This comprehensive collection gathers critical essays on the major works of the foremost American and British playwrights of the 20th century, written by leading figures in drama/performance studies.

Fifty Modern and Contemporary and Dramatists is a critical introduction to the work of some of the most important and influential playwrights from the 1950s to the present day. The figures chosen are among the most widely studied by students of drama, theatre and literature and include such celebrated writers as: • Samuel Beckett • Caryl Churchill • Anna Deavere Smith • Jean Genet • Sarah Kane • Heiner Müller • Arthur Miller • Harold Pinter • Sam Shephard Each short essay is written by one of an international team of academic experts and offers a detailed analysis of the playwright’s key works and career. The introduction provides an historical and theatrical context to the volume, which provides an invaluable overview of modern and contemporary drama.

While Shakespeare's popularity has continued to grow, so has the attention paid to the work of his contemporaries. The contributors to this Companion introduce the distinctive drama of these playwrights, from the court comedies of John Lyly to the works of Richard Brome in the Caroline era. With chapters on a wide range of familiar and lesser-known dramatists, including Thomas Kyd, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Webster, Thomas Middleton and John Ford, this book devotes particular attention to their personal and professional relationships, occupational rivalries and collaborations. Overturning the popular misconception that Shakespeare wrote in isolation, it offers a new perspective on the most impressive body of drama in the history of the English stage.

This Companion is devoted to the life and works of Shakespeare and contemporary playwrights in early modern London.

"Chief Contemporary Dramatists" (second series) features 18 plays from England, Ireland, America, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Russia, and Scandinavia, selected and edited by Thomas H. Dickinson. Facsimile reprint, 1921 edition.

In this performance criticism, the author examines his own work in the theatre as actor and director, as well as that of others. The book offers a topical approach to various issues, both artisitc and philosophical, involved in staging modern dramatists.