A collection of essays circling Brecht and Beckett, but really about what happens when performance meets its medium—stage, radio, television—and starts to change shape.

Esslin moves through specific works and productions, looking at how Brecht engineers distance and instruction, while Beckett strips things down to voice, body, and duration until almost nothing is left.

There’s a through-line here: what a work is can’t be separated from how it’s delivered. A Beckett play on radio isn’t an adaptation—it becomes something else entirely. The essays build this argument piece by piece, using close readings rather than theory-speak, which keeps it grounded in actual scenes, staging choices, and constraints.

Abacus / Sphere Books edition (1983). Paperback in good condition. Light shelf wear and minor edge creasing; binding solid; interior clean.