Overview

British theatre has a greater tradition than any other, having started all the way back in 1311 and still going strong today. But that is too much for one book to cover, so this volume deals with early theatre and has a cut-off date in 1899. Still, this is almost six centuries, centuries during which British theatre not only developed but produced some of the greatest playwrights of all time and anywhere, including obviously Shakespeare but also Marlowe and Shaw. And they wrote some of the finest plays ever, which are known around the world. So there is plenty for this book to cover, just with the playwrights, plays and actors, but it also has information on stagecraft and theatres, as well as the historical and political background. This book has over 1,183 entries in the dictionary section, these being mainly on playwrights and plays, but others as well including managers and critics, and also on specific theatres, legislative acts and some technical jargon. Then there are entries on the different genres, from comedy to tragedy and everything in between. Inevitably, the chronology is quite long as it has a long period to cover and the introduction provides the necessary overview. The Historical Dictionary of Early British Theatre concludes with a pretty massive bibliography. That will be of use to particularly assiduous researchers, but this book itself is a good place to start any research since it covers periods that are far less well-known and documented, and ordinary theatre-goers will also find useful information.

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Reviews

British plays and playwrights are arguably some of the most well known and most popular in the theatrical world. Grantley, a professor of theater history at the University of Kent, offers a thorough, informative, and entertaining look at the places, plays, and people involved in British theater from 1311 to 1899. A lengthy chronology showcases such important dates as the 1610 outbreak of plague that shut down London theaters, notes the first performance of various important plays, and recognizes the inventions of various theatrical techniques. The informative introduction highlights the significant aspects of the era. The dictionary entries range from a paragraph to several pages and are cross-referenced. Famous figures, such as Sarah Bernhardt, Shakespeare, Gilbert and Sullivan, and Shaw, appear, as do a number of actors and playwrights who may be less known to the general public. Major plays (Arms and the Man, The Country Wife, Much Ado about Nothing) are given full entries; minor works get a more concise treatment. Terms such as Burlesque, Ghost glide, Mummers/mumming plays, and Verse drama are defined. There are also entries for theater buildings themselves. A generous and well-organized bibliography rounds out the work. This historical dictionary is recommended for academic and public libraries, particularly where there is a student interest in the topic. Booklist

Author Information

Darryll Grantley has spent 26 years teaching theatre history at the University of Kent, and also amassing numerous facts for this fact-filled volume. In his courses, he covers all periods of British theatre, with an emphasis on the late medieval and early modern periods. In this time, he has written numerous articles and authored, edited or contributed to over a dozen books, including London in Early Modern Drama, The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre and The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and his Contemporaries.

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