Have you been to the AGO’s Drama and Desire: Artists and the Theatre? Did it leave you wanting more? Or maybe you are planning to go and want to do a little research or get into the atmosphere of the exhibition before you visit? Here are some recommendations to suit a range of ages and a variety of interests. Happy reading and/or viewing!
Historical Fiction, In the Period of the Exhibit:
- A Place of Greater Safety (by Hilary Mantel – French Revolution time period)
- Dancing for Degas: A Novel (by Kathryn Wagner)
- Degas Must Have Loved a Dancer (by Krista Madsen)
- Mademoiselle Victorine: A Novel (by Debra Finerman)
- Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper: A Novel (by Harriet Chessman)
- With Violets (by Elizabeth Robards)
- Mistress Shakespeare (by Karen Harper)
- Song of Troy (by Colleen McCullough)
- 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare (by James Shapiro)
For Children:
- A Cue for Treason (by Geoffrey Trease)
- Shakespeare can be Fun series (by Lois Burdett)
- Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare (by Edith Nesbit)
- Usborne Stories from Shakespeare (by Anna Claybourne)
- Tales from Shakespeare (by Charles and Mary Lamb)
- No Fear Shakespeare series (by William Shakespeare)
- Shakespeare: The Animated Tales video (Alec McCowen et al.)
- Classic Myths to Read Aloud: The Great Stories of Greek and Roman Mythology, Specially Arranged for Children Five and Up by an Educational Expert (by William F. Russell)
- Greek Myths for Young Children (by Heather Amery, ed.)
YouTube:
Historical Context:
- Adulterous Alliances: Home, State, and History in Early Modern European Drama and Painting (by Richard Helgerson)
- Religion in the Age of Shakespeare (by Christopher Paul Baker)
- Love, Sex, and Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our World (by Simon Goldhill)
Ellen Terry:
- The Collected Letters of Ellen Terry: 1865-1888 (Publisher: Pickering and Chatto Ltd.)
- A Strange Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and their Remarkable Families (by Michael Holroyd)
John Boydell:
- Boydell’s Shakespeare Prints: 90 Engravings (by Josiah Boydell, Dover Publications)
Edward Gordon Craig:
- Edward Gordon Craig – A Vision of Theatre (by Christoph Innes)
- Mask: A Periodical Performance by Edward Gordon Craig (by Olga Taxidou)
Edouard Vuillard:
- The Little Book of Vuillard (by Alyse Gaultier)
- Vuillard (by Guy Cogeval)
Maurice Maeterlinck:
- The Plays of Maurice Maeterlinck Volume 1 (by Richard Hovey)
- Maurice Maeterlinck and the Making of Modern Theatre (by Patrick McGuinness)
John Singer Sargent:
- John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1874-1882; Complete Paintings: Volume IV (by Richard Ormond, Elaine Kilmurray, and Waren Adelson)
- John Singer Sargent (by Carter Ratcliff and John Singer Sargent)
Art General:
- The World’s Most Influential Painters … and the Artists They Inspired: The Stories and Hidden Connections Between Great Works of Western Art (by David Gariff)
- Body, Place, and Self in Nineteenth-Century Painting (by Susan Sidlauskas)
- Introducing Romanticism (by Duncan Heath, Judy Boreham, and Richard Appignanesi)
Theatre General:
- The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera (by Roger Parker)
Live Theatre:
- A Company of Fools (Ottawa)
- Canopy Theatre Company (University of Toronto)
- CanStage (High Park, Toronto)
- Classical Theatre Project (Toronto) http://www.thectp.ca/
- Driftwood Theatre Company (Ontario Tour)
- Hamilton Urban Theatre (Hamilton)
- Heritage Theatre (Brampton)
- Opera Atelier (Toronto)
- Resurgence Theatre Company (Newmarket)
- Shakespeare in Action (Toronto)
- Shakespeare in the Vineyard (St. Catharines)
- Shaw Festival (Niagara-on-the-Lake)
- Single Thread Theatre Company (Toronto)
- Soulpepper Theatre (Toronto)
- St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival (Prescott)
- Stratford Shakespeare Festival (Stratford)
- Urban Bard Productions (Toronto)