Kenneth Pickering and
Anthea Preston

Ken Pickering is the author of many books on the, practice, study and teaching of theatre and has combined the careers of playwright, director, actor and academic. He was Professor of Theatre at Gonzaga University in Washington State and is now Honorary Professor in the Drama Department at the University of Kent. He was co-founder of the Institute for the Arts in Therapy and Education in London.

Anthea Preston is a professional actress and drama teacher with wide experience of running a theatre company with her husband, Harry, and in presenting performances for children in schools. She has devised and performed in many of her own plays and has appeared in numerous theatre productions as well as TV and Film. Her family have all been involved in aspects of dance and theatre.

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Theatre: The First Stages
by Kenneth Pickering and Anthea Preston

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-84944-157-5
Paperback RRP: £8.49

UKBookland Price : £7.99 including FREE Standard UK Delivery - available here.

Edited and introduced by Ken Pickering with Anthea Preston.

This new book celebrates the magic of those early memories of theatre which can shape the future course of life. It draws widely on both well-known and relatively unknown authors; on fact and fiction; on those who are living and those who have passed on; on those who became famous and on those for whom the theatre was simply an indelible early experience that enriched their lives. Playwrights, actors, scientists, educators, writers, members of the armed forces and fictional characters are among those whose first or early experiences of theatre are collected here. They are introduced and discussed by two theatre practitioners who have a passion for the influence of the arts in the lives of young people and who are concerned for the importance of the imagination in child development. The recollections and extracts presented are touching, amusing, memorable and poignant and they range from those of the creator of Just William, the grand-daughter of Charles Darwin and the novelist Graham Greene to those of a humble member of a village dramatic society. With a Foreword by an eminent authority on the nature of childhood, these reflections and memories will inspire and entertain but also provide rich food for thought in our age of 'reality'.