How to use this book The Theatre Guide is divided into an alphabetical list of over 550 main entries covering individual dramatists, and an index of play titles, theatre people and institutions. One of the joys of compiling this book has been the exciting sense of discovery as new writers emerge and revivals of long-lost plays and playwrights suddenly demonstrate their enduring worth and contribute to the vitality of the current theatrical repertory. In a few cases writers who haven’t had a recent production are included because, for example, work like theirs or from their period appears to be coming into fashion again and they may be next in line. The only exception to this rule is where there is work published in video form. In making choices for inclusion in this edition, one of the key criteria was that at least some of the work of the writers should have been published at some point so that you could read their plays if there were no current productions.
Some ninety new writers have been added, reflecting the very exciting new writing scene in Britain and Ireland in the last decade. Compared to previous editions, the emphasis is now on writers alone, although material from generic or company entries has been subsumed elsewhere. Its other unique feature is a cross-referencing system that allows you to find other plays or authors that have tackled similar topics, share similar interests or offer marked contrasts to the ones you started from and when you look at those further entries you will find more cross-references that can lead you on a sometimes surprising journey of discovery that could give added enjoyment to your appreciation and understanding of theatre. Introduction The Theatre Guide is a theatre reference book with a difference because it concentrates on the writers and the plays you are actually likely to be able to see in the theatre now, rather than the writers who stay in theatre reference books because they have always been there, even though no one has staged their plays for generations. Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by Cromwell Press Limited, Trowbridge A & C Black uses paper produced with elemental chlorine-free pulp, harvested from managed sustainable forests. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems – without the written permission of A & C Black Publishers Limited. Griffiths and Carole Woddis A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Third edition 2003 A & C Black Publishers Limited 37 Soho Square London W1D 3QZ © 2003 Trevor R.
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