Acting, direction, stagecraft, theatre architecture and design, above all the whole extraordinary evolution of dramatic literature - here is a history of theatre, worldwide in scope and ranging from its ancient origins in the choral hymns sung round the altar of Dionysus to the fascinating variety of forms which it has taken in our own age. This expanded edition with a new chapter by Enoch Brater, brings this study up-to-date by surveying new trends in the theatre, including performance art, mixed-media staging, multi-cultural theatre, feminism and theatre, dance theatre and the rise of the new ethnic drama.