This updated fourth edition of Theatre Histories offers a critical overview of global theatre, drama, and performance, spanning a broad wealth of world cultures and periods, integrating them chronologically or thematically, and showing how they have often interacted.
Bringing together a group of scholars from a diverse range of backgrounds and approaches to the history of global theater, this introduction to theatre history places theatre into its larger historical contexts and attends to communication's role in shaping theatre. Its case studies provide deeper knowledge of selected topics in theater and drama, and its "Thinking Through Theatre Histories" boxes discuss important concepts and approaches used in the book.
Features of the fully updated fourth edition include:
- Deeper coverage of East Asian and Latin American theater.
- Richer treatment of popular culture.
- More illustrations, photographs, and information about online resources.
- New case studies, include several written by authoritative scholars on the topic.
- Pronunciation guidance, both in the text and as audio files online.
- Timelines.
- An introduction on historiography.
- A website with additional case studies, a glossary, recordings of the pronunciation of important non-English terms, and instructor resources.
- A case studies library listing, including both those in print and online, for greater instructor choice and flexibility.
This is an essential textbook for undergraduate courses in theatre history, world theatre and introduction to theatre, and anyone looking for a full and diverse account of the emergence, development, and continuing relevance of theatre to cultures and societies across the world.
About the AuthorDaphne P. Lei is a Professor of Drama and the Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts, University of California, Irvine, USA. She is the 2022 recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award, the lifetime achievement award from the American Society for Theatre Research.
Tobin Nellhaus is an Independent Scholar. He writes mainly on the relationship between theatre and communication practices, and on critical realism in theatre theory and historiography.
Tamara Underiner is an Associate Professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre at Arizona State University, USA, and the Director of the PhD program in Theatre and Performance of the Americas.
Patricia Ybarra is the MacMillan Family Professor of the Humanities in the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at Brown University, USA. She is a former president of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.
Industry Reviews
Praise for the third edition:
"When the first edition of Theatre Histories appeared in 2006 it set a new standard in the field for breadth of geographical coverage, for exploring the inter-relation of theatre with social and cultural history, and for its in-depth presentation of historical methodology. The new third edition further excels in all of these areas as well as being tied to an excellent online supplement."
Marvin Carlson, Distinguished Professor, The City University of New York, USA.
"The third edition is a bold reworking of an already revolutionary text. The major restructuring of the chapters, case studies, and theoretical frames give the text laser clarity and make it easier to integrate into the curriculum. The diverse range of case studies makes this text deeply engaging. The authors of this volume present us yet again with a brilliant and provocative examination of the study of theatre history with its ambitious range and innovative critique of the historical narrative. Through Theatre Histories, the third edition, McConachie, Nellhaus, Sorgenfrei, and Underiner strike that rare balance, simultaneously teaching the historical meta-narrative while interrogating and subverting the concept of metanarratives. The book provides a dynamic platform for students and instructors alike to engage thoughtfully with the history of the theatre."
E.J. Westlake, Associate Professor of Theatre and English, University of Michigan, USA.
