The theatre : a concise history / Phyllis Hartnoll.

4th ed. / revised and extended by Enoch Brater.

312 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. (some col.) ; 21 cm.

Previous ed.: 1998.

The Greek and Roman theatre -- The medieval theatre -- The theatre of the Italian renaissance -- The Elizabethan theatre -- The golden age of Spain and France -- The English restoration theatre -- The theatre in eighteenth-century Germany -- France before the revolution -- The early nineteenth-century theatre -- The later nineteenth-century theatre -- Ibsen, Chekhov and the theatre of ideas -- The modern theatre -- The contemporary theatre.

Acting, direction, stagecraft, theatre architecture and design, the extraordinary evolution of dramatic literature here is an all-embracing and richly illustrated history, global in scope and ranging from the ancient origins of the theatre in the choral hymns sung around the altar of Dionysus to the fascinating variety of forms that it has taken in our own age. For this fourth edition, Enoch Brater, Kenneth T. Rowe Professor of Dramatic Literature at the University of Michigan and a specialist on modern and contemporary drama, has revised and extended his final chapter to update the discussion. He surveys performance art, political theatre, new genres, live broadcasts and extravagant spectacles, showcasing the constant and dynamic evolution of stage performance, from classics reinvented to groundbreaking new work.

9780500204092 (pbk.)

792.09 H333t 2012