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$26.31 ex GST
$28.94 inc GST
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Six Polemics on Religion and an Essay on Kindness
A C Grayling
Do religions have an inherent right to be respected? Is atheism itself a form of religion, and can there be such a thing as a ‘fundamentalist atheist’? Are we witnessing a global revival in religious zeal, or do the signs point instead to religion’s ultimate decline?
In a series of bold, unsparing polemics, world renowned philosopher A C Grayling tackles these questions head on, exposing the dangerous unreason he sees at the heart of religious faith and highlighting the urgent need we have to reject it in all its forms, without compromise. In its place, he argues for a set of values based on reason, reflection and sympathy, taking his cue from the great ethical tradition of western philosophy.
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Oberon Books | 978-1-840027-27-3 | HB
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$15.41 ex GST
$16.95 inc GST
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Catharine Lumby
‘A wonderful read: I feel like I've been excavated and carbon dated.’
Graeme Blundell
One of the seminal films of the 1970s,
Alvin Purple depicts Alvin’s struggles with his irresistibility to women—from his school days and time as a waterbed salesman to his short-lived career as a sex therapist. The ‘definitive ocker comedy’,
Alvin Purple survived a critical mauling and went on to become the most commercially successful Australian film of the 1970s.
Catharine Lumby takes a fresh look at the film, the social and political era in which it was made and the forces that fuelled its success. She revisits claims that the movie is little more than an exercise in sexploitation and argues that the film is far more complex than its detractors have allowed.
Interviews and reviews:
To read our author interview with Catharine Lumby, click here.
An extract of Catharine Lumby's critique has been published in the
Australian. To read, click here.
To read Philip O'Brien's article for the
Canberra Times, click here.
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Currency Press | 978-0-86819-844-6 | PB
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$27.23 $4.54 ex GST
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Richard Davis
Anna Bishop, the rebellious wife of the English 'Mozart', Henry Bishop, eloped in 1839 with the dissolute French harpist Nicholas Bochsa and began an adventure lasting forty years. She and her lover survived shipwreck, bandits, cholera outbreaks and civil wars while singing in the world's great opera houses and in makeshift venues at the outposts of ‘civilisation’.
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Currency Press | 978-0-86819-485-1 | HB
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$54.55 ex GST
$60.01 inc GST
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Murray Melvin (Editor)
The publication of this title coincides with a major exhibition at the National Theatre in London. This is a photographic record of the work of Joan Littlewood's famous Theatre Workshop, based at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East.
In the 1950's and 60's the company was responsible for some of the most famous and influential work of modern British theatre such as
The Quare Fellow and
The Hostage both by Brendan Behan;
A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney;
Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'be by Frank Norman, music by Lionel Bart; and the massive success of
Oh, What a Lovely War.
Joan Littlewood, considered
‘one of the great creative forces of British theatre in the 1950s and 1960s and one of the great figures of political theatre in this country [UK]’, left an enduring legacy which is celebrated in this volume.
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Oberon Books | 978-1-840026-91-7 | PB
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$45.41 ex GST
$49.95 inc GST
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Alison Gyger
Opera in Australia may have suffered internal rifts and financial pressure during the mid twentieth century, but the art form succeeded in renewing its energies for emerging generations of artists and audiences. Discover how opera, with its cast of thousands, found a home in Australian hearts.
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Pellinor | 978-0-949697-41-7 | HB
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$27.23 ex GST
$29.95 inc GST
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Brian Adams & Graham Shirley
Both chronological and thematic, this is a comprehensive history of the Australian film industry—covering the pioneering days of the silent era, the move into sound in the 1930s, the spectacular revival from 1965 onwards and international recognition in the 1980s.
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Currency Press | 978-0-86819-232-1 | PB
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$19.95 $4.54 ex GST
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The Story of the Harmonica in Australia
Ray Grieve
A captivating localised history of the most popular and accessible musical instrument in the country. Based on ten years of extensive research and interviews with players, this book also includes an Australian harmonica discography and fascinating illustrations.
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Currency Press | 978-0-86819-447-9 | PB
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$63.64 ex GST
$70.00 inc GST
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Carol Langley
‘Sydney and drag form a natural alliance—the brisk, glittering city on the edge of a stunning harbour and the glamorous, biting performance style that thumbs its nose at convention.‘
So begins Langley’s journey into the world of Sydney drag, a performance culture that has become internationally famous.
In this lavishly illustrated book we meet some of the city’s leading contemporary performers—Claire de Lune, Vanity Faire, Polly Petrie, Mitzi Macintosh, Dorreen Manganini, Verushka Darling, Maxi Shield, Miss 3D, Joyce Maynge and Portia Turbo—and the men behind them. Through a series of candid portraits the artists detail their backgrounds and skills, the rituals that precede their performances, and the relationship between the private and public personas. A fascinating book which illuminates the appeal of drag to a wide audience and celebrates its contribution to Sydney’s life.
Winner of the 2006 DIVA for Outstanding Achievement in
Media Award
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Currency Press | 978-0-86819-767-8 | PB
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$26.32 ex GST
$28.95 inc GST
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Theodore Ward
Chicago South Side in the 1930s. Struggling to keep his dreams alive and his family together, Victor Mason is an educated black man reduced to working on building sites. His loyalty to Marcus Garvey’s Back to Africa movement clashes with his family’s pursuit of the American dream despite the twin evils of the Depression and racism.
Never seen outside America, Ward’s landmark family drama, written when the words black and playwright rarely occurred together,
Big White Fog remains as poignant for Britain today as it did when it burst upon America in 1938 as a product of the Federal Theatre Project, which also saw Orson Welles’ black
Macbeth.
This first production outside America is premiered at the Almeida, London, staged by Artistic Director Michael Attenborough. The volume includes background documentation, an essay by the author about the origins of the play and quotations from James Baldwin.
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Nick Hern Books | 978-1-85459-595-9 | PB
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$59.09 ex GST
$65.00 inc GST
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Lolly Susi
The Central Book tells the story of the first hundred years in the life of an extraordinary actor-training school
Founded by the indomitable Elsie Fogerty in 1906, The Central School offered an academically integrated form of training in drama and speech for young actors and other students, the college became a national centre, offering specialist education to a broad range of communities.
Many of the most eminent actors of the twentieth century began their careers at Central: Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench, to name a few. Starting from a single room in the Royal Albert Hall, Elsie Fogerty built her small school for actors into a world-famous institution that was to foster the talents not only of performers and other theatre practitioners, but also of inspirational teachers and speech therapists.
In its hundred years at the forefront of theatre training, Central has weathered two World Wars, as well as an ever-changing political environment. Susi's fascinating study shows that one thing Central has never been is boring…
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Oberon Books | 978-1-840027-10-5 | HB
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