This volume should help students get excited about theatre. The combined authorship of an authoritative theatre historian and his former student, an active theatre historian himself, make this useful as an introductory theatre course. In the 35 years since it was first published, The Essential Theatre has established a reputation as one of the most comprehensive, authoritative surveys of the theatre in academia. Now in a new full colour format with many representations of contemporary and classical performances, this text should encourage students to become active theatergoers and fans. This volume works in tandem with its companion anthology, Plays for Theatre. The scripts in the latter volume serve as a foundation for discussion of the various types of theatrical experience explored in the text.