Deathtraps: The Postmodern Comedy Thriller

Carlson, Marvin A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0253208262 ISBN 13: 9780253208262

Verlag: Indiana University Press, 1993

Book by Carlson Marvin

Reseña del editor:

The phenomenal success of such plays as Ira Levin's "Deathtrap and Anthony", Shaffer's "Sleuth" heralded the advent of a new form of detective play - the comedy thriller. These plays overturned the conventions of detective fiction while keeping playgoers on the edges of their seats. Carlson shows the comedy thriller to be a singularly postmodern form. The detective story, with its emphasis on reason and logic, provided the perfect playground for the destabilizing effects of postmodern experimentation. The comedy thriller's self-referential openness was a refreshing contrast to the closed world of the classic detective play and injected a new ebullience and theatricality into a staid form. Carlson examines all the elements of the thriller - openings, settings, characters, plot lines, the role of the audience, and endings - and shows how they work to overturn the conventions of realism in detective drama. "Deathtraps" will prove a feast for all lovers of the comedy thriller.

Biografía del autor:

MARVIN CARLSON is Sidney E. Cohn Professor of Theatre and Comparative Literature at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Among his books on European theatre history and on theatrical theory are Theories of the Theatre, Places of Performance, and Theatre Semiotics: Signs of Life.