3rd Edition

The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance

By Paul Allain, Jen Harvie Copyright 2025
    336 Pages
    by Routledge

    336 Pages
    by Routledge

    What is theatre? What is performance? What connects them and how are they different? How have they been shaped by events, people, companies, practices and ideas in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? And where are they heading next? The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance offers some answers to these big questions. This third edition has been updated to now include over 160 entries, with all entries brought up to date and new topics added, including Caryl Churchill, Black Lives Matter and Hamilton, among others.

    This book provides an accessible, informative and engaging introduction to important people and companies, events, concepts and practices that have defined the complementary fields of theatre and performance studies. Three easy-to-use alphabetized sections include entries on topics and people ranging from performance artists Marina Abramović and Pope.L to directors Vsevolod Meyerhold and Robert Wilson, the haka, Taking the Knee and disability, theatre and performance. Each entry includes important historical and contextual information, extensive cross-referencing, detailed analysis and an annotated bibliography.

    The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance is a perfect reference guide for the keen student and the passionate theatre-goer alike.

    Introduction

    Part I People and Companies

    Part II Events

    Part III Concepts and Practices

    Biography

    Paul Allain, Professor of Theatre and Performance at the University of Kent, United Kingdom, has published extensively on actor training and contemporary Polish theatre, especially Jerzy Grotowski.

    Jen Harvie, Professor of Contemporary Theatre and Performance at Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom, has published widely on relationships between contemporary theatre and performance and cultural identities and on how theatre and performance artists make their work. She is the co-founder of the Theatre & series and was its co-editor for 17 years.