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  • Published: 19 October 2021
  • ISBN: 9781529110524
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $32.99

Break a Leg

A memoir, manifesto and celebration of amateur theatre




A very fun, very British book – celebratory and often hilarious – about amateur dramatics, combining memoir and social history

'With spot-on injections of humour and a frequently raised sardonic eyebrow, joy and warmth shine from this fascinating and funny book' Jo Brand

A joyful celebration of amateur theatre

From the Mystery Plays of the Middle Ages, via the Georgian aristocrats who built opulent private theatres in their own homes, to the radical lefties taking political theatre to the streets, this is the story of amateur dramatics in Britain. We meet a cast of characters who tell us about the joy amateur theatre brings them and we follow the full arc of a production, from first auditions to last night party, with all the mishaps and forgotten lines that come in between. In a triumphant mix of memoir, social history and manifesto, Jenny Landreth opens our eyes to am-dram and shows us a vibrant world that is a crucial part of our culture.

  • Published: 19 October 2021
  • ISBN: 9781529110524
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 336
  • RRP: $32.99

About the author

Jenny Landreth

Jenny Landreth is a script writer and editor. She has written for all sorts of publications, and was the main contributor to the Guardian's weekly swimming blog. Her last book, Swell: A Waterbiography, was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and was a Sunday Times Book of the Year. Jenny comes from a family of devoted am dram fanatics, and lives in London.

Praise for Break a Leg

This funny and interesting book makes you yearn for a long-lost sense of community, and then realise it’s been there all along. Jenny Landreth, take an Am Dram style bow

John O’Farrell

A gorgeously funny, deeply affectionate and fully costumed swallow-dive into the great – and historic – amateur theatrical tradition. I loved it

Alistair Petrie

An honest, educational and downright hilarious memoir. It’s a deeply affectionate look at a much-maligned bit of Britishness that we simply couldn't live without

Angela Barnes

A hilarious, informative amdramoir – a love-letter to her father and a fascinating insight into the much maligned minority: the amateur

Doon Mackichan

An unputdownable, utterly delightful stroll through British amateur theatre and why it has a vital place for us all

Shappi Khorsandi

With spot-on injections of humour and a frequently raised sardonic eyebrow, joy and warmth shine from this fascinating and funny book

Jo Brand

I thoroughly enjoyed this beguiling ensemble of memoir, social history, interviews and manifesto, which tells the story of am-dram in Britain

Caroline Sanderson, Bookseller

Landreth's charming book is both a cultural history of amateur theatre and a loving look at am-dram and its role in British life

Sarah Hughes

Amateur is not a dirty word, but implies disinterested love, dedication and a clubbable, community feeling . . . Landreth reminds us, importantly, that the word amateur includes student and community theatre, vital seed corn and support to the professional world

Libby Purvis, The Times

[An] honest account of the modest ambitions of most amateur theatre... entertaining... [and] her narrative feels completely authentic

Martin Vander Weyer, Spectator

Highly entertaining... [Landreth] has cleverly - and wittily - conflated memoir with the history of am-dram, its practical application and a close look at some of our most venerable companies."

Nick Smurthwaite, Sardines Magazine

[Landreth] affirms, overall, that we are a theatre-loving people. For that sentiment alone right now, it's worth shoving a copy of this under the Chancellor's door.

Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph