: Earthquakes in London; Love, Love, Love; Albion; and Snowflake Earthquakes in London (2010): Weathering the Family Love, Love, Love (2010): Carrying That Familial Weight, a Long Time Albion (2017): Audrey's Influence Snowflake (2018): A Christmas Brexit Play 5 Bully for Business: The Bartlett Workplace - Contractions, Bull, Sticks and Stones, and Press Contractions (2008): Knowing the Employee's Business Bull (2013): Destroying the Employee Sticks and Stones (2019): The Bullying Will Now Be Televised Press (2018): Bully for the Fourth Estate 6 Doctor Medea: The Cultural Phenomenon - Medea, Doctor Foster, and Life Medea of the Suburbs Doctor Foster (2015): Re-Envisioning Medea Life (2020): A Revisiting PART III: Key Productions 7 Directing and Performing Bull (2013) 8 King Charles III: From Stage to Screen The Backstory Two Editing Choices: Language and Characters The Women of King Charles III: Kate, Diana, and Jess Coda: A King Is Crowned Appendix 1 A Conversation With Adam James Appendix 2 A Conversation With Victoria Hamilton Appendix 3 A Conversation With Rachael Stirling Appendix 4 A Conversation With Mike Bartlett Index