Anyone with an academic, professional, amateur, or recreational interest in the theater is likely to want to look up details of particular plays sometimes--perhaps to check on the author, or on when they were first performed, or perhaps to see how many characters they have, and whether or not they would be suitable for their theater company or drama group to perform.

The Oxford Dictionary of Plays provides essential information on the 1000 best-known, best-loved, and most important plays in world theater. Each entry includes details of title, author, date of composition, date of first performance, genre, setting, and the composition of the cast, and more. A synopsis of the plot and a brief commentary, perhaps on the context of the play, or the reasons for its enduring popularity, follow. Around 80 of the most significant plays-- from The Oresteia to Waiting for Godot--are dealt with in more detail. Genres covered include: burlesque, comedy, farce, historical drama, kabuki, masque, melodrama, morality play, mystery play, No, romantic comedy, tragicomedy, satire, and tragedy.

An index of characters enables the reader to locate favorite characters, and trace the trajectory of major historical and legendary characters--such as Iphigenia--through world drama, including in plays that do not have entries in the Dictionary. An index of playwrights, with dates, allows the reader to find all the plays included by a particular author.

"A wonderful ready-reference tool."--School Library Journal

"Stands apart from many of the available drama resources.... A remarkable reference source for any library."--Choice

"The details provided here and the special features that enhance their presentation make this an exceptional reference work, and its reasonable price makes it affordable for almost any reference collection."--Booklist

"ODP is rivaled by nothing else in print and can be considered a replacement for The Book of 1000 Plays. Recommended for public, academic, and personal libraries."--Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

Michael Patterson is professor of theatre at De Montfort University, Leicester. He has published six books on German theatre and one on political theatre.

Preface

Acknowledgements

Select Bibliography

Family Tree of main Characters in Shakespeare's History Plays

Thematic List of Plays

A-Z of Plays

Index of Characters

Index of Playwrights