Dramatic Exchanges: The Lives and Letters of the National Theatre

Dramatic Exchanges: The Lives and Letters of the National Theatre by Rosenthal, Daniel. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781781259351.

There has been always as much drama offstage as on at the National Theatre, and much of it is to be found in the letters, telegrams, scribbled notes and colourful postcards of its main players. - What drove Laurence Olivier to confess: The foolishness of my position starts to obsess me? - Why did Maggie Smith write: I am absolutely heartbroken by your decision? - What prompted Judi Dench to ask: Cant you write me a musical so that I can sit on a chair in a fur hat & nothing else and sing RUDE songs? This book brings together for the first time eight hundred of the most inspiring, dramatic and amusing letters from the life of Britains most beloved theatre: from Laurence Oliviers gracious rejection letters to Peter Halls combative memos; from Helen Mirrens impassioned defence of theatrical innovation to a Tory politicians brutal telegram damning a play; from fantastical good luck missives to long conspiratorial letters. Together, they reveal the stories behind some of the most lavish, triumphant, daring and disastrous productions in the theatres history, including Amadeus, Romans in Britain, Laurence Oliviers Othello, Closer, The History Boys and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. A rich collection of correspondence like no other, this book offers a fascinating and celebratory look at the world of theatre and beyond.