All the world's a stage - Hardcover

Harwood, Ronald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0316349909 ISBN 13: 9780316349901

Publisher: Little, Brown, 1984

About this title

From Library Journal:

Harwood, author of The Dresser , led the production for BBC-TV of a 13-hour history of the theater. His book is a by-product of that venture. An extremely attractive, well-illustrated volume, it sets forth in dazzlingly rapid fashion the highlights of theater history from tribal rite to A Chorus Line , making the argument that theater grew and changed by answering the immediate needs of its audience. The book is accurate as far as it goes, and the argument is sound, but it is not a piece of serious scholarship. It is intended for a popular audience. If the book lacks weight, it can certainly be recommended as an introduction to theater history. Wickham's substantial, short theater history is written by a major scholar and is the result of years of reading, thinking, and teaching about theater. It surveys world drama from its origins in dance and ritual through the advent of television and places special emphasis on the role of actors and audiences in shaping that history. The text is detailed, thoughtful, and subtle; the generous illustrations are well chosen; each section contains a useful comparative chronology; the bibliography is very selective, but good. This is a serious text that has a lavish quality. Unlike Harwood's book, it is suited to the serious student or scholar of theater. Recommended. Thomas E. Luddy, English Dept., Salem State Coll., Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown
• Publication date: 1984
• ISBN 10: 0316349909
• ISBN 13: 9780316349901
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320