J.B. Priestley

<p><em>J. B. Priestley</em> is the first book to provide a detailed and up to date analysis of the enormous contribution made by this playwright novelist journalist and critic to twentieth century British theatre. </p><p>Priestley was often criticised for being either too populist or too experimental and this study unpicks the contradictions of a playwright and theatre theorist popular with audiences but too often dismissed by critics; describing and analysing in detail not only his plays but also their specific historical and contemporary productions.</p><p>Using a combination of archive review and critical materials the book re-locates Priestley as a theatre theorist of substance as well as a playwright who challenged theatre conventions and assumptions about audience expectations at a time when theatre was considered both conservative and lacking in innovation.</p>