David Bradby

David Bradby (27 February 1942 – 17 January 2011) was a British drama and theatre academic with particular research interests in French theatre, Modernist / Postmodernist theatre, the role of the director and the Theatre of the Absurd. He wrote extensively on the theatre of Samuel Beckett, Roger Planchon, Jacques Lecoq, Arthur Adamov among many others. He also translated several works, principally by Michel Vinaver, Jacques Lecoq and Bernard-Marie Koltès.

Life

Born in Kollupitiya in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where his father was principal of a teacher-training college,[1][2] Bradby was educated at Rugby School in Rugby, England, where "he developed a passion for directing plays, taking over the production of light comedy from his English master".[3] He originally studied Modern Languages at Trinity College, Oxford, but started to develop an interest in the theatre. During his time as a language assistant in Lyon, Bradby became a bit-part actor in Roger Planchon’s theatre company.

Bradby’s subsequent education saw him taking a postgraduate teaching course at the University of Bristol, and then a PhD on the playwright Arthur Adamov at the University of Glasgow.

His academic career included the founding of the Department of Drama at the University of Kent in 1970, as well as work with the British Council in Nigeria. He developed the first colloquium on popular film and theatre, featuring contributions from the British theatre director Max Stafford-Clark. Bradby was appointed head of the Department of Drama at the University of Caen, Normandy, before moving to Royal Holloway, University of London in 1988, where he also took the position of department head. He retired in Summer 2007.

Bradby edited the Cambridge University Press "Studies in Modern Drama" series, as well as the journal Contemporary Theatre Review.

He was Professor Emeritus of Drama and Theatre at Royal Holloway. He gave many public lectures and broadcasts and was also a consultant and advisor to many productions of works by Jean Genet, Molière, Michel Vinaver and Bernard-Marie Koltès.

In 1997, Bradby was made a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in recognition of his contribution to the study of French culture.[4] Bradby had been married to the author Rachel Anderson since 1965. He died aged 68 on 17 January 2011. A celebration of his life and work was held in and around the Department of Drama & Theatre at Royal Holloway on Sunday, 5 June 2011.[5] Awards named after Bradby are given out annually by the Theatre and Performance Research Association and the Standing Conference of University Drama Departments.

Bibliography

As editor

References

  1. ↑ Dan Rebellato, "David Bradby obituary", The Guardian, 2 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Prof David Bradby" (obituary), The Telegraph, 2 March 2011.
  3. ↑ Piers Plowright, "David Bradby: Theatre scholar whose passion for French drama inspired a host of seminal books", The Independent, 25 February 2011.
  4. ↑ Sarah Cunnane, "David Bradby, 1942-2011", Times Higher Education, 27 January 2011.
  5. ↑ "David Bradby (1942-2011): A Celebration of His Life and Work", Royal Holloway, University of London.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 4/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.