A Review of Cutting Plays for Performance: A Practical and Accessible Guide by Toby Malone and Aili Huber
(London/New York: Routledge, 2022). ISBN: 978-0-367-74888-3 With the COVID-19 pandemic almost all but behind us (although two Broadway shows were shut down last week because of lead actors testing positive), the theatre community is trying to get back on its feet and back to work. As a playwright, script doctor, director, artistic director of a theatre company, and actor, I’ve met with the challenges, repercussions, and sometimes joys of cutting scripts for over thirty years. Audiences, while able to sit in a movie theatre for three hours to watch, for instance, this year’s The Batman , are far more impatient when it comes to the length of stage productions, which makes it especially difficult for those specializing in Shakespeare and other public domain classics of considerable length. In a perfect world—as opposed to the theatre, which thrives on imperfection—plays would always be the perfect length. After all, a playwright is a skilled technician specializing in conflict...