The Drama and Theatre of Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl is one of the most highly-acclaimed and frequently-produced American playwrights of the 21st century. She has won the MacArthur 'Genius Grant', been nominated for a Tony Award for In the Next Room, twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - for The Clean House and In the Next Room - and had an entire season devoted to her work. This study provides a clear and accessible analysis of her ouevre, giving readers an experience of her plays, not just an explanation of them. Through a finely-grained, dimensional account of each play, readers are immersed in Ruhl's unique idiom; in themes of love and death, mourbaning and loss, intimacy and faith, and in inventive stagecraft to articulate consciousness onstage. Enriched by engaging essays by three scholars, a roundtable discussion with female directors of her generation, and an interview with Ruhl herself, this is a companionable guide for students of American literature and theatre studies.