A major illustrated history of British theatre from the earliest times to the present day.

Volume 1. Origins to 1660: General preface; Chronology; Part I. Pre-Elizabethan Theatre: 1. From Roman to Renaissance in drama and theatre; 2. Faith, pastime, performance and drama in Scotland to 1603; 3. The Bible as play in Reformation England; 4. Drama in 1553: continuity and change; Part II. Elizabethan Theatre: 5. The development of a professional theatre, 1540-1660; 6. Drama outside London after 1540; 7. 'An example of courtesy and liberality': great households and performance; 8. The birth of an industry; 9. Theatre and controversy, 1572-1603; 10. The condition of theatre in England in 1599; 11. Ben Jonson's Every Man in His Humour: a case study; 12. London professional playhouses and performances; Part III. Jacobean and Caroline Theatre: 13. Working playwrights, 1580-1642; 14. Theatre and controversy, 1603-42; 15. The Stuart masque and its makers; 16. Clowns, fools and knaves: stages in the evolution of acting; 17. Thomas Middleton's A Game at Chess: a case study; 18. The condition of the theatres in 1642; 19. Theatre and Commonwealth; Works cited; Index. Volume 2. 1660-1895: Preface and acknowledgements; Timeline: 1660 to 1894; Part I. 1660-1800: 1. Introduction: the theatre from 1660 to 1800; 2. Theatres and repertory; 3. Theatre and the female presence; 4. Theatre, politics and morality; 5. Theatre companies and regulation; 6. The Beggar's Opera: a case study; 7. Garrick at Drury Lane, 1747-76; 8. Theatre outside London, 1660-1775; 9. 1776: a critical year in perspective; 10. The theatrical revolution, 1776-1843; Part II. 1800 to 1895: 11. Introduction: the theatre from 1800 to 1895; 12. Presence, personality and physicality: actors and their repertoires, 1776-1895; 13. Theatres, their architecture and their audiences; 14. Stage design from Loutherbourg to Poel; 15. Theatre and mid-Victorian society, 1851-1870; 16. Gendering Victorian theatre; 17. Popular entertainment, 1776-1895; 18. The Bells: a case study; a 'bare-ribbed skeleton' in a chest; 19. The new drama and the old theatre; 20. 1895: a critical year in perspective; Bibliography of works cited; Index. Volume 3. Since 1895: Acknowledgements; Chronology; List of illustrations; Part I. 1895-1946: 1. British theatre, 1895-1946: art, entertainment, audiences - an introduction; 2. The London stage, 1895-1918; 3. Provincial stages, 1900-1934: touring and early repertory theatre; 4. Popular theatre, 1896-1940; 5. Case study: Cicely Hamilton's Diana of Dobson's, 1908; 6. A critical year in perspective: 1926; 7. The London stage, 1918-45; 8. Social commitment and aesthetic innovation, 1895-1946; PART II. Scottish and Welsh Theatres, 1895-2002: 9. Towards national identities: theatre in Scotland; 10. Case study: Ena Lamont Stewart's Men Should Weep, 1947; 11. Towards national identities: Welsh theatres; 12. Case study: refashioning a myth, performances of the tale of Blodeuwedd; Part III. 1940-2002: 13. British theatre, 1940-2002: an introduction; 14. The establishment of mainstream theatre, 1946-79; 15. Alternative theatres, 1946-2000; 16. Developments in the profession of theatre, 1946-2000; 17. Case study: Theatre Workshop's Oh What a Lovely War, 1963; 18. 1979 and after: a view; 19. British theatre and commerce, 1979-2000; 20. New theatre for new times: decentralisation, innovation and pluralism, 1975-2000; 21. Theatre in Scotland in the 1990s and beyond; 22. Theatre in Wales in the 1990s and beyond; 23. English theatre in the 1990s and beyond; Bibliography; Index.