Profiles - Softcover

Kenneth Tynan (1927-1980) left Oxford to become drama critic of the Evening Standard. After an influential spell on the Observer he joined Laurence Olivier's new National Theatre as its Literary Manager. He also devised and produced the notorious revue Oh! Calcutta.

As a prelude to the anticipated publication of three volumes of Tynan's theater criticism, the editors have gathered together 50 of his profiles of actors, directors, writers, etc., originally published in such disparate periodicals as Sight and Sound, Sports Illustrated , and The New Yorker. The collection traverses over 30 years. Although only 17 of the profiles appear here in book form for the first time, the earlier Tynan collections are out of print. Each of the essays exemplifies his criterion for drama criticism: that "it is not the opinion that counts so much as the art with which it is expressed." The Tynan touch is witty and elegant. Of Orson Welles he wrote: "A superb bravura director, a fair bravura actor and a limited bravura writer; but an incomparable bravura personality." Recommended for general readers as well as specialists.
- Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.