British drama since 1956 has been particularly innovative. This volume investigates how recent British history plays reflect the methods and values of New History, in contrast to traditional biographical dramas that depict the lives of great men of the past. More than 50 British playwrights are discussed, including John Osborne, John Arden, Edward Bond, Robert Bolt, Pam Gems, Howard Brenton, Caryl Churchill, Howard Barker, and Peter Shaffer. Historical drama consistently displays the sense of history prevalent when it was written: a 17th century quest for precedent and analogy; the affirmation of cosmic order in the 18th century; the Romantic search for manifestations of spiritual purpose; in Victorian times, a demonstration that humans control events; and the early 20th century promise, emulating science, to present the facts objectively. Contemporary British history plays, however, demonstrate different agendas for history itself. Marxist plays illustrate a historical dialect leading to the emergence of Communism. Oppositional history takes the point of view of the disenfranchised, the defeated, or the oppressed. Social histories refocus attention away from movers and shakers onto groups of small players. Feminist historians expose the biases of a male dominated hegemony and confront the role of gender in history. Deconstructionists debunk our confidence in historical metanarratives. Postmodernism uses anachronism and stylistic eclecticism to emphasize parallels in different historical periods or to relate historically defined metaphors and rituals to modern experience. Both playwrights and critics confront the implications of the idea that history is constructed and not simply found, and new approaches to history demand innovations in the staging and structuring of plays.

Comprehending tragedy has been a major philosophical and critical preoccupation in Western thought. Whether concerned with the generic problem of definition or with tragedy in the context of specific writers or periods, books with multiple and often conflicting perspectives abound. In an effort to bring order to the explanations over two millennia, "Tragedy and Tragic Theory" lucidly analyzes the principal ideas about tragedy from Plato to the present.

Critically surveying the similarities and differences among major theories, Palmer analyzes features associated with tragedy, such as the tragic hero, katharsis, and self-recognition; develops a working definition of tragedy; and applies these ideas to a sampling of plays that present special interpretive problems. He incorporates and explores the ideas of such eminent thinkers as Aristotle, Hegel, Nietzche, Schopenhauer, Schiller, Kierkegaard, and Freud, as well as contemporary theorists, who also appear with biographical blurbs in an appendix to the volume along with an extensive bibliography. By examining both tragedy and the theoretical responses to tragedy, this study demonstrates that the definition of tragedy depends on the meaning perceived by an audience rather than on a structured stimulus independent of response; yet, it does not abandon the possibility of isolating fixed defining characteristics. The audience response approach provides a framework for analyzing earlier theories. Systematically developed, the study is equally valuable as a text in drama and criticism or as a convenient reference tool to drama theory and theorists.

Palmer clearly states that his purpose is to explain 1the ways of critics to theatre practitioners, the ways of theatre to inexperienced reviewers, and the dynamic convergence of theatre and critic to anyone interested in theatre.' . . . The work is a well-written `primer' for writers and it will be useful primarily to performers who object to unfavorable `criticsm' without understanding the nature and purpose of reviewing. Accessible to general readers and undergraduates. Choice Palmer begins with an examination of the theatrical review as a medium for informing and entertaining theatregoers, documenting events of artistic of community importance, and supporting theatre through critical evaluation and publicity. He next comments on how journalistic pressures affect reviewers. Citing brief examples from hundreds of reviews, the author devotes a chapter to each of the elements that needs to be covered in a review, including performers, script, direction, music, and choreography, together with stage and lighting design and other physical aspects of the production. The final chapter develops criteria for assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a theatrical review, based on aesthetic standards, the cultural tastes of theatregoers, and the interests of the community. Palmer's experience as both a theatre professional and a journalist gives him an intimate understanding of the antagonism that often develops between reviewers and those who feel themselves to be the target of irresponsible criticism. His book provides a clear perspective on theatrical matters and guidelines that will help to improve standards of reviewing and create an appreciation of the essential relationship between the theatre and its critics.