The "bible" in the field, History of the Theatre is the most comprehensive and widely used survey of theatre history in the market. The Ninth Edition retains all of the traditional features that have made History of the Theatre a classic for more than thirty years, including more than 530 photos and illustrations, useful maps, and the expertise of Oscar Brockett, one of the most widely respected theatre historians in the field. Franklin J. Hildy contributes his scholarship and experience throughout the text and, in particular, to a discussion of English Theatre/Shakespeare (Ch. 5). Reorganized with more uniform chapter lengths and a clearer chronology, the Ninth Edition continues to provide the most thorough and accurate assessment of theatre history available.

Table of Contents:
All chapters end with “Looking at Theatre History.” Preface. 1. The Origins of Theatre. The Theory of Ritual Origin. Performative Elements and Functions. Other Theories of Origin. Ancient Egypt and the Near East. 2. Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece. The Origin of Tragedy. The City Dionysia in the Sixth Century. Tragedy in the Fifth Century. The Satyr Play. Greek Comedy in the Fifth Century. The Dramatic Festivals of the Fifth Century. Play Selection and Financing. Actors and Acting. The Chorus. Music and Dance. Costumes and Masks. Theatre Architecture. Auditorium and Audience. Athenian Theatre after the Fifth Century. 3. Hellenistic Roman and Byzantine Theatre. The Hellenistic Theatre. Dramatic Theory. New Comedy. Actors and Acting. Costumes. Theatre Architecture. Greek Mimes. The Roman Theatre. Etruscan Antecedents. The Roman Context. Roman Festivals. Drama under the Romans. Other Entertainments. Production Arrangements. Roman Theatre Architecture.@AHEADS = Other Structures for Entertainments. Scenery. Actors and Acting. Masks and Costumes. Music. The Decline of the Theatre in Rome. Theatre in the Eastern Empire, Byzantium. The Byzantine Theatre. The Rise of Islam. 4. European Theatre in the Middle Ages. The Theatre, 500 to 900 C.E. The Liturgical Drama. The Staging of Liturgical Drama. The Feast of Fools. The Late Middle Ages. Performances outside the Church. The Vernacular Religious Drama. Production Arrangements. The Director. Actors and Acting. Costumes. The Stages. Scenery. Special Effects and Machinery. Music. Audiences and Auditoriums. Secular Dramatic Forms. Farce. The Morality Play. Chambers of Rhetoric. Interludes. Tournaments, Mummings, and Disguisings. Royal Entries and Street Pageants. The End of Medieval Drama. 5. English Theatre to 1642. Early Tudor Drama. The University Wits. Shakespeare and His Contemporaries. Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists. Government Regulation of the Theatre. Acting Troupes. The Public Theatres. The Private Theatres. Scenery, Properties, Special Effects, and Music. Costumes. Audiences. The Stuart Court Masques. 6. Spanish Theatre to 1700. The Religious Drama. Secular Drama. Early Professional Theatre. Lope de Vega and His Contemporaries. Calderón and His Contemporaries. Acting Companies. Actors and Acting. Costumes. The Corrales. The Stage and Scenery. Theatre in the Americas. 7. Italian Theatre to 1700. Renaissance Drama. Mannerism and the Beginnings of the Baroque. The Neoclassical Ideal. Intermezzi and Opera. The Development of New Scenic Practices. The Development of Theatre Architecture. Machinery and Special Effects. Music and Dance. The Festival Context. Stage Lighting. Commedia dell'Arte. The Decline of Italy. 8. French Theatre to 1700. Theatre at Court and in Schools Prior to 1600. The Public Theatre in Paris before 1595. The Public Theatre, 1595-1629. The Triumph of the Neoclassical Ideal. Acting Companies, 1629-1660. The Public Theatres, 1629-1660. Scenic Practices in the Public Theatres, 1629-1660. The Triumph of the Italian Ideal in Scenery, 1640-1660. The Naturalization of the Italian Ideal, 1660-1700. French Drama, 1660-1700. Acting Companies, 1660-1700. The Organization of French Acting Companies. Theatre Architecture and Scenic Practices, 1660-1700. The Close of the Seventeenth Century. 9. English Theatre to 1800. Theatrical Activity, 1642-1660. The Reestablishment of the Theatre. Acting Companies, 1600-1700. English Drama, 1660-1700. English Drama, 1700-1750. Governmental Regulation of the Theatre. English Drama, 1750-1800. The Playwright. Financial Policies. Theatre Architecture. Scenic Practices. Costume Practices. Actors and Acting, 1660-1800. Audiences and Performances. The Provincial Theatre. Theatre of Colonial North America. 10. Italy and France to 1800. The Evolution of Italian Scenic Design. Italian Drama of the Eighteenth Century. French Drama of the Eighteenth Century. The Dramatist. Parisian Acting Troupes. Actors and Acting. Costume Practices. Theatre Architecture. Scenic Practices. 11. Northern European Theatre to 1800. The Court Theatres of the German States. The Jesuit Theatre. The Early Public Theatre in the German States. The Reforms of Gottsched and Neuber. Acting Troupes, 1740-1770. German Drama, 1740-1787. The Establishment of National Theatres, 1770-1800. Evolution of Staging in the Eighteenth Century. F. L. Schröder. Iffland and Kotzebue. Goethe, Schiller, and Weimar Classicism. Theatre in Other Countries of Northern Europe. Theatre in Russia to 1800. 12. Continental European Theatre in the Early Nineteenth Century. Theoretical Foundations of Romanticism. Romantic Drama in Germany. Postromantic German-Language Drama. Theatrical Conditions in German-Language Theatres. The French Theatre, 1789-1815. French Drama to the 1850s. Theatrical Conditions in France to the 1850s. Directing and Acting in France to the 1850s. Scenery, Costume, and Lighting in France to the 1850s. Russian Drama and Theatre to the 1850s. 13. English-Language Theatre in the Early Nineteenth Century. Trends in English Theatre, 1800-1843. English Drama to the 1850s. English Theatrical Conditions, 1800-1843. Macready and Vestris. Theatre in North America, 1781-1815. The Expanding American Theatre, 1815-1850. Theatrical Conditions in the United States and Canada. 14. English-Language Theatre in the Late Nineteenth Century. Theatre in the United States, 1850-1870. Theatre in the United States, 1870-1895. Theatre in Canada. Theatre in Australia and New Zealand. English Drama, 1850-1890. English Theatrical Conditions, 1843-1860. English Theatrical Conditions, 1860-1880. English Theatrical Conditions, 1880-1900. 15. Continental European and Latin American Theatre in the Late Nineteenth Century. The Beginnings of Realism. Russian Theatre to 1900. Theatrical Conditions in Russia to 1900. German and Austrian Theatre to 1900. French Drama to 1900. Theatrical Conditions in France to 1900. The Theatre in Italy and Spain to 1900. Theatre in Latin America to 1900. 16. The Beginnings of Modern Realism. Saxe-Meiningen. Ibsen. Zola and the French Naturalists. Antoine and the Théâtre Libre. The Free Bühne and German Realism. The Independent Theatre and Realism in England. The Continuing Tradition in England, 1900-1914. The Moscow Art Theatre and Realism in Russia. The Theatre in Italy and Spain, 1875-1915. Theatre in the United States, 1895-1915. Major Technical Innovations, 1875-1915. 17. The Beginnings of Modern Nonrealism. Wagner and the Nonrealistic Theatre. Nonrealism in France. Appia and Craig. Strindberg and Freud. Nonrealistic Theatre and Drama in Germany. Nonrealistic Theatre in England. The Irish Renaissance. Russian Modernism. The Revival of Idealism in France. 18. Continental European and Latin American Theatre in the Early Twentieth Century. Theatre and Drama in Russia, 1917-1940. German Theatre and Drama, 1915-1940. Theatre and Drama in France, 1915-1940. Italian Theatre and Drama, 1915-1940. Theatre and Drama in Spain, 1915-1940. Theatre and Drama in Latin America. 19. English-Language Theatre in the Early Twentieth Century. English Theatre and Drama, 1915-1940. Theatre and Drama in the United States, 1915-1940. Theatre in Canada to 1940. Theatre and Drama in Australia and New Zealand, 1915-1940. 20. Continental European and Latin American Theatre in the Mid Twentieth Century. International Developments. French Theatre and Drama, 1940-1968. Soviet Theatre and Drama, 1940-1968. Theatre and Drama in Czechoslovakia, 1940-1968. German Theatre and Drama, 1940-1968. Theatre and Drama in Italy, 1940-1968. Theatre and Drama in Latin America, 1940-1968. 21. English-Language Theatre in the Mid Twentieth Century. English Theatre and Drama, 1940-1968. Theatre and Drama in the United States, 1940?-1968. Canada to 1968. Australia and New Zealand to 1968. 22. Continental European and Latin American Theatre in the Late Twentieth Century. Soviet and Russian Theatre to 1990. Theatre in Poland and Czechoslovakia to 1990. German Theatre and Drama to 1990. Theatre and Drama in Italy to 1990. Theatre in France to 1990. Latin American Theatre to 1990. 23. English-Language Theatre in the Late Twentieth Century. British Theatre to 1990. Theatre in the United States after 1968. Canadian Theatre to 1990. Australia and New Zealand to 1990. 24. Contemporary Theatre. Theatre in Russia. Theatre in Poland and the Czech Republic. Theatre in Germany. Theatre in Italy. Theatre in France. Theatre in Britain. Theatre in Ireland. Theatre in Canada. Theatre in the United States. 25. The Theatre of Africa. Some Basic Issues and Problems. Nigeria. Ghana. Sierra Leone. Kenya. Uganda. Tanzania. Zambia and Zimbabwe. Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Principle, and Cape Verde. Senegal. The Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). Mali and Cameroon. The Congo Popular Republic and Congo (Zaire). South Africa. North Africa. 26. The Theatre of Asia. India. Sanskrit Drama. Sanskrit Performance. Modern India. China. The Development of Chinese Literary Drama. Beijing Opera. Twentieth-Century Developments in Chinese Theatre. Japan. Noh Theatre. Bunraku. Kabuki. Modern Japanese Theatre and Drama. Other Asian Countries. Bibliography. Index.