Theatre

An international dictionary of theatre, classical to contemporary, that emphasizes performance, popular entertainment, and traditions outside Europe and North America. Entries cover traditions, theories, playwrights, performers, movements, folk drama, types of performance, and acting companies.

"This new paperback edition of the The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Europe covers theatre since World War II in forty-seven European nations, including the nations which re-emerged following the break-up of the former USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Each national article is divided into twelve sections - History, Structure of the National Theatre Community, Artistic profile, Music Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences, Puppet Theatre, Design, Theatre, Space and Architecture, Training, Criticism, Scholarship and Publishing and Further Reading - allowing the reader to use the book as a source for both area and subject studies."

"This new in paperback edition of World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre covers the Americas, from Canada to Argentina, including the United States. Entries on twenty six countries are preceded by specialist introductions on Theatre in Post-Colonial Latin America, Theatres of North America, Puppet Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences, Music Theatre and Dance Theatre."

"Now available in paperback for the first time this edition of the World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre series examines theatrical developments in Africa since 1945. Entries on thirty-two African countries are featured in this volume, preceded by specialist introductory essays on Anglophone Africa, Francophone Africa, History and Culture, Cosmology, Music, Dance, Theatre for Young Audiences and Puppetry. There are also special introductory general essays on African theatre written by Nobel Prize Laureate Wole Soyinka and the outstanding Congolese playwright, Sony Labou Tansi, before his untimely death in 1995."

One of the first internationally published overviews of theatrical activity across the Arab World. Includes 160,000 words and over 125 photographs from 22 different Arab countries from Africa to the Middle East.

"This volume featrues over 250,000 words and more than 125 photographs identifying and defining theatre in more than 30 countries from India to Uzbekistan, from Thailand to New Zealand and featuring extensive documentation on contemporary Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Australian theatre."

An annotated world theatre bibliography documenting significant theatre materials published world wide since 1945, plus an index to key names throughout the six volumes of the series.

While the focus primarily is with dramatists and dramatic literature, there are extensive articles on national and ethnic theatre traditions in individual countries or areas, as well as entries for theatre companies, major directors, and selected performance topics.

provides access to Grove Art Online which includes subject entries for individual countries describing architecture, sculpture, textiles, dress, furniture, theatre, puppets, etc.

"The Encyclopedia pays special attention to non-Western styles through articles on theatre and performance throughout the many countries and traditions of Asia and Africa, often written by practitioners or critics from those areas. Dance, opera, performance art, radio, film, and television are covered at length. The Encyclopedia also embraces para-theatrical, non-dramatic, and popular performance, including ritual, carnivals, parades, the circus, and public executions. Biographical entries cover the lives and work of major figures from the past and present: actors, playwrights, directors, designers, and critics. Innovative entries on cities and regions place performance in its local social and political context. A particular feature of the Encyclopedia is the series of entries on concepts, theories, and critical approaches to theatre and performance, from short definitions of terms to lengthy considerations of genres, and from detailed discussion of movements such as feminism and psychoanalytic criticism to discussions of semiotics and post-colonial studies."