This concise version of the acclaimed Oxford Companion to the Theatre covers all aspects of theatre worldwide and throughout the ages. It contains entries on a vast range of theatrical styles, dramatists, performers, and directors, as well as information on theatres, festivals, and such technical topics as lighting, sound, and method acting. Entries on people and places include Athol Fugard, Anthony Hopkins, Glenda Jackson, Derek Jacobi, Harvey Fierstein, Helen Mirren, Trevor Nunn, Peter O'Toole, Willy Russell, and Stephen Sondheim, Barbican Theatre, The English Shakespeare Company, Michael Gambon, The Swan at Stratford, and the Shubert theatre in New York.