Top 10 books about performance – the lives of actors & musicians

Imogen Crimp studied English at Cambridge, followed by an MA in contemporary literature from University College London, where she specialized in female modernist writers. After university, she briefly studied singing at a London conservatory. She lives in London.

Crimp is the author of A Very Nice Girl.

At the Guardian she tagged ten "books that include scenes of musical or theatrical performance [and] often explore ideas of performance in a broader sense – the way we try on different identities or perform to conceal aspects of ourselves." One title on the list:

The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride

Eighteen-year-old Eily has moved from Ireland to go to drama school in London, where she meets Stephen, a 38-year-old established actor. Their relationship moves quickly from casual sex to intense love. McBride writes brilliantly about life as a performer, and the role of performance for both Eily and Stephen in processing trauma. Discussions about roles, scripts and the creation of characters suggest that growing into yourself is a creative process.

Read about the other entries on the list at the Guardian.

--Marshal Zeringue