Book Review: Men at Play: Masculinities in Australian Theatre since the 1950s. By Jonathan Bollen, Adrian Kiernander and Bruce Parr. Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi, 2008. Pp. xii + 215 + 26 illus. E50/$75 Pb.

Abstract

Adopting a thematic rather than chronological arrangement, this co-authored book surveys representations of men and masculinity in post-war Australian theater. Its searching and sophisticated analyses draw upon playscripts, critical records and archival material, including screen versions of stage productions. The study is organized around two distinct periods of Australian theater history: the 1950s to 1970, during which time a national theatremovement flourished, and the mid-1980s onward.Whilst some attention is given to different genres, discussion centers primarily on realist works from the mainstream. Several plays usually omitted from orthodox theater histories, such as Barry Pree’s A Fox in the Night (1959), are given detailed treatments