eBook available with sample pages: HE:0415059291

World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre (WECT) is the largest, international co-operative undertaking in the history of world theatre. In six outstanding volumes WECT documents artistic development all over the world, country by country, region by region. International and in depth, WECT's coverage includes playwriting, music theatre, dance theatre, theatre for young audiences, puppet theatre, design, architecture and developments in theatre technology, theatre training, criticism and scholarship. An incredible accomplishment, WECT is a project of The International Theatre Institute, The International Federation for Theatre Research, The International Association of Libraries and Museums of the Performing Arts, and The International Association of Theatre Critics with the support of UNESCO and the UNESCO World Decade for Cultural Development. The volumes record and analyse world theatre in some 160 countries, from 1945 to the present day. Written by leading scholars, critics and theatre practitioners from each country and edited by authorities in each region, WECT explores through text and illustration the relationship between each national theatre community and the unique society from which it springs. Key Features: * Extensive coverage - world theatre in more than 160 countries is documented and analyzed offering a complete insight to theatrical cultures in a form which allows country-by-country comparison * Prestigious board of contributors - created by more than 1,000 leading international scholars, critics and theatre practitioners all writing from within the country being covered to ensure authenticity and authority * Lavishly illustrated - over 750 black and white photographs from around the world complement the text, to make the volumes informative and readable * Multidisciplinary - relevant to a wide range of disciplines, including history, literature and intercultural studies

A collection of playscripts and texts that give an English-reading audience access to key plays as well as less well-known and previously untranslated works - a superb resource for scholars and theatre practitioners. This volume makes available some of the most influential, imaginative and exciting plays to come out of East and West Africa from the 1970s to the present day. Deliberately excluding playscripts by the regions' two best known playwrights, Wole Soyinka and Ngugi wa Thiong'o, whose work was profiled in African Theatre 13 the editors have selected plays, some well-known and some less widely available, that represent the diversity and richness of thesetwo very different African regions. The playscripts include a new translation from Amharic, as well as the English version of a play originally written in French, making more theatre from some of Africa's multitude of languages accessible to an English-reading audience. Each script is accompanied by an essay from an expert on the work, the playwright, and the context in which the play was produced, so that the volume will be of maximum use to both researchers and students of African theatre. Volume Editors: MARTIN BANHAM & JANE PLASTOW Series Editors: Martin Banham, Emeritus Professor of Drama & Theatre Studies, University of Leeds; James Gibbs, Senior Visiting Research Fellow, University of the West of England; Femi Osofisan, Professor of Drama, University of Ibadan; Jane Plastow, Professor of African Theatre, University of Leeds; Yvette Hutchison, Associate Professor, Department of Theatre & Performance Studies, University of Warwick

This new in paperback edition of World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre covers the Americas, from Canada to Argentina, including the United States. Entries on twenty six countries are preceded by specialist introductions on Theatre in Post-Colonial Latin America, Theatres of North America, Puppet Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences, Music Theatre and Dance Theatre. The essays follow the series format, allowing for cross-referring across subjects, both within the volume and between volumes. Each country entry is written by specialists in the particular country and the volume has its own teams of regional editors, overseen by the main editorial team based at the University of York in Canada headed by Don Rubin. Each entry covers all aspects of theatre genres, practitioners, writers, critics and styles, with bibliographies, over 200 black & white photographs and a substantial index. This Encyclopedia is indispensable for anyone interested in the cultures of the Americas or in modern theatre. It is also an invaluable reference tool for students and scholars of a wide range of disciplines including history, performance studies, anthropology and cultural studies.

This new paperback edition of the The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Europe covers theatre since World War II in forty-seven European nations, including the nations which re-emerged following the break-up of the former USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Each national article is divided into twelve sections - History, Structure of the National Theatre Community, Artistic profile, Music Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences, Puppet Theatre, Design, Theatre, Space and Architecture, Training, Criticism, Scholarship and Publishing and Further Reading - allowing the reader to use the book as a source for both area and subject studies. A new preface and further reading sections by the Series Editor brings the Encyclopedia bang up-to-date making it invaluable to anyone interested in European theatre, as well as students and scholars of performance studies, history, anthropology and cultural studies.

This new paperback edition of the The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Europe covers theatre since World War II in forty-seven European nations, including the nations which re-emerged following the break-up of the former USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Each national article is divided into twelve sections - History, Structure of the National Theatre Community, Artistic profile, Music Theatre, Theatre for Young Audiences, Puppet Theatre, Design, Theatre, Space and Architecture, Training, Criticism, Scholarship and Publishing and Further Reading - allowing the reader to use the book as a source for both area and subject studies.
A new preface and further reading sections by the Series Editor brings the Encyclopedia bang up-to-date making it invaluable to anyone interested in European theatre, as well as students and scholars of performance studies, history, anthropology and cultural studies.

'this is a very useful introduction to a wide variety of theatre genres, institutions and artists, particularly those developed during the post-colonial era.' - Times Literary Supplement

'Writers from almost every nation on earth profile native expressions of music, dance, and puppet an dramatic theater since 1945 and comment on trends in design, training, criticism, and scholarship, in six insightful, inclusive, and entertaining volumes.' New York Public Library named The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre, Six-Volume Set as one of their Best of Reference selections, April 2002

Now available in paperback for the first time this edition of the World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre series examines theatrical developments in Africa since 1945. Entries on thirty-two African countries are featured in this volume, preceded by specialist introductory essays on Anglophone Africa, Francophone Africa, History and Culture, Cosmology, Music, Dance, Theatre for Young Audiences and Puppetry. There are also special introductory general essays on African theatre written by Nobel Prize Laureate Wole Soyinka and the outstanding Congolese playwright, Sony Labou Tansi, before his untimely death in 1995. More up-to-date and more wide-ranging than any other publication, this is undoubtedly a major ground-breaking survey of contemporary African theatre.


eBook available with sample pages: HE:0415059313

An annotated world theatre bibliography documenting significant theatre materials published world wide since 1945, plus an index to key names throughout the six volumes of the series.

One of the first internationally published overviews of theatrical activity across the Arab World. Includes 160,000 words and over 125 photographs from 22 different Arab countries from Africa to the Middle East.

eBook available with sample pages: EB:0203168046

eBook available with sample pages: PE:0415227461

One of the first internationally published overviews of theatrical activity across the Arab World. Includes 160,000 words and over 125 photographs from 22 different Arab countries from Africa to the Middle East.

Volume Three in this series carries on from the highly acclaimed volumes on Europe and on the Americas. Focusing on non-Arabic Africa, and with contributions from leading experts from the countries featured, the third volume of the World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre series examines theatrical developments in Africa since 1945. Entries on thirty-two African countries are featured in this volume, preceded by specialist introductory essays on Anglophone Africa, Francophone Africa, History and Culture, Cosmology, Music, Dance, Theatre for Young Audiences and Puppetry. There are also special introductory general essays on African theatre written by Nobel Prize Laureate Wole Soyinka and the outstanding Congolese playwright, Sony Labou Tansi, before his untimely death in 1995. More up-to-date and more wide-ranging than any other publication, this is undoubtedly a major ground-breaking survey of contemporary African theatre.

PAPERBACK FOR SALE IN AFRICA ONLY A collection of playscripts and texts that give an English-reading audience access to key plays as well as less well-known and previously untranslated works - a superb resource for scholars and theatre practitioners. This volume makes available some of the most influential, imaginative and exciting plays to come out of East and West Africa from the 1970s to the present day. Deliberately excluding playscripts by the regions' two best known playwrights, Wole Soyinka and Ngugi wa Thiong'o, whose work was profiled in African Theatre 13 the editors have selected plays, some well-known and some less widely available, that represent the diversity and richness of thesetwo very different African regions. The playscripts include a new translation from Amharic, as well as the English version of a play originally written in French, making more theatre from some of Africa's multitude of languages accessible to an English-reading audience. Each script is accompanied by an essay from an expert on the work, the playwright, and the context in which the play was produced, so that the volume will be of maximum use to both researchers and students of African theatre. Volume Editors: MARTIN BANHAM & JANE PLASTOW Series Editors: Martin Banham, Emeritus Professor of Drama & Theatre Studies, University of Leeds; James Gibbs, Senior Visiting Research Fellow, University of the West of England; Femi Osofisan, Professor of Drama, University of Ibadan; Jane Plastow, Professor of African Theatre, University of Leeds; Yvette Hutchison, Associate Professor, Department ofTheatre & Performance Studies, University of Warwick