International Dictionary of the Theatre: Playwrights (INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF THE THEATRE VOL 2) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1558620966 ISBN 13: 9781558620964

Publisher: St James Pr, 1994

Synopsis

Book by St James Press

About this title

From Booklist

The second volume in a three-volume set, Playwrights covers 485 writers for the stage. Volume 1 (1992) of the International Dictionary of Theatre covers plays, and volume 3, covering actors, directors, and designers, will be published in December. The scope of the directory is both international, as its name suggests, and historical, ranging from ancient Greece to the present day. Playwrights is selective rather than comprehensive, the entrants having been chosen by advisers, whose names are listed following the introduction.

Writers are listed alphabetically, beginning with the medieval French writer and musician Adam de la Halle and ending with Carl Zuckmayer, a twentieth-century German dramatist whose works were banned by the Nazis. Aeschylus and Sophocles are included, as are Neil Simon, Beth Henley, and David Mamet. Each entry contains a brief biographical summary; a list of works, including collections, stage works, screenplays, television and radio plays, fiction and verse, memoirs, letters, and other genres; and a list of secondary works, including bibliographies, books, and articles. These sections are followed by a critical overview. These essays are approximately 1,000 words and are written by more than 200 individual contributors, most of whom are academicians. Finally, each entry has cross-references to plays discussed in volume 1. A number of the entries are illustrated with photographs, portraits, engravings, or designs. Following the alphabetical directory is an index to all stage works, published screenplays, and radio, and television plays listed in the entries. The volume concludes with notes on the advisers and contributors.

Playwrights is an authoritative, attractive, well-organized volume that contains much useful information. Many, though not all, of the writers covered in Playwrights can be found in the six-volume sets, Critical Survey of Drama: English Language Series and Critical Survey of Drama: Foreign Language Series, published by Salem Press/Magill. These sets, also arranged alphabetically by author, cover considerably more people than does Playwrights. The Magill sets provide biographical information and critical essays that are generally more than twice as long as those in Playwrights. However, the bibliographic information in the Magill sets is much less current and comprehensive, focusing on drama to the exclusion of other genres, and offering highly selective lists of secondary works. Libraries already owning the Magill sets will have to decide whether the advantage of Playwrights in terms of currency and bibliographic coverage make it worth adding to their collections. Libraries not owning the Magill sets may wish to consider Playwrights as a more convenient and economical alternative.

From Library Journal

The second of a three-volume resource on plays, playwrights, and theater artists, this work surveys 485 playwrights from the world theater. Each entry consists of a biography, a bibliography (including a brief list of criticsm), and a short, signed critical commentary. A useful index to plays keys this volume into the previous one. The essays are useful for occasionally suggesting ideas, but, on the whole, they are severely limited to generalities and short responses to works. Thus, the book is essentially an introduction for students of theater, providing access to more detailed coverage of each playwright. Recommended for libraries owning the first volume and in need of a standard ready reference on playwrights.
Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: St James Pr
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 1558620966
• ISBN 13: 9781558620964
• Binding: Hardcover
• Editor: Hawkins-Dady Mark