Updated and significantly revised, this is the most comprehensive guide to theatre currently available. Spanning continents and traditions, the Guide will prove an indispensable reference tool to students and theatregoers alike.
This is a revised edition of
The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre (1988), which was reissued in paper in 1992. There are more than 200 new entries and a reworking of many others. The breakup of the Soviet Union is treated in the entry
Russia and the Republics of the Former Soviet Union. The miserable state of theater in the war-torn areas of Herzegovina, Bosnia, and Croatia is reflected in the revised entry
Yugoslavia. The
South Africa entry is updated to represent theater in a post-apartheid society.
Asian Influences on Western Theatre,
Stage Food,
Lesbian Theatre, and
Masks are examples of new articles. Directors', actors', and producers' entries have been updated; for example, 1993 and 1994 events in Peter Sellars' career are mentioned, and
Alternative Theatre (USA) contains a cross-reference to his work. Entries on English-and French-speaking Africa are new. Individuals like Kenneth Branagh, who have gained recognition since the earlier edition, have been added. Jessica Tandy's entry notes her 1994 performance in the motion picture
Nobody's Fool and her death. Although the entry remains the same, spellings have been changed in the article on China, "Yuan" is now "Zaju," etc. Many entries, however, do remain the same or have been updated only slightly by the addition of one or two sentences. The typeface in the 1988 edition was easier on the eyes, with cross-references in bold letters instead of the faint small caps in this new volume.
All articles are initialed by the authors from more than 25 countries, representing critics, independent scholars, playwrights, actors, and directors. Editor Banham is associated with other volumes, such as The Cambridge Guide to African and Caribbean Theatre (1994) and The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre (1993), that are subject subsets from the same database.
Phyllis Hartnoll's Oxford Companion to the Theatre (1983) is still a valuable resource for historical information. At a much higher cost, Routledge's World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre [RBB My 15 95], to be complete in five volumes plus an index, will be a formidable set. Libraries supporting vigorous drama programs will benefit from collecting all of the volumes mentioned here. Others will find The Cambridge Guide to Theatre a current and useful addition to their reference shelves.
