This book explores the development of contemporary theatre in the United States in its historical, political and theoretical dimensions. It focuses on representative plays and performance texts that experiment with form and content, discussing influential playwrights and performance artists such as Tennessee Williams, Adrienne Kennedy, Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Charles Ludlum, Anna Deavere Smith, Karen Finley and Will Power, alongside avant-garde theatre groups. Saddik traces the development of contemporary drama since 1945, and discusses the cross-cultural impact of postwar British and European innovations on American theatre from the 1950s to the present day in order to examine the performance of American identity. She argues that contemporary American theatre is primarily a postmodern drama of inclusion and diversity that destabilizes the notion of fixed identity and questions the nature of reality.

This volume featrues over 250,000 words and more than 125 photographs identifying and defining theatre in more than 30 countries from India to Uzbekistan, from Thailand to New Zealand and featuring extensive documentation on contemporary Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Australian theatre.

American Library Association Index, (to 1900) A. L. A. I. Supplement, 1901-1910 A. L. A. Supp. Annual Literary Index (1892-1904) A. L. I. Continued as Annual Library Index, 1905-1910 A. L. I. Dramatic Index, 1909- D. I. Published with Annual Magazine Subject Index. Magazine Subject Index: Boston, 1908 M. S. I. Continued by Annual Magazine Subject Index, 1909- A. S. I. Poole’s Index to Periodical Literature, 1802-1881 Poole Supplements, 1882-1906; 1907-1908 Poole Supp. Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, 1900- R. G. Supplement, 1907-1915, 1916-1919 R. G. Supp. Continued as International Index to Periodicals, 1921- I. I. P. Periodicals

This book tells the story of modern drama through its seminal, groundbreaking plays and performances, and the artistic diversity that these represent. Exploring the new note of artistic hostility between dramatists and their audience, Shepherd-Barr draws on a range of theories and performances to reveal what makes modern drama 'modern'.

An annotated world theatre bibliography documenting significant theatre materials published world wide since 1945, plus an index to key names throughout the six volumes of the series.