Political Performance in Syria, charts the history of a theatre that has sought the expansion of civil society and imagined alternate political realities. In doing so, the manuscript situates the current use of performance and theatre by artists of the Syrian Revolution within a long history of political contestation.

Edward Ziter explores the impact of the Middle East and the "Orient", (as it was known), on writing and performance in nineteenth-century British theater and how these portrayals influenced public perception of the region. British audiences marvelled at depictions of desert storms and harem dances as well as scenes of the Nile and colonial armies throughout the nineteenth century. Ziter extends his study from the Romantic through to the late-Victorian period, including taking in melodrama, pantomime, ballet, and opera, as well as museum displays and exhibitions.

Political Performance in Syria, charts the history of a theatre that has sought the expansion of civil society and imagined alternate political realities. In doing so, the manuscript situates the current use of performance and theatre by artists of the Syrian Revolution within a long history of political contestation.

The Orient on the Victorian Stage examines the representation of the Middle East in a variety of nineteenth-century entertainment forms, such as panoramas, melodrama, pantomime, ballet and opera. Ziter argues that changes in stage craft reflected the emerging idea that the significance of objects was evident in contextual relations, and relates the development of this stage craft to orientalist exhibitions and museum displays. Unlike other theatre histories and studies of orientalism, this book examines broader strategies of spatial representation and focuses on performance and popular culture. Ziter explores the plays and productions at a number of venues, including Drury Lane, Covent Garden, the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, and the British Museum, among others. The book also includes an analysis of Byron's image in the theatre and an analysis of his play Sardanapalus.