Customer Reviews

A Source Book in Theatrical History: Twenty-five centuries of stage history in more than 300 basic documents and other primary material

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The author divides the material in 14 parts: Antiquity, The Middle Ages, The golden age of Spain, Italian Renaissance, Tudor and Stewart periods, The age of Louis XIV, The restoration theater, Venetian comedy, Eighteenth century England, Weimar Classicism, Nineteenth Century England, The American Theater, European naturalism.- For each period, the author has collected more than 300 primary texts, through which we feel that the past is still next to us. The spectator's manners, the way of acting, the conditions of rehearsals, the reactions of the audience, all of them come to us through real documents. More than 80 pictures in black-and-white complete this very good edition. (The pictures are, unfortunately, not very well printed.) I really suggest this editon.

So...what was Euripides like during rehearsal? Kind of cranky, it appears. What did they do for special effects in the 17th century? Quite a lot, actually: floating gods and goddesses, strange animals, they had it all. First-hand accounts will show you all this and more in a fascinating book for theatre lovers. I had read this during a college course years ago, and was delighted that it's still in print. A good read and reference for those interested in theatre, literature, and history, only slightly marred by occasionally poor quality illustrations.

This is a must-have book for any student of Theatre and History. Very comprehensive and useful guide that I found helpful in my theatre history class.