image of person or book cover 4042747102326159644.jpg
This image has been sourced from Booktopia
y separately published work icon Arguments with England : A Memoir single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2004... 2004 Arguments with England : A Memoir
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'"Anyone who has read Michael Blakemore's classic novel "Next Season" knows he is one of the best writers we have about how life on-stage may feed into life off. His beautiful new memoir, "Arguments with England", is perhaps better still - a pitch-perfect account of dreaming youth, driven, frustrated and eventually deepened by a realistic love of the theatre". (David Hare). In the days when Australians called England 'home', Michael Blakemore, an eager young man en route to RADA, made the long sea voyage to 1950s London to find himself in a distinctly foreign country...And so began his struggle to come to terms with the realities of a less than perfect Promised Land. Candid observations about life and art, from his shock on witnessing the poverty in the North to his sense of excitement on reading the works of Proust and Webster, sit beside colourful escapades at drama school and recollections of working with characters such as John Osborne and Tyrone Guthrie. Rescued from the horrors of weekly rep by an exhilarating tour behind the Iron Curtain in Peter Brook's "Titus Andronicus" with Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, Blakemore recalls life as an actor before his directorial success with A Day in the Death of Joe Egg propelled him to the National Theatre and the start of a glittering career.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Faber ,
      2004 .
      image of person or book cover 4042747102326159644.jpg
      This image has been sourced from Booktopia
      Extent: 404p.
      Description: illus., ports.
      Note/s:
      • Dedication: For Conrad, Beatie and Clemmie
      • With author's note.
      ISBN: 0571224458

Works about this Work

Stages in a Life John Rickard , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 64 no. 1-2 2005; (p. 255-262)

— Review of Arguments with England : A Memoir Michael Blakemore , 2004 single work autobiography
Blakemore's Life in the Theatre Philip Drew , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January no. 267 2004-2005; (p. 43)

— Review of Arguments with England : A Memoir Michael Blakemore , 2004 single work autobiography
An Australian Thesbian Acting Up in England Neil Jillett , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 November 2004; (p. 4)

— Review of Arguments with England : A Memoir Michael Blakemore , 2004 single work autobiography
Stages in Life and Love Diana Simmonds , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 20-21 November 2004; (p. 10-11)

— Review of Arguments with England : A Memoir Michael Blakemore , 2004 single work autobiography
Stages in Life and Love Diana Simmonds , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 20-21 November 2004; (p. 10-11)

— Review of Arguments with England : A Memoir Michael Blakemore , 2004 single work autobiography
An Australian Thesbian Acting Up in England Neil Jillett , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 November 2004; (p. 4)

— Review of Arguments with England : A Memoir Michael Blakemore , 2004 single work autobiography
Blakemore's Life in the Theatre Philip Drew , 2004 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , December-January no. 267 2004-2005; (p. 43)

— Review of Arguments with England : A Memoir Michael Blakemore , 2004 single work autobiography
Stages in a Life John Rickard , 2005 single work review
— Appears in: Meanjin , vol. 64 no. 1-2 2005; (p. 255-262)

— Review of Arguments with England : A Memoir Michael Blakemore , 2004 single work autobiography
Last amended 19 Jul 2023 15:19:24
Subjects:
  • c
    England,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • c
    Australia,
    c
  • 1900-1999
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X