The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance

Editor: Kennedy, Dennis
Publication Year: 2011
Publisher: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Price: Core Collection Only
ISBN: 978-0-19-957419-3
Category: Arts & Leisure - Performing Arts
Book Status: Available
Table of Contents

An authoritative reference covering primarily actors, playwrights, directors, styles and movements, companies and organizations.

Share this

Table of Contents

  • Preface and principles
  • Editors and contributors
  • Note to the reader
  • A
  • Abbey Theatre
  • Abbott, George (1889–1995)
  • Abdoh, Reza (1963–95)
  • Abe Kōbō (1924–93)
  • abhinaya
  • Abington, Fanny (Frances) (1737–1815)
  • absurd, theatre of the
  • Achurch, Janet (1864–1916)
  • Ackermann family
  • Acquart, André (1922– )
  • Acquaye, Saka (1923–2007)
  • acrobatics
  • acting/actor
  • action
  • actor
  • actor-manager
  • Actors Studio
  • Actors Theatre of Louisville
  • Adam de la Halle (Adam Le Bossu) (c.1240–c.1288)
  • Adamov, Arthur (1908–70)
  • Adams, Maude (1872–1953)
  • Addison, Joseph (1672–1719)
  • Adler, Jacob P. (1855–1926)
  • Adler, Stella (1901–92)
  • Admiral's Men, Lord
  • Aeschylus (c.525–456 bc)
  • African-American theatre
  • agitprop
  • agon
  • Aguirre, Isidora (1919–2011)
  • Ainley, Henry (1879–1945)
  • Ajoka
  • Akalaitis, JoAnne (1937– )
  • Akimoto Matsuyo (1911–2001)
  • Albee, Edward (1928– )
  • Albee, Edward Franklin
  • Albery, James (1838–89)
  • Alcalá de Henares, Corral de
  • Aldridge, Ira (1807–67)
  • Aleichem, Sholem (Sholem Rabinowitz) (1859–1916)
  • Aleotti, Giovan Battista (1546–1636)
  • Alexander, George (1858–1918)
  • Alfieri, Vittorio (1749–1803)
  • Alfreds, Mike (1934– )
  • alienation effect
  • Alkazi, Ebrahim (1925– )
  • Allalou (Sellali Ali) (1902–?)
  • Allen, Gracie
  • Alleyn, Edward (1566–1626)
  • Allgood, Sara (1883–1950)
  • Allio, René (1924–95)
  • Alloula, Abdalkder (1923–94)
  • Almagro, Corral de
  • Alonso, José Luis (1924–90)
  • Alonso de Santos, José Luis (1942– )
  • Alsina, Arturo (1897–1984)
  • Álvarez Quintero, Serafín (1871–1938) Joaquín Álvarez Quintero (1873–1944) Spanish playwrights.
  • American Repertory Theatre (Cambridge, Massachusetts)
  • Ames, Winthrop (1871–1937)
  • amphitheatre
  • amusement arcades
  • anagnorisis
  • Anderson, Judith (1898–1992)
  • Anderson, Laurie (1947– )
  • Anderson, Mary (1859–1940)
  • Anderson, Maxwell (1889–1959)
  • Anderson, Robert (1917–2009)
  • Andreev, Leonid (1871–1919)
  • Andreini family
  • angura
  • animal fights (venationes)
  • animals
  • ankiya nat
  • Anouilh, Jean (1910–87)
  • antagonist
  • antiquarianism
  • anti-theatrical polemic
  • Antoine, André (1858–1943)
  • Appia, Adolphe (1862–1924)
  • applause
  • Arbuzov, Aleksei (1908–86)
  • Archer, William (1856–1924)
  • architecture of theatres
  • Arden, John (1930–2012)
  • Arena Stage
  • Aretino, Pietro (1492–1556)
  • Argüelles, Hugo (1932–2003)
  • Ariosto, Ludovico (1474–1533)
  • Aristophanes (c.448–c.380 bc)
  • Aristotle (384–322 bc)
  • Arlecchino
  • Arlen, Harold (1905–86)
  • Armfield, Neil (1955– )
  • Armin, Robert (c.1568–1615)
  • Aronson, Boris (1898–1980)
  • Arrabal, Fernando (1932– )
  • Art, Théâtre d’
  • Artaud, Antonin (1896–1948)
  • artistic director
  • Artists of Dionysus
  • Asakura Setsu (1922– )
  • Asch, Solomon (Sholem Asch) (1880–1957)
  • Asche, Oscar (1871–1936)
  • Ashcroft, Peggy (1907–91)
  • Ashwell, Lena (1869–1957)
  • Asian-American theatre
  • Astaire, Fred (1899–1987) and Adele Astaire (1898–1981)
  • Astley's Amphitheatre
  • Atkins, Eileen (1934– )
  • Atkins, Robert (1886–1972)
  • Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh) (1907–73)
  • Audiberti, Jacques (1899–1965)
  • audience
  • auditorium
  • Augier, Émile (1820–89)
  • auto sacramental
  • avant-garde
  • Avignon Festival
  • Ayckbourn, Alan (1939– )
  • Aylmer, Felix (1889–1979)
  • B
  • Babel, Isaak (1894–1941)
  • Bacheterzi, Mahieddine (1896–1985)
  • Bahr, Hermann (1863–1934)
  • baiting
  • Baker, George Pierce (1866–1935)
  • Baker, Josephine (1906–75)
  • Bakst, Leon (1866–1924)
  • Balanchine, George (1904–83)
  • Baldwin, James (1924–87)
  • Bale, John (1495–1563)
  • Balgandharva (1888–1967)
  • Ball, William (1931–91)
  • ballad opera
  • ballet
  • Ballets Russes, Les (de Serge Diaghilev)
  • Bancroft, Squire (1841–1926)
  • Bandō Tamasaburō V (1950– )
  • bangsawan
  • Baraka, Imamu Amiri (LeRoi Jones) (1934–2014)
  • Barba, Eugenio (1936– )
  • Barbeau, Jean (1945– )
  • Barberio Corsetti, Giorgio (1951– )
  • baris
  • Barker, Harley Granville (1877–1946)
  • Barker, Howard (1946– )
  • Barker, James Nelson (1784–1859)
  • Barnes, Peter (1931–2004)
  • Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor) (1810–91)
  • Baron (Michel Boyron) (1653–1729)
  • barong
  • Barraca, La
  • Barrault, Jean-Louis (1910–94)
  • Barrett, Lawrence (1838–91)
  • Barrett, Wilson (1846–1904)
  • Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew) (1860–1937)
  • Barry, Elizabeth (c.1658–1713)
  • Barry, Philip (1896–1949)
  • Barry, Sebastian (1955– )
  • Barry, Spranger (1719–77)
  • Barrymore family
  • Barsacq, André (1909–73)
  • Bart, Lionel (1930–99)
  • Barton, John (1928– )
  • Bassermann, Albert (1867–1952)
  • Bateman family
  • Bates, Alan (1934–2003)
  • Baty, Gaston (1885–1952)
  • Bauer, Wolfgang (1941–2005)
  • Bauhaus
  • Bausch, Pina (1940–2009)
  • Baylis, Lilian (1874–1937)
  • Bayreuth Festival
  • Beale, Simon Russell (1961– )
  • bear-baiting
  • Beaton, Cecil (1904–80)
  • Beatty, John Lee (1948– )
  • Beaumarchais, Pierre-Augustin Caron de (1732–99)
  • Beaumont, Francis (c.1584–1616)
  • Beaumont, Hugh (1908–73)
  • Beck, Julian (1925–85)
  • Beckett, Samuel (1906–89)
  • Becque, Henri (1837–99)
  • Beeston, Christopher (c.1580–1639)
  • Behan, Brendan (1923–64)
  • Behn, Aphra (1640–89)
  • Behrman, S. N. (Samuel Nathaniel) (1893–1973)
  • Beier, Karin (1965– )
  • Beijing opera
  • Béjart family
  • Belasco, David (1853–1931)
  • Belbel, Sergi (1963– )
  • Bel Geddes, Norman (1893–1958)
  • Bell, John (1940– )
  • Bellamy, George Ann (c.1727–88)
  • Belleroche
  • Bellotti-Bon, Luigi (1820–83)
  • Bemba, Sylvain (1934–95)
  • Ben-Ami, Jacob (1890–1977)
  • Benavente, Jacinto (1866–1954)
  • Ben Ayed, Ali (1930–72)
  • Bene, Carmelo (1937–2002)
  • benefit performance
  • Benelli, Sem (1877–1949)
  • Benet i Jornet, Josep M. (1940– )
  • Bennett, Alan (1934– )
  • Bennett, Arnold (1867–1931)
  • Bennett, Michael (1943–87)
  • Benois, Alexandre (1870–1960)
  • Benson, Frank (1858–1939)
  • Benthall, Michael (1919–74)
  • Bentley, Eric (1916– )
  • Berain, Jean (1637–1711)
  • Bérard, Christian (1902–49)
  • Berghaus, Ruth (1927–96)
  • Berghof, Herbert (1909–90)
  • Bergman, Ingmar (1918–2007)
  • Bergner, Elisabeth (1897–1986)
  • Berkoff, Steven (1937– )
  • Berlin, Irving (1888–1989)
  • Berliner Ensemble
  • Berman, Sabina (1953– )
  • Bernhard, Thomas (1931–89)
  • Bernhardt, Sarah (1844–1923)
  • Bernini, Gian Lorenzo (1598–1680)
  • Bernstein, Leonard (1918–90)
  • Besson, Benno (1922–2006)
  • Betsuyaku Minoru (1937– )
  • Betterton, Mary (c.1637–1712)
  • Betterton, Thomas (c.1635–1710)
  • Betti, Ugo (1892–1953)
  • Bhaduri, Sisir (1889–1959)
  • bhagavata mela
  • bhand
  • Bharata Muni
  • Bhasa (c. fourth century ad)
  • Bhattacharya, Bijon (1915–78)
  • Bhavabhuti (c. seventh century ad)
  • Biancolelli family
  • Bibiena family
  • biblical plays
  • Bickerstaffe, Isaac (1735–1812)
  • Bieito, Calixto (1963– )
  • Binodini Dasi (c.1863–1941)
  • biomechanics
  • Birmingham Repertory Theatre
  • Bjørnson, Bjørn (1859–1942)
  • Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne (1832–1910)
  • Björnson, Maria (1949–2002)
  • Black, Stephen (1880–1931)
  • blackface
  • Blackfriars Theatre
  • Blake, Eubie (1883–1983)
  • Blakely, Colin (1930–87)
  • Blakemore, Michael (1928– )
  • Blau, Herbert (1926–2013)
  • Blauwe Maandag Compagnie
  • Blin, Roger (1907–84)
  • Blitzstein, Marc (1905–64)
  • Blok, Aleksandr (1880–1921)
  • Bloom, Claire (1931– )
  • Boal, Augusto (1931–2009)
  • Boar's Head
  • Bocage (Pierre-Martinien Tousez) (1797–1863)
  • Bock, Jerry (1928–2010)
  • Bogart, Anne (1953– )
  • Bogdanov, Michael (1938– )
  • Bogosian, Eric (1953– )
  • Boleslavsky, Richard Valentinovich (1889–1937)
  • Bolger, Ray (1904–87)
  • Bolt, Robert (1924–95)
  • Bolton, Guy (1883–1979)
  • Bond, Edward (1934– )
  • Bondy, Luc (1948–2015)
  • booing
  • Booth, Barton (1681–1733)
  • Booth, Edwin (1833–93)
  • Booth, John Wilkes (1839–65)
  • Booth, Junius Brutus (1796–1852)
  • Booth, Shirley (1898–1992)
  • booth stage
  • Borovsky, David (1934–2006)
  • Boublil, Alain (1938– ) Claude-Michel Schönberg (1944– ) French lyricist and composer team.
  • Bouchard, Michel Marc (1958– )
  • Bouchardy, Joseph (1810–70)
  • Boucicault, Dion (1822–1890)
  • boulevard theatre
  • bourgeois theatre
  • box, pit, and gallery
  • box set
  • boy actor
  • Bracegirdle, Anne (c.1673–1748)
  • Brahm, Otto (1856–1912)
  • Braithwaite, Lilian (1873–1948)
  • Branagh, Kenneth (1960– )
  • Brando, Marlon (1924–2004)
  • Braun, Volker (1939– )
  • Braunshweig, Stéphane (1964– )
  • Bread and Puppet Theatre
  • Brecht, Bertolt (1898–1956)
  • Bredero, Gerbrant Adriaenszoon (1585–1618)
  • breeches role
  • Brenton, Howard (1942– )
  • Breth, Andrea (1952– )
  • Breuer, Lee (1937– )
  • Brewster, Yvonne (1938– )
  • Brice, Fanny (1891–1951)
  • Bridges-Adams, William (1889–1965)
  • Bridie, James (Osborne Henry Mavor) (1884–1951)
  • Brie, Mlle de (1630–1706)
  • Brieux, Eugène (1858–1932)
  • Brighouse, Harold (1882–1958)
  • Brome, Richard (c.1590–c.1653)
  • Brook, Peter (1925– )
  • Brown, John Russell (1923–2015)
  • Brown, William Henry (fl. 1820s)
  • Browne, E. Martin (1900–80)
  • Browne, Maurice (1881–1955)
  • Brustein, Robert (1927– )
  • Bryceland, Yvonne (1925–92)
  • Bryden, Bill (1942– )
  • Bsissou, Mouyin (1927–84)
  • Büchner, Georg (1813–37)
  • Buckingham, 2nd Duke of (George Villiers) (1628–87)
  • Buckstone, John Baldwin (1802–79)
  • Buenaventura, Enrique (1925–2003)
  • Buero-Vallejo, Antonio (1916–2000)
  • bugaku
  • buildings
  • Bulgakov, Mikhail (1891–1940)
  • bull-baiting
  • Bullins, Ed (1935– )
  • Bulwer-Lytton, Edward (1803–73)
  • bunraku
  • Buontalenti, Bernardo (1531–1608)
  • Burbage, James (c.1530–1597)
  • Burbage, Richard (c.1568–1619)
  • Burgos, Jerónima de (c.1580–1641)
  • Burgtheater
  • Burian, Emil Frantis̆ek (1904–59)
  • burlesque
  • burletta
  • Burns, George (Nathan Birnbaum) (1896–1996) and Gracie Allen (1895–1964)
  • Burrows, Abe (1910–85)
  • Burton, Richard (1925–84)
  • Burton, William E. (1804–60)
  • Bury, John (1925–2000)
  • Busch, Ernst (1900–80)
  • busker
  • butoh
  • Byron, George Gordon, Lord (1788–1824)
  • Byron, Henry James (1834–84)
  • C
  • cabaret
  • Cabrujas, José Ignacio (1937–95)
  • café-concert
  • Caffe Cino
  • Caird, John (1948– )
  • Calderón de la Barca, Pedro (1600–81)
  • Caldwell, Zoë (1934– )
  • Callow, Simon (1949– )
  • Calmo, Andrea (1509–71)
  • Cambridge Festival Theatre
  • Campbell, Ken (1941–2008)
  • Campbell, Mrs Patrick (Beatrice Stella Tanner) (1865–1940)
  • Campesino, El Teatro
  • Camus, Albert (1913–60)
  • canjun xi (ts’an-chün his)
  • Cantor, Eddie (1892–1964)
  • Cao Yu (Ts’ao Yü) (1910–96)
  • C̆apek, Karel (1890–1938)
  • Capuana, Luigi (1839–1915)
  • Carballido, Emilio (1925–2008)
  • Cariou, Len (1939– )
  • Carnovsky, Morris (1897–1992)
  • Carr, Marina (1964– )
  • Carraro, Tino (1910–95)
  • Carrière, Jean-Claude (1931– )
  • Carroll, Vinnette (1922–2002)
  • Cartel des Quatre, Le
  • Cartwright, Jim (1958– )
  • Casares, María (1922–96)
  • Casona, Alejandro (Alejandro Rodríguez Alvarez) (1903–65)
  • Casson, Lewis (1875–1969)
  • Castorf, Frank (1951– )
  • Castro y Bellvis, Guillén de (1569–1631)
  • catastrophe
  • catharsis
  • cavittu natakam
  • Cecchi, Carlo (1939– )
  • Cecchini, Pier Maria (1563–1645)
  • Celeste, Madame (1814–82)
  • censorship
  • Centlivre, Susannah (c.1667–1723)
  • Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de (1547–1616)
  • Césaire, Aimé (1913–2008)
  • Chaikin, Joseph (1935–2003)
  • Chamberlain's Men, Lord
  • Chambers of Rhetoric
  • Champion, Gower (1921–80)
  • Champmeslé, Mlle (Marie Desmares) (1642–98)
  • Channing, Carol (1921– )
  • Channing, Stockard (1944– )
  • Chapel Royal, Children of the
  • Chapman, George (c.1560–1634)
  • character
  • chariot races
  • Chaurette, Normand (1954– )
  • Cheek by Jowl
  • Chekhov, Anton (1860–1904)
  • Chekhov, Michael (Mikhail) (1891–1955)
  • Cheng Changgeng (Ch’eng Ch’ang-keng) (1811–80)
  • Cheng Yanqiu (Ch’eng Yen-ch’iu) (1904–58)
  • Chéreau, Patrice (1944–2013)
  • Chevalier, Maurice (1888–1972)
  • Chicano theatre
  • Chichester Festival Theatre
  • Chikamatsu Hanji (1725–83)
  • Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–1725)
  • children's theatre
  • Childress, Alice (1920–94)
  • Chin, Frank (1940– )
  • Chitty, Alison (1948– )
  • Ch’oe In-hun (1936– )
  • Chong, Ping (1946– )
  • chorus
  • Christie, Agatha (1890–1976)
  • Chronegk, Ludwig (1837–91)
  • chuanju (Sichuan opera)
  • chuanqui (ch’uan-ch’i)
  • Chunliu She (Ch’un liu she)
  • church drama
  • Churchill, Caryl (1938– )
  • ch’ǒyongmu, kǒmmu, muaemu
  • Cibber, Colley (1671–1757)
  • Cibber, Susannah (1714–66)
  • Cibber, Theophilus (1703–58)
  • Ciceri, Pierre (1782–1862)
  • Ciéslak, Ryszard (1937–90)
  • Cintra, Luís Miguel (1949– )
  • circus, modern
  • circus, Roman
  • Citizens Theatre
  • Ciulei, Liviu (1923–2011)
  • Cixous, Hélène (1937– )
  • Clairon, Mlle (Claire-Josèphe-Hippolyte Léris de La Tude) (1723–1803)
  • claque
  • Clark-Bekederemo, John Pepper (1935– )
  • Clarke, Martha (1944– )
  • classicism
  • Claudel, Paul (1868–1955)
  • Claus, Hugo (1929–2008)
  • Clive, Kitty (1711–85)
  • Close, Glenn (1947– )
  • closet drama
  • clown
  • Clunes, Alec (Alexander Sheriff de Maro) (1912–70)
  • Clurman, Harold (1901–80)
  • Cochran, C. B. (Charles Blake) (1872–1951)
  • Cockpit-in-Court
  • Cocteau, Jean (1889–1963)
  • Cody, William Frederick (‘Buffalo Bill’) (1846–1917)
  • cofradías
  • Cohan, George M. (1878–1942)
  • Coleman, Cy (1929–2004)
  • Coliseo
  • collectives and collective creation
  • Collier, Jeremy (1650–1726)
  • Colman, George, the Elder (1732–94)
  • Colman, George, the Younger (1762–1836)
  • Comden, Betty (1915–2006) Adolph Green (1915–2002) American lyricists, librettists, screenwriters, and performers.
  • comedia
  • Comediants
  • comédie-ballet
  • Comédie-Française
  • Comédie Italienne
  • comédie larmoyante
  • comedy
  • commedia dell’arte
  • commedia erudita
  • community theatre
  • company theatre
  • Complicité, Theatre de
  • concert party
  • Condell, Henry (fl. 1598–1627)
  • confidant
  • Confrérie de la Passion
  • Congreve, William (1670–1729)
  • conjuring
  • Conklin, John (1937– )
  • Connelly, Marc (1890–1980)
  • Conquest family
  • constructivism
  • Contat, Louise-Françoise (1760–1813) Marie-Émilie (1771–1846) French actresses.
  • Cooke, George Frederick (1756–1812)
  • Cooke, T. P. (Thomas Potter) (1786–1864)
  • Copeau, Jacques (1879–1949)
  • Copi (Raúl Damonte) (1939–87)
  • copyright
  • Coquelin, Constant-Benoît (1841–1909)
  • Corneille, Pierre (1606–84)
  • Corneille, Thomas (1625–1709)
  • Cornell, Katharine (1898–1974)
  • Cornish rounds
  • Corpus Christi plays
  • corrales de comedias
  • Corrêa, José Celso Martinez (1937– )
  • Cossa, Roberto Mario (‘Tito’) (1934– )
  • Costantini family
  • costume
  • cothornus
  • Cottesloe Theatre
  • coup de théâtre
  • court dance
  • Courtney, Tom (1937– )
  • Covent Garden Theatre
  • Coward, Noël (1899–1973)
  • Cowley, Hannah (1743–1809)
  • Crabtree, Lotta (1846–1924)
  • Craig, Edith (1869–1947)
  • Craig, Edward Gordon (1872–1966)
  • Craven, Hawes (1837–1910)
  • Crimp, Martin (1956– )
  • crisis
  • Cronyn, Hume (1911–2003)
  • cross dressing
  • Crothers, Rachel (1878–1958)
  • Crouse, Russel (1893–1966)
  • Crowley, Bob (1952– )
  • Cruelty, Theatre of
  • Cruz, Corral de la
  • Cueva, Juan de la (1550–1610)
  • Cumberland, Richard (1732–1811)
  • Cunillé, Lluïsa (1961– )
  • Cunningham, Merce (1919–2009)
  • Curtain Theatre
  • Cusack, Cyril (1910–93)
  • Cusack, Sinéad (1948– )
  • Cushman, Charlotte (1816–76)
  • cyclorama
  • D
  • dada
  • Dadié, Bernard (1916– )
  • Dalcroze, Émile-Jaques
  • Daldry, Stephen (1960– )
  • dalit theatre
  • Daly, Augustin (1836–99)
  • Damiani, Luciano (1923–2007)
  • damnatio
  • dance and dance-drama
  • Dancourt, Florent-Carton (1665–1725)
  • Dane, Clemence (Winifred Ashton) (1888–1965)
  • Daniels, Ron (1942– )
  • Daniels, Sarah (1956– )
  • Danjūrō family
  • D’Annunzio, Gabriele (1863–1938)
  • Dasté, Jean (1904–94)
  • Davenant, William (1606–68)
  • Davidson, Gordon (1933– )
  • Davies, Howard (1945– )
  • Davies, Robertson (1913–95)
  • Davis, Hallie Flanagan
  • Davis, Henrietta Vinton (1860–1941)
  • Davis, Ossie (1917–2005)
  • Dawison, Bogumił (1818–72)
  • Dear, Nick (1955– )
  • de Berardinis, Leo (1940–2008)
  • Deburau, Jean-Gaspard (1796–1846)
  • decorum
  • Decroux, Étienne (1889–1991)
  • Dee, Ruby (1924–2014)
  • de Filippo, Eduardo (1900–84)
  • de Graft, Joe (1924–78)
  • De Groen, Alma (1941– )
  • Dekker, Thomas (c.1572–1632)
  • Delaney, Shelagh (1939–2011)
  • Delsarte, François (1811–71)
  • de Mille, Agnes (1905–93)
  • Dench, Judi (1934– )
  • Dennis, John (1657–1734)
  • denouement
  • Deshpande, P. L. (1919–2000)
  • design
  • deus ex machina
  • Deutsch, Ernst (1890–1969)
  • Deutsches Theater
  • development, theatre for
  • Devine, George (1910–65)
  • devising
  • Devrient family
  • Dewhurst, Colleen (1926–91)
  • Dexter, John (1925–90)
  • Dhlomo, Herbert I. E. (1903–56)
  • Diaghilev, Sergei (1872–1929)
  • dialogue
  • diaspora
  • Dickens, Charles (1812–70)
  • Diderot, Denis (1713–84)
  • difangxi (ti-fang hsi)
  • Dingelstedt, Franz von (1814–81)
  • Dionysia
  • Dionysus, Theatre of
  • diorama
  • directing/director
  • distancing effect
  • dithyramb
  • documentary drama and theatre
  • Dodin, Lev (1944– )
  • Donnellan, Declan (1953– )
  • Dorn, Dieter (1935– )
  • Dorst, Tankred (1925– )
  • Dorval, Marie (1798–1849)
  • Dotrice, Roy (1923– )
  • Dowling, Joe (1948– )
  • drag shows
  • Dragún, Osvaldo (1929–99)
  • Drake, Alfred (1914–92)
  • Dramaten
  • dramaturgy/dramaturg
  • drame, le
  • Dressler, Marie (1869–1934)
  • Drew family
  • Drottningholm Court Theatre
  • Drury Lane Theatre
  • Dryden, John (1631–1700)
  • Dubé, Marcel (1930–2016)
  • Duchesnois, Mlle (Catherine-Joséphine Rafuin) (1777–1835)
  • Ducis, Jean-François (1733–1816)
  • Ducrow, Andrew (1793–1848)
  • Dukes, Ashley (1885–1959)
  • Dullin, Charles (1885–1949)
  • Dumas, Alexandre (Dumas fils) (1824–95)
  • Dumas, Alexandre (Dumas père) (1802–70)
  • du Maurier, Gerald (1873–1934)
  • Dumesnil, Mlle (Marie-Françoise Marchand) (1713–1803)
  • Duncan, Isadora (1877–1927)
  • Dunlap, William (1766–1839)
  • Dunnock, Mildred (1901–91)
  • Durang, Christopher (1949– )
  • Durante, Jimmy (1893–1980)
  • Duras, Marguerite (1914–96)
  • D’Urfey, Thomas (1653–1723)
  • Dürrenmatt, Friedrich (1921–90)
  • Duse, Eleanore (1858–1924)
  • Dutt, Utpal (1929–93)
  • Duym, Jacob (1547–1612 or 1624)
  • E
  • early modern period in Europe
  • Ebb, Fred
  • Echegaray, José (1832–1916)
  • Edgar, David (1947– )
  • Edinburgh International Festival
  • educational theatre
  • Edwardes, George (1852–1915)
  • Edwards, Gale (1954– )
  • Edwards, Hilton (1903–82)
  • Effendi, Rustam (1903–79)
  • Efremov, Oleg (1927–2000)
  • Efros, Anatoly (1925–87)
  • Eisenstein, Sergei (1898–1948)
  • Ekhof, Konrad (1720–78)
  • ekkyklema
  • Ekster, Aleksandra (1884–1949)
  • Elder, Lonnie, III (1927–96)
  • Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns) (1888–1965)
  • Elizabethan Stage Society
  • Elkunchwar, Mahesh (1939– )
  • Elliott, Michael (1931–84)
  • Engel, Erich (1891–1966)
  • English Comedians
  • English Shakespeare Company
  • English Stage Company
  • entremets/entremés
  • entries, royal
  • environmental theatre
  • epic theatre
  • Epidaurus, Theatre of
  • epilogue
  • Erdman, Nikolai (1900–70)
  • Ermolova, Maria (1853–1928)
  • Ervine, St John (1883–1971)
  • Escudero, Ruth (1945– )
  • Espert, Nuria (1938– )
  • Estorino, Abelardo (1925–2013)
  • Etherege, George (1635–91)
  • Eulj, Ahmed Taieb al- (1928–2012)
  • Euripides (c.480–407/6 bc)
  • Evans, Edith (1888–1976)
  • Evans, Maurice (1901–89)
  • Evreinov, Nikolai (1879–1953)
  • executions, public
  • exposition
  • expressionism
  • Eyre, Richard (1943– )
  • Eysoldt, Gertrud (1870–1950)
  • F
  • Fabre, Jan (1958– )
  • fairground booths
  • Farag, Alfred (1929–2005)
  • farce
  • Farnese, Teatro
  • Farquhar, George (1678–1707)
  • Farr, Florence (1860–1917)
  • Farrah, Abdelkader (1926–2006)
  • Fascism and theatre
  • Fassbinder, Rainer Werner (1945–82)
  • Faucit, Helen (1817–98)
  • Favart, Charles-Simon (1710–92)
  • Fechter, Charles Albert (1824–79)
  • Fedeli
  • Federal Theatre Project
  • Fedotova, Glikeria (1846–1925)
  • féerie
  • Fehling, Jürgen (1885–1968)
  • Felipe, Carlos (1914–75)
  • female impersonation
  • feminist theatre, UK
  • feminist theatre, USA
  • Ferrari, Paolo (1822–89)
  • Ferrer, José (1912–92)
  • Feydeau, Georges-Léon-Jules-Marie (1862–1921)
  • Fialka, Ladislav (1931–91)
  • Fichandler, Zelda (1924–2016)
  • Field, Nathan (1587–1620)
  • Fielding, Henry (1707–54)
  • Fields, Gracie (Grace Stansfield) (1898–1979)
  • Fields, Lew
  • Fields, W. C. (William Claude Dunkenfield) (1880–1946)
  • Fierstein, Harvey (1954– )
  • Filippo, Eduardo de
  • finance
  • Finlay, Frank (1926–2016)
  • Finley, Karen (1956– )
  • Finney, Albert (1936– )
  • fireworks
  • Fiske, Minnie Maddern (1865–1932)
  • Fitch, Clyde (1865–1909)
  • Fitzball, Edward (1792–1873)
  • Fitzgerald, Barry (1888–1961)
  • Flanagan, Hallie (Hallie Flanagan Davis) (1890–1969)
  • Flanders, Michael (1922–75)
  • flats and wings
  • flaw
  • Fletcher, John (1579–1625)
  • Fleury (Abraham-Joseph Bénard) (1750–1822)
  • Flimm, Jürgen (1941– )
  • Floridor (Josias de Soulas, Sieur de Primefosse) (1608–71)
  • Fo, Dario (1926– )
  • Fokin, Valery (1946– )
  • Fokine, Michel (Mikhail) (1880–1942)
  • Folies-Bergère
  • folk play (medieval)
  • Fontanne, Lynn
  • Fonvizin, Denis (1745–92)
  • fool
  • Foote, Samuel (1720–77)
  • footlights
  • Forbes-Robertson, Johnston (1853–1937)
  • Ford, John (1586–c.1639)
  • Foregger, Nikolai (1892–1939)
  • Foreman, Richard (1937– )
  • Fornés, Maria Irene (1930– )
  • Forrest, Edwin (1806–72)
  • Forssell, Lars (1928–2007)
  • Fort, Paul (1872–1960)
  • Fortune Theatre
  • Fosse, Bob (1927–87)
  • Foster, Gloria (1936–2001)
  • Fox, George W. L. (1825–77)
  • Foy, Eddie (1856–1928)
  • Françon, Alain (1946– )
  • Frayn, Michael (1933– )
  • freak show
  • Freie Bühne (Free Stage)
  • Frejka, Jir̆í (1904–52)
  • French, David (1939–2010)
  • Friel, Brian (1929–2015)
  • Frigerio, Ezio (1930– )
  • Frisch, Max (1911–91)
  • Frohman, Charles (1860–1915)
  • Fry, Christopher (1907–2005)
  • Fuchs, Georg (1868–1949)
  • Fugard, Athol (1932– )
  • Fukuda Tsuneari (1912–94)
  • Fuller, Charles (1939– )
  • Fuller, Loïe (1862–1928)
  • Fura dels Baus, La
  • futurism
  • G
  • Gabrielli family
  • Gala, Antonio (1936– )
  • Galsworthy, John (1867–1933)
  • Gambaro, Griselda (1928– )
  • Gambon, Michael (1940– )
  • gambuh
  • Ganassa, Zan
  • Gandhi, Shanta (1917–2002)
  • Ganz, Bruno (1941– )
  • Gao Ming (Kao Ming) (c.1305–70)
  • Gao Wenxiu (Kao Wen-hsiu) (fl.1270)
  • Gao Xingjian (Kao Hsing-chien) (1940– )
  • García, Rodrigo (1964– )
  • García, Santiago (1929– )
  • García, Víctor (1934–82)
  • García Lorca, Federico (1898–1936)
  • Gardner, Herb (1934–2003)
  • Garneau, Michel (1939– )
  • Garrett, João Baptista de Almeida (1799–1854)
  • Garrick, David (1717–79)
  • Garro, Elena (1920–98)
  • Gascon, Jean (1921–88)
  • Gaskill, William (1930–2016)
  • Gassman, Vittorio (1922–2000)
  • Gatti, Armand (1924– )
  • Gay, John (1685–1732)
  • gay theatre and performance
  • geju (ko-chü)
  • Gelber, Jack (1932–2003)
  • Gélinas, Gratien (1909–99)
  • Gelosi
  • Gémier, Firmin (1869–1933)
  • geming xiandai xi (ko ming hsien tai hsi)
  • Gems, Pam (1925–2011)
  • gender and performance
  • Genet, Jean (1910–86)
  • George, Mlle (Marguerite-Joséphine Weimer) (1787–1867)
  • Gershwin, George (Jacob Gershvin) (1898–1937) and Ira Gershwin (Israel Gershvin) (1896–1983)
  • Ghelderode, Michel de (Ademar Martens) (1898–1962)
  • Ghosh, Girish Chandra (1844–1912)
  • ghost
  • Giacometti, Paolo (1816–82)
  • Giacosa, Giuseppe (1847–1906)
  • Gide, André (1869–1951)
  • Giehse, Therese (1898–1975)
  • Gielgud, John (1904–2000)
  • gigaku
  • Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck) (1836–1911)
  • Gill, Peter (1939– )
  • Gillette, William Hooker (1853–1937)
  • Gilpin, Charles (1878–1930)
  • Giraldi, Giovan Battista (‘Cinthio’) (1504–73)
  • Giraudoux, Jean (1882–1944)
  • gladiatorial contests
  • Glaspell, Susan (1876–1948)
  • Glass, Philip (1937– )
  • Globe Theatre
  • Głowacki, Janusz (1938– )
  • Godber, John (1956– )
  • Goering, Reinhard (1887–1936)
  • Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749–1832)
  • Gogol, Nikolai (1809–52)
  • Goldfaden, Abraham (Avrom Goldfadn) (1840–1908)
  • Goldoni, Carlo (1707–93)
  • Goldsmith, Oliver (c.1730–1774)
  • Gombrowicz, Witold (1904–69)
  • Gómez de Avellaneda, Gertrudis (‘Tula’) (1814–73)
  • Gómez-Peña, Guillermo (1955– )
  • Goncharova, Natalya (1881–1962)
  • González-Dávila, Jesús (1940–2000)
  • Goodbody, Buzz (1946–75)
  • Gordin, Jacob (1853–1909)
  • Gordon, Ruth (1896–1985)
  • Gordone, Charles (1925–95)
  • Gorelik, Mordecai (1899–1990)
  • Gorky, Maxim (Aleksei Peshkov) (1868–1936)
  • Gorostiza, Carlos (1920– )
  • Gorostiza, Celestino (1904–67)
  • Gotanda, Philip Kan (1951– )
  • Gottsched, Johann Christoph (1700–66)
  • Gozzi, Carlo (1720–1806)
  • Grabbe, Christian Dietrich (1801–36)
  • Graham, Martha (1894–1991)
  • Gramatica, Emma (1872–1965) Irma Gramatica (1867–1962) Italian actresses.
  • Grand-Guignol, Théâtre de
  • Granville Barker, Harley
  • Gray, John (1946– )
  • Gray, Simon (James Holliday) (1936–2008)
  • Gray, Spalding (1941–2004)
  • Gray, Terence (1895–1986)
  • Greek theatre, ancient
  • Green, Adolph
  • Green, Paul (1894–1981)
  • Greene, Graham (1904–91)
  • Greene, Robert (1558–92)
  • Greet, Ben (1857–1936)
  • Gregory, Andre (1934– )
  • Gregory, Augusta (Lady) (1852–1932)
  • Greig, David (1969– )
  • Grein, J. T. (1862–1935)
  • Grenfell, Joyce (1910–79)
  • Griboedov, Aleksandr (1795–1829)
  • Grieve family
  • Griffin, Hayden (1943–2013)
  • Griffiths, Trevor (1935– )
  • Grillparzer, Franz (1791–1872)
  • Grimaldi, Joseph (1778–1837)
  • Grock (Charles Adrien Wettach) (1880–1959)
  • Gros-Guillaume (Robert Guérin) (d.1634)
  • Grotowski, Jerzy (1933–99)
  • Group Theatre
  • Grüber, Klaus Michael (1941–2008)
  • Gründgens, Gustaf (1899–1963)
  • Grundy, Sydney (1848–1914)
  • Guan Hanqing (Kuan Han-ch’ing) (c.1240–c.1320)
  • Guare, John (1938– )
  • Guarini, Battista (1538–1612)
  • Gubenko, Nikolai (1941– )
  • Guerrero, María (1868–1928)
  • Guignol
  • Guilbert, Yvette (c.1867–1944)
  • Guimerà, Àngel (1845–1924)
  • Guinness, Alec (1914–2001)
  • Guitry, Sacha (1885–1957)
  • Gunter, John (1938–2016)
  • Guo Muoruo (Kuo Mo-jo) (1892–1978)
  • Gurik, Robert (1932– )
  • Gurney, A. R. (Albert Ramsdell) (1930– )
  • Guthrie, Tyrone (1900–71)
  • Guthrie Theatre
  • Gwynn, Eleanor ‘Nell’ (c.1642–87)
  • H
  • Hacks, Peter (1928–2003)
  • Hagen, Uta (1919–2004)
  • Hakim, Tawfiq el- (1898–1987)
  • Hall, Peter (1930– )
  • Hall, Roger (1939– )
  • Hall, Willis
  • Hallam family
  • hamartia
  • Hammerstein, Oscar I (1846–1919)
  • Hammerstein, Oscar II (1895–1960)
  • Hampden, Walter (1879–1955)
  • Hampton, Christopher (1946– )
  • hanamichi
  • Hancock, Sheila (1933– )
  • Handke, Peter (1942– )
  • Hands, Terry (1941– )
  • Hankin, St John (1869–1909)
  • Hansberry, Lorraine (1930–65)
  • happenings
  • Hardy, Alexandre (c.1570–1632)
  • Hare, David (1947– )
  • Hare, John (1844–1921)
  • Harlequin
  • harlequinade
  • Harrigan, Edward (1844–1911) and Tony Hart (1855–91)
  • Harris, Audrey
  • Harris, Jed (1900–79)
  • Harris, Margaret
  • Harris, Rosemary (1927– )
  • Harrison, Rex (1908–90)
  • Harrison, Tony (1937– )
  • Hart, Lorenz (1895–1943)
  • Hart, Moss (1904–61)
  • Hart, Tony
  • Harwood, Ronald (1934– )
  • Hasenclever, Walter (1890–1940)
  • Hashmi, Safdar (1954–89)
  • hasta
  • Hauptmann, Gerhart (1862–1946)
  • Haussmann, Leander (1959– )
  • Havel, Václav (1936–2011)
  • Havergal, Giles (1938– )
  • Hawtrey, Charles Henry (1858–1923)
  • Hayes, Helen (1900–93)
  • Haymarket, Theatre Royal
  • heavens
  • Hebbel, Christian Friedrich (1813–63)
  • Hecht, Ben (1894–1964)
  • Heijermans, Herman (1864–1924)
  • Hellman, Lillian (1905–84)
  • hell mouth
  • Helpmann, Robert (1909–86)
  • Heminges, John (1556–1630)
  • Henley, Beth (1952– )
  • Henry, Martha (1938– )
  • Henslowe, Philip (c.1555–1616)
  • Herbert, Jocelyn (1917–2003)
  • Herbert, Victor (1859–1924)
  • Herman, Jerry (1933– )
  • Hernández, Luisa Josefina (1928– )
  • Herne, James A. (1839–1901)
  • hero and antihero (heroine)
  • heroic tragedy
  • Heron, Matilda (1830–77)
  • Herrmann, Karl-Ernst (1936– )
  • Hewett, Dorothy (1923–2002)
  • Heyme, Hansgünther (1935– )
  • Heyward, Dorothy (1890–1961) Dubose Heyward (1885–1940) American playwrights.
  • Heywood, John (c.1497–1579)
  • Heywood, Thomas (c.1574–1641)
  • Hibberd, Jack (1940– )
  • Hicks, Edward Seymour (1871–1949)
  • Highway, Tomson (1951– )
  • Hijikata Tatsumi (1928–86)
  • Hijikata Yoshi (1898–1959)
  • Hilar, Karel Hugo (1885–1935)
  • Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
  • Hill, Jenny (1851–96)
  • Hiller, Wendy (1912–2003)
  • hippodrama
  • Hirata Oriza (1962– )
  • Hirsch, John (1930–89)
  • Hirsch, Judd (1935– )
  • Hispanic theatre, USA
  • Hochhuth, Rolf (1931– )
  • Hofmannsthal, Hugo von (1874–1929)
  • Holberg, Ludvig (1684–1754)
  • Holbrook, Hal (1925– )
  • Holcroft, Thomas (1745–1809)
  • Hollingshead, John (1827–1904)
  • Holm, Celeste (1919–2012)
  • Holm, Ian (1931– )
  • Home, William Douglas (1912–92)
  • Hong Sheng (Hung Sheng) (c.1646–1704)
  • Hooft, Pieter Corneliszoon (1581–1647)
  • Hope Theatre
  • Hopkins, Anthony (1937– )
  • Hopkins, Arthur (1878–1950)
  • Hordern, Michael (1911–95)
  • Horniman, Annie E. F. (1860–1937)
  • Horovitz, Israel (1939– )
  • Horváth, Ödön von (1901–38)
  • Hôtel de Bourgogne
  • Houdini, Harry (Ehrich Weiss) (1874–1926)
  • Houghton, Stanley (1881–1913)
  • Houseman, John (1902–88)
  • Housman, Laurence (1865–1959)
  • Houston, Velina Hasu (1957– )
  • Howard, Alan (1937–2015)
  • Howard, Bronson (1842–1908)
  • Howard, Pamela (1939– )
  • Howard, Sidney (1891–1939)
  • Howe, Tina (1937– )
  • Hoyt, Charles (1860–1900)
  • Hrotsvitha of Gandersheim (c.935–973)
  • huajü (hua chü)
  • hubris
  • Hughes, Barnard (1915–2006)
  • Hughes, Holly (1955– )
  • Hughes, Langston (1902–67)
  • Hugo, Victor-Marie (1802–85)
  • Humphries, Barry (1934– )
  • Hunt, Hugh (1911–73)
  • Hunter, Kathryn (1957– )
  • Hunter, N. C. (Norman Charles) (1908–71)
  • Hurston, Zora Neale (1891–1960)
  • Husain, Shaharom (1919–2008)
  • Hussain, Fida (1899–2000)
  • Hussein, Ebrahim (1943– )
  • Hutt, William (1920–2007)
  • Hwang, David Henry (1957– )
  • Hyman, Earle (1926– )
  • Hynes, Garry (1953– )
  • Hytner, Nicholas (1956– )
  • I
  • Ibsen, Henrik (1828–1906)
  • Ichikawa Danjūrō IX (1838–1903)
  • Idris, Yussuf (1927–91)
  • Iffland, August Wilhelm (1759–1814)
  • Ilinsky, Igor (1901–87)
  • illusion
  • imitation
  • Immermann, Karl Leberecht (1796–1840)
  • improvisation
  • Inchbald, Elizabeth (1753–1821)
  • Independent Theatre
  • Inge, William (1913–73)
  • Ingegneri, Angelo (1550–1613)
  • ingénue
  • Inoue Hisashi (1934–2010)
  • interculturalism
  • interlude
  • International Centre for Theatre Research
  • Ionesco, Eugène (1912–94)
  • Irish Literary Theatre
  • Irving, Henry (1838–1905)
  • Irwin, Bill (1950– )
  • Isherwood, Christopher (1904–86)
  • Ivanov, Vsevolod (1895–1963)
  • Izumi Kyōka (1873–1939)
  • J
  • Jackson, Barry (1879–1961)
  • Jackson, Glenda (1936– )
  • Jacobi, Derek (1938– )
  • Jacobs, Sally (Sally Rich) (1932– )
  • James, Henry (1843–1916)
  • Jaques-Dalcroze, Émile (1865–1950)
  • Jardiel Poncela, Enrique (1901–52)
  • Jarry, Alfred (1873–1907)
  • jatra
  • Jefferson family
  • Jefford, Barbara (1930– )
  • Jellicoe, Ann (1927– )
  • Jerrold, Douglas (1803–57)
  • Jessner, Leopold (1878–1945)
  • jig
  • jingju (ching chü)
  • Joaquin, Nick (1917–2004)
  • Jodelet (Julien Bedeau) (c.1600–60)
  • Jodelle, Étienne (1532–73)
  • Joglars, Els
  • Johnson, Bob (1904–85)
  • Johnson, Samuel (1709–84)
  • Johnston, Denis (1901–84)
  • Jolson, Al (1886–1950)
  • Jones, David (1934–2008)
  • Jones, Henry Arthur (1851–1929)
  • Jones, Inigo (1573–1652)
  • Jones, James Earl (1931– )
  • Jones, Joseph S. (1809–77)
  • Jones, LeRoi
  • Jones, Margo (1913–55)
  • Jones, Marie (1951– )
  • Jones, Robert Edmond (1887–1954)
  • Jonson, Ben (1572–1637)
  • Jordan, Dorothy (1761–1816)
  • Jory, Jon (1938– )
  • Jouvet, Louis (1887–1951)
  • Juana Inés de la Cruz, Sor (1651–95)
  • juggler
  • Julia, Raul (1940–94)
  • Juvarra, Filippo (Filippo Juvara) (1678–1736)
  • juvenile theatre
  • K
  • kabuki
  • Kachalov, Vasily (1875–1948)
  • Kahn, Michael (1937– )
  • Kailasam, T. P. (1884–1946)
  • Kainz, Josef (1858–1910)
  • Kaiser, Georg (1878–1945)
  • Kakul, I Nyoman (1905–82)
  • Kalidasa The greatest Sanskrit poet and playwright of India.
  • Kambanellis, Iakovos (1922–2011)
  • Kambar, Chandrasekhar (1938– )
  • kamyŏngŭk
  • Kan’ami (Kannami, Kanze Kiyotsugu) (1333–84)
  • Kander, John (1927– ) Fred Ebb (1932–2004) American composer and lyricist.
  • Kane, Sarah (1971–99)
  • Kanhailal, Heisnam (1942– )
  • Kani, John (1943– )
  • Kanin, Garson (1912–99)
  • Kantor, Tadeusz (1915–90)
  • Kanze Hisao (1925–78)
  • Kapoor, Prithviraj (1906–72)
  • Kaprow, Allan (1927–2006)
  • Karagöz
  • Kara Jūrō (1940– )
  • Karanth, B. V. (1928–2002)
  • Karatygin, Vasily (1802–52)
  • Karnad, Girish (1938– )
  • Kasper (Kasperl, Kasperle)
  • Kataev, Valentin (1897–1986)
  • kathakali
  • Katona, József (1791–1830)
  • Katrakis, Manos (1908–84)
  • Kaufman, George S. (1889–1961)
  • Kawatake Mokuami (1816–93)
  • Kazan, Elia (1909–2003)
  • Kazantsev, Aleksei (1945–2007)
  • Kazantzakis, Nikos (1883–1957)
  • Kean, Charles (1811–68)
  • Kean, Edmund (c.1787–1833)
  • Keane, John B. (1928–2002)
  • kecak (cak)
  • Keene, Laura (1826–73)
  • Keith, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin) (1846–1914)
  • Kellar, Harry (1849–1922)
  • Kelly, Dennis (1968– )
  • Kemble family
  • Kemp, Lindsay (1938– )
  • Kempe, William (d.1603)
  • Kempinski, Tom (1938– )
  • Kendal, Madge (Margaret Robertson) (1848–1935) and William Hunter Kendal (1843–1917) English actors.
  • Kennedy, Adrienne (1931– )
  • Kente, Gibson (1932–2004)
  • Kern, Jerome (1885–1945)
  • Kerr, Walter (1913–96)
  • khon
  • kiak
  • Kidd, Michael (1919–2007)
  • Killigrew, Thomas (1612–83)
  • Kilroy, Thomas (1934– )
  • Kim U-jin (1897–1926)
  • King, Thomas (1730–1805)
  • Kingsley, Sidney (1906–95)
  • King's Men
  • Kinoshita Junji (1914–2006)
  • Kipphardt, Heinar (1922–82)
  • Kirshon, Vladimir (1902–38)
  • Kishida Kunio (1890–1954)
  • kkoktukaksi norŭm
  • Kleist, Heinrich von (1777–1811)
  • Kline, Kevin (1947– )
  • Knipper-Chekhova, Olga (1868–1959)
  • Knowles, James Sheridan (1784–1862)
  • Kokkos, Yannis (1944– )
  • Kokoschka, Oskar (1886–1980)
  • Koltai, Ralph (1926– )
  • Koltès, Bernard-Marie (1948–89)
  • komedya
  • Komisarjevsky, Theodore (Fyodr Komissarzhevsky) (1882–1954)
  • Komissarzhevskaya, Vera (1864–1910)
  • Komparu Zenchiku (Ujinobu) (1405–c.1470)
  • Kong Shangren (K’ung Shang-jen) (1648–1718)
  • König, Michael (1947– )
  • Koonen, Alisa (1899–1974)
  • Kopit, Arthur (1937– )
  • Kornfeld, Paul (1889–1942)
  • Kortner, Fritz (1892–1970)
  • Kott, Jan (1914–2001)
  • Kotzebue, August Friedrich von (1761–1819)
  • Koun, Karolos (1908–87)
  • Krauss, Werner (1884–1959)
  • Krejča, Otomar (1921–2009)
  • krishnattam
  • Kroetz, Franz Xaver (1946– )
  • Ksentini, Rachid (1887–1944)
  • Kubo Sakae (1900–58)
  • Kukolnik, Nestor (1809–68)
  • kunqu (k’un-ch’ü)
  • Kurbas, Aleksandr (Les Kurbas) (1887–1937)
  • Kushner, Tony (1956– )
  • kutiyattam
  • Kyd, Thomas (1558–94)
  • Kyle, Barry (1948– )
  • Kynaston, Edward (1643–1712)
  • kyōgen
  • Kyōka
  • Kyveli (Adrianou) (1887–1978)
  • L
  • Laban, Rudolf (1879–1958)
  • Labiche, Eugène (1815–88)
  • Labou Tansi, Sony (Ntsoni za Buta Marcel) (1947–95)
  • LaBute, Neil (1963– )
  • La Chaussée, Pierre-Claude Nivelle de (1692–1754)
  • Lacy, John (c.1615–81)
  • Ladipo, Duro (1931–78)
  • Lagerkvist, Pär (1891–1974)
  • La Grange (Charles Varlet) (1635–92)
  • Lahr, Bert (1895–1967)
  • Lai, Stan (1954– )
  • lakhon (lakon)
  • La Mama Experimental Theatre Club
  • Lampe, Jutta (1943– )
  • Langham, Michael (1919–2011)
  • Langner, Lawrence
  • Langtry, Lillie (1853–1929)
  • Lansbury, Angela (1925– )
  • Lao She (1899–1966)
  • Larivey, Pierre de (c.1540–1619)
  • L’Arronge, Adolf (Adolf Aronsohn) (1838–1908)
  • La Rue, Danny (Daniel Patrick Carroll) (1927–2009)
  • Laterna Magika
  • Laube, Heinrich (1806–84)
  • Lauder, Harry (1870–1950)
  • laughter
  • Laughton, Charles (1899–1962)
  • Laurents, Arthur (1918–2011)
  • Lavelli, Jorge (1931– )
  • Lawrence, D. H. (David Herbert) (1885–1930)
  • Lawrence, Gertrude (1898–1952)
  • Lawrence, Jerome (1915–2004) Robert E. Lee (1918–94) American playwrights.
  • lazzo (plural: lazzi)
  • LeCompte, Elizabeth (1941– )
  • Lecoq, Jacques (1921–99)
  • Lecouvreur, Mlle (Adrienne Couvreur) (1692–1730)
  • Lee, Canada (Leonard Conegata) (1907–52)
  • Lee, Eugene (1939– )
  • Lee, Hugh (1955– )
  • Lee, Ming Cho (1930– )
  • Lee, Nathaniel (c.1648–1692)
  • Lee, Robert E.
  • Le Gallienne, Eva (1899–1991)
  • legitimate drama
  • legong
  • Leigh, Mike (1943– )
  • Leigh, Vivien (Vivian Mary Hartley) (1913–67)
  • Leighton, Margaret (1922–76)
  • Leivick, H. (Halpern) (1886–1962)
  • Lekain (Henri-Louis Cain) (1729–78)
  • Lemaître, Frédérick (1800–76)
  • Lenaea
  • Leñero, Vicente (1933– )
  • Leno, Dan (1860–1903)
  • Lenya, Lotte (1900–81)
  • Lenz, Jakob Michael Reinhold (1751–92)
  • Leonard, Hugh (1926–2009)
  • Leonov, Leonid (1899–1994)
  • Lepage, Robert (1957– )
  • Lermontov, Mikhail (1814–41)
  • Lerner, Alan Jay (1918–86) and Frederick Loewe (1901–88)
  • Lesage, Alain-René (1668–1747)
  • lesbian theatre
  • Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim (1729–81)
  • Levin, Hanoch (1943–99)
  • Lewes, George Henry (1817–78)
  • Lewis, Robert (1909–97)
  • Liang Chenyu (Liang Ch’en-yü) (1520–c.1593)
  • Libre, Théâtre
  • licensing acts
  • licensing of plays
  • Liera, Oscar (1946–90)
  • lighting
  • Lillie, Beatrice (Lady Robert Peel) (1894–1989)
  • Lillo, George (1693–1739)
  • limelight
  • Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
  • Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre
  • Lindsay, David (c.1486–1555)
  • lines of business
  • Linney, Romulus (1930–2011)
  • Lin Zhaohua (Lin Chao-hua) (1936– )
  • Lipman, Maureen (1946– )
  • Liston, John (1776–1846)
  • Little Theatre movement
  • Littlewood, Joan (1914–2002)
  • liturgical drama
  • living newspaper
  • Living Theatre
  • Li Yu (Li Yü) (1611–c.1680)
  • Lloyd, Marie (Matilda Victoria Wood) (1870–1922)
  • Lloyd Webber, Andrew (1948– )
  • Lochhead, Liz (1947– )
  • Loesser, Frank (1910–69)
  • Loewe, Frederick
  • Logan, Joshua (1908–88)
  • Lonsdale, Frederick (1881–1954)
  • Loos, Anita (c.1893–1981)
  • Lope de Rueda
  • Lope de Vega
  • Loquasto, Santo (1944– )
  • Loraine, Robert (1876–1935)
  • Lorca, Federico García
  • Lord Chamberlain
  • Lourenço, João (1944– )
  • Loutherbourg, Philip James de (1740–1812)
  • Lovelace, Earl (1935– )
  • Lowin, John (c.1576–c.1659)
  • Lucas, Craig (1951– )
  • Lucie, Doug (1953– )
  • Ludlam, Charles (1943–87)
  • ludruk
  • Lugné-Poe, Aurélien-Marie (1869–1940)
  • Lully, Jean-Baptiste (Giovanni Lulli) (1632–87)
  • Lunacharsky, Anatoly (1875–1933)
  • Lunt, Alfred (1892–1977) Lynn Fontanne (1887–1983) American actors.
  • Lupino family
  • LuPone, Patti (1949– )
  • Lyly, John (c.1554–1606)
  • Lyttelton Theatre
  • Lytton, Edward Bulwer, Lord
  • Lyubimov, Yury (1917–2014)
  • M
  • Mabou Mines
  • MacArthur, Charles (1895–1966)
  • McBurney, Simon (1958– )
  • McCann, Donal (1943–99)
  • McCarthy, Lillah (1875–1960)
  • McClendon, Rose (1884–1936)
  • McClintic, Guthrie (1893–1961)
  • McCowen, Alec (1925– )
  • McDonagh, Martin (1971– )
  • McEwan, Geraldine (1932–2015)
  • Macgowan, Kenneth (1888–1963)
  • MacGowran, Jack (1918–73)
  • McGrath, John (1935–2002)
  • McGuinness, Frank (1953– )
  • Machiavelli, Niccolò (1469–1527)
  • MacIntyre, Tom (1935– )
  • MacKaye, Percy (1875–1956)
  • MacKaye, Steele (1842–94)
  • McKellen, Ian (1939– )
  • McKenna, Siobhán (1922–86)
  • McKern, Leo (1920–2002)
  • Mackintosh, Cameron (1946– )
  • Macklin, Charles (1699–1797)
  • MacLíammóir, Micheál (1899–1978)
  • McMahon, Gregan (1874–1941)
  • McMaster, Anew (1891–1962)
  • McNally, Terrence (1939– )
  • McPherson, Conor (1971– )
  • Macready, William Charles (1793–1873)
  • Madách, Imre (1823–64)
  • Madani, Izzedine (1938– )
  • Maddy, Yulisa Amadu (1936–2014)
  • Maeterlinck, Maurice (1862–1949)
  • Maffei, Francesco Scipione (1675–1755)
  • Magaña, Sergio (1924–90)
  • Maggi, Carlos (1922–2015)
  • magic shows
  • Mahelot, Laurent (fl. 1625–40)
  • Mahendravikramavarman (580–630)
  • Maillet, Antonine (1929– )
  • Mairet, Jean (1604–86)
  • Maleczech, Ruth (1939–2013)
  • male impersonation
  • Malina, Judith (1926–2015)
  • Mamet, David (1947– )
  • Mamoulian, Rouben (1898–1987)
  • manager
  • Manaka, Matsemela (1956–98)
  • Manohar, R. S. (1925–2006)
  • Mansfield, Richard (1854–1907)
  • Mantell, Robert B. (1854–1928)
  • Manzoni, Alessandro (1785–1873)
  • Marais, Théâtre du
  • Marber, Patrick (1964– )
  • Marceau, Marcel (1923–2007)
  • March, Fredric (Frederick McIntyre Bickel) (1897–1975)
  • Marchessault, Jovette (1938–2012)
  • Marcos, Plínio (1935–99)
  • Mardzhanov, Konstantin (1872–1933)
  • Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso (1876–1944)
  • marionette
  • Marivaux, Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de (1688–1763)
  • Marlowe, Christopher (1564–93)
  • Marlowe, Julia (1866–1950)
  • Marowitz, Charles (1934–2014)
  • Marqués, René (1919–79)
  • Mars, Mlle (Anne-Françoise-Hippolyte Boutet) (1779–1847)
  • Marshall, Norman (1901–80)
  • Marston, John (1576–1634)
  • Martin, Karl Heinz (1888–1948)
  • Martin, Mary (1913–90)
  • Martinelli family
  • Martínez Sierra, Gregorio (1881–1948)
  • Martin-Harvey, John (1863–1944)
  • Marx Brothers
  • Masefield, John (1878–1967)
  • mask and masking
  • Mason, Bruce (1921–82)
  • Mason, Patrick (1951– )
  • masque
  • Massey, Raymond (1896–1983)
  • Massinger, Philip (1583–1640)
  • Mathews, Charles (1776–1835)
  • Mathews, Charles James (1803–78)
  • Matsui Sumako (1886–1919)
  • Matthison, Edith Wynne (1875–1955)
  • Matura, Mustapha (1939– )
  • Maude, Cyril Francis (1862–1951)
  • Maugham, Somerset (1874–1965)
  • May, Elaine (1932– )
  • Mayakovsky, Vladimir (1893–1930)
  • Mayo, Frank (1839–96)
  • Ma Zhiyuan (Ma Chih-yüan) (1260–1325)
  • Mbowa, Rose (1943–99)
  • Mda, Zakes (1948– )
  • Meckler, Nancy (1941– )
  • medieval theatre in Europe
  • Medwall, Henry (fl. 1495)
  • Mee, Charles L. (1938– )
  • Mei Lanfang (1894–1961)
  • Meilhac, Henri (1831–97) and Ludovic Halévy (1834–1908)
  • Meiningen Players
  • Melo, Jorge Silva (1948– )
  • melodrama
  • mélodrame
  • Menander (c.342–c.291 bc)
  • Mendes, Sam (1965– )
  • Méndez Ballester, Manuel (1909–2002)
  • Meng Jinghui (Meng Ching-hui) (1965– )
  • Mercer, David (1928–80)
  • Merchant, Vivien (Ada Thompson) (1929–82)
  • Mercier, Louis-Sébastien (1740–1814)
  • Mercouri, Melina (1923–94)
  • Merman, Ethel (1909–84)
  • Meron, Hannah (1923–2014)
  • Merrick, David (1912–2000)
  • Mesguich, Daniel (1952– )
  • Messel, Oliver (1904–78)
  • Metastasio (Pietro Trapassi) (1698–1782)
  • metatheatre
  • Method
  • Meyerhold, Vsevolod (1874–1940)
  • Mhlanga, Cont (1958– )
  • Mhlope, Gcina (1958– )
  • Michell, Keith (1926–2015)
  • Mickiewicz, Adam (1798–1855)
  • Middle Comedy
  • Middleton, Thomas (1580–1627)
  • Mielziner, Jo (Joseph) (1901–76)
  • Mihura, Miguel (1905–77)
  • Mikhoels, Solomon (1890–1948)
  • Miller, Arthur (1915–2005)
  • Miller, Jonathan (1934– )
  • Mills, John (1908–2005)
  • mime
  • mimesis
  • Minetti, Bernhard (1905–98)
  • Minks, Wilfried (1930– )
  • minstrel show
  • Mira de Amescua, Antonio (c.1574–1644)
  • Mirii, Ngugi wa (1951–2008)
  • Mirren, Helen (Ilyena Lydia Mironoff) (1946– )
  • mise-en-scène
  • Mishima Yukio (1925–70)
  • Mistinguett (Jeanne-Marie Bourgeois) (1873–1956)
  • Mitchell, Adrian (1932–2008)
  • Mitchell, Julian (1935– )
  • Mitchell, Katie (1964– )
  • Mitra, Dinabandhu (1830–73)
  • Mitra, Sombhu (1915–97)
  • Mlama, Penina (Penina Muhando) (1948– )
  • Mnouchkine, Ariane (1939– )
  • Modena, Gustavo (1803–61)
  • Modjeska, Helena (1840–1909)
  • Moeller, Philip (1880–1958)
  • Moisewitsch, Tanya (1914–2003)
  • Moissi, Alexander (1880–1935)
  • Molander, Olof (1892–1966)
  • Molière (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) (1622–73)
  • Molina, Tirso de
  • Molnár, Ferenc (1878–1952)
  • Moncrieff, Gladys (1892–1976)
  • Moncrieff, William Thomas (1794–1857)
  • Monk, Meredith (1942– )
  • monologue
  • monopoly, theatrical
  • Montdory (Guillaume) (1594–1653/4)
  • Montez, Lola (1818–61)
  • Montfleury (Zacharie Jacob) (c.1600–67)
  • Montgomery, Elizabeth
  • Montherlant, Henry de (1896–1972)
  • Monti, Ricardo (1944– )
  • Montigny, Adolphe (c.1812–1880)
  • Moody, William Vaughn (1869–1910)
  • morality play
  • Moratín, Leandro Fernández de (1760–1828)
  • Moreno, Rita (1931– )
  • moresca
  • Morley, Christopher (1937– )
  • morris dance
  • Mortimer, John Clifford (1923–2009)
  • Morton, Thomas (c.1764–1838)
  • Moscow Art Theatre
  • Mostel, Zero (1915–77)
  • Motley
  • Moulin-Rouge, Bal du
  • Mounet-Sully (Jean Mounet) (1841–1916)
  • Mou Sen (Mou Sēn) (1963– )
  • Mowatt, Anna Cora (1819–70)
  • Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756–91)
  • Mrożek, Sławomir (1930–2013)
  • Mtshali, Thulani (c.1963–2002)
  • mua roi nuoc
  • Müller, Heiner (1929–95)
  • multimedia performance
  • mummers’ play
  • Munday, Anthony (1560–1633)
  • Muni, Paul (1896–1967)
  • Munk, Kaj (1892–1944)
  • Muñoz, Eunice (1928– )
  • Murphy, Arthur (1727–1805)
  • Murphy, Tom (1935– )
  • Murray, Gilbert (1866–1957)
  • Murray, T. C. (Thomas Cornelius) (1873–1959)
  • Murrell, John (1945– )
  • musical play
  • music hall
  • music in the theatre
  • Musset, Alfred de (1810–57)
  • Muthuswamy, Na (1936– )
  • mystery plays
  • N
  • Nakamura Utaemon VI (1917–2001)
  • Namiki Sōsuke (Senryū) (1695–1751)
  • Napier, John (1944– )
  • Nation, Théâtre de la
  • National Theatre of Great Britain (Royal National Theatre)
  • naturalism
  • Natyasastra
  • naumachia
  • nautanki
  • Ndao, Cheik Aliou (1933– )
  • Neher, Caspar (1897–1962)
  • Nekros̆ius, Eimuntas (1952– )
  • Nelson, Richard (1950– )
  • Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vladimir (1858–1943)
  • neoclassicism
  • Nesbitt, Cathleen (1888–1982)
  • Nestroy, Johann Nepomuk (1801–62)
  • Nethersole, Olga (1863/1870–1951)
  • Neuber, Caroline (Weisenborn) (1697–1760)
  • Neville, John (1925–2011)
  • New Comedy
  • Newton, Christopher (1936– )
  • New York Shakespeare Festival/Joseph Papp Public Theatre
  • Ngema, Mbongeni (1955– )
  • Nichols, Mike (1931–2014)
  • Nichols, Peter (1927– )
  • Ninagawa Yukio (1935–2016)
  • nō (noh)
  • Noble, Adrian (1950– )
  • Noda Hideki (1955– )
  • Noer, Arifin C. (1941–c.1996)
  • Nomura Manzō VI (1898–1978)
  • Norman, Marsha (1947– )
  • Norton, Thomas
  • Novello, Ivor (David Ivor Davies) (1893–1951)
  • Novo, Salvador (1904–74)
  • Nowra, Louis (1950– )
  • Ntshona, Winston (1941– )
  • Nuñez, José Gabriel (1937– )
  • Nunn, Trevor (1940– )
  • O
  • Oakley, Annie (1860–1926)
  • Oberammergau
  • Obey, André (1892–1975)
  • Obolensky, Chloe (1942– )
  • O’Brien, Timothy (1929– )
  • O’Casey, Sean (1880–1964)
  • Odéon
  • Odeon
  • Odets, Clifford (1906–63)
  • Odin Teatret
  • Oenslager, Donald (1902–75)
  • Œuvre, Théâtre de l’
  • Off-Broadway
  • Offenbach, Jacques (1819–80)
  • Off-Off-Broadway
  • Ogunde, Hubert (Chief) (1916–90)
  • Ogunyemi, Wale (1939–2001)
  • Oida Yoshi (1933– )
  • O’Keeffe, John (1747–1833)
  • Okhlopkov, Nikolai (1900–67)
  • Okuni (Izumo no Okuni) (fl.1590–1613)
  • Old Comedy
  • Old Vic Theatre
  • Olimpico, Teatro
  • Olivier, Laurence (1907–89)
  • Olivier Theatre
  • O’Neill, Eugene (1888–1953)
  • O’Neill, James (1845–1920)
  • Ong Keng Sen (1963– )
  • onnagata
  • Ōno Kazuo (1906–2010)
  • Ontological Hysteric Theatre
  • Open Theatre
  • opera
  • opéra-comique
  • operetta
  • oppressed, theatre of the
  • origins of theatre
  • Orlik, Emil (1870–1932)
  • Orton, Joe (1933–67)
  • Osanai Kaoru (1881–1928)
  • Osborn, Paul (1901–88)
  • Osborne, John (1929–94)
  • Osofisan, Femi (1946– )
  • Ostermeier, Thomas (1968– )
  • Ostrovsky, Aleksandr (1823–86)
  • O T’ae-sŏk (1940– )
  • Ōta Shōgo (1939–2007)
  • O’Toole, Peter (1932–2013)
  • Otto, Teo (1904–68)
  • Otway, Thomas (1652–85)
  • Ouyang Yuqian (Ou-yang Yü-chien) (1889–1962)
  • Owen, Alun (1925–94)
  • Owens, Rochelle (1936– )
  • P
  • Page, Geraldine (1924–87)
  • Page, Louise (1955– )
  • Pais, Ricardo (1945– )
  • Pak Sŭng-hŭi (1901–64)
  • Palais Royal, Théâtre du
  • Palitzsch, Peter (1918–2004)
  • Palladio, Andrea (1508–80)
  • Pallenberg, Max (1877–1934)
  • Panikkar, Kavalam Narayana (1928–2016)
  • p’ansori
  • pantomime, British
  • Papp, Joseph (1921–91)
  • parades and processions
  • Parker, Stewart (1941–88)
  • Parks, Suzan-Lori (1963– )
  • parody
  • Parsi theatre
  • Pasqual, Lluís (1951– )
  • Passion play
  • Pastor, Tony (1837–1908)
  • pastoral drama
  • patent theatres
  • Pavlovsky, Eduardo (1933–2015)
  • Payne, B. Iden (1881–1976)
  • Payne, John Howard (1791–1852)
  • Peele, George (1558–96)
  • Peking opera
  • Penhall, Joe (1967– )
  • Pennington, Michael (1943– )
  • penny theatres
  • Pepys, Samuel (1633–1703)
  • performance art/art performance
  • Performance Group
  • peripeteia
  • Perlini, Amelio (‘Memé’) (1947– )
  • Perry, João (1940– )
  • perspective
  • Petherbridge, Edward (1936– )
  • Petit-Bourbon, Théâtre du
  • Petrushevskaya, Lyudmila (1938– )
  • Peymann, Claus (1937– )
  • phallus
  • Phelps, Samuel (1804–78)
  • Philipe, Gérard (1922–59)
  • Phillips, Robin (1942–2015)
  • Phillips, Stephen (1864–1915)
  • physical theatre
  • Piaf, Édith (1915–63)
  • Picard, Louis-Benoît (1769–1828)
  • Picasso, Pablo (1881–1973)
  • Piccolo Teatro di Milano
  • Pierrot
  • Pillai G., Shankara (1930–89)
  • Piñera, Virgilio (1912–79)
  • Pinero, Arthur Wing (1855–1934)
  • Pinnock, Winsome (1961– )
  • Pinter, Harold (1930–2008)
  • Pintilie, Lucian (1933– )
  • Pirandello, Luigi (1867–1936)
  • Pirchan, Emil (1884–1957)
  • Pisarev, Aleksandr (1803–28)
  • Piscator, Erwin (1893–1966)
  • Pisemsky, Aleksei (1821–81)
  • Pitoëff, Georges (1884–1939) Ludmilla (1895–1951) Russian-French actor, director, designer; and Russian-French actress.
  • Pix, Mary (1666–1709)
  • Pixérécourt, René-Charles Guilbert de (1773–1844)
  • Planché, J. R. (James Robertson) (1796–1880)
  • Planchon, Roger (1931–2009)
  • Plautus, Titus Maccius (c.254–184 bc)
  • Playfair, Nigel (1874–1934)
  • playhouse
  • Pleasence, Donald (1919–95)
  • Plowright, Joan (1929– )
  • Plummer, Christopher (1929– )
  • Podestá, José Juan (1858–1936)
  • Poel, William (1852–1934)
  • Poisson, Raymond (c.1633–90)
  • Poliakoff, Stephen (1952– )
  • Polish Laboratory Theatre
  • Pollock, Sharon (1936– )
  • Ponnelle, Jean-Pierre (1932–88)
  • Popov, Oleg (1930– )
  • Popova, Lyubov (1889–1924)
  • pornography and performance
  • Porres (Porras), Gaspar de (1550–c.1615)
  • Porter, Cole (1891–1964)
  • Porter, Eric (1928–95)
  • Potter, Dennis (1935–94)
  • Power family
  • Praga, Marco (1862–1929)
  • Prampolini, Enrico (1894–1956)
  • Presnyakov, Vladimir (1974– ) and Oleg (1969– )
  • Préville (Pierre-Louis Dubus) (1721–99)
  • Price, Stephen (1783–1840)
  • Priestley, J. B. (John Boynton) (1894–1975)
  • Prince, Hal (Harold) (1928– )
  • Príncipe, Corral del
  • Pritchard, Hannah (1709–68)
  • private theatres
  • producer
  • prologue
  • promenade performance
  • prompter
  • proscenium
  • protagonist
  • Provincetown Players
  • Prowse, Philip (1937– )
  • Pryce, Jonathan (1947– )
  • Prynne, William (1600–69)
  • Przybyszewska, Stanisława (1901–35)
  • Ptushkina, Nadezhda (1949– )
  • public theatres
  • Puccini, Giacomo (1858–1924)
  • Puigserver, Fabià (1938–91)
  • Punch and Judy
  • puppet theatre
  • Purcărete, Silviu (1950– )
  • Purim play
  • Pushkin, Aleksandr (1799–1837)
  • Py, Olivier (1965– )
  • Q
  • Quayle, Anthony (1913–89)
  • Queen's Men (Queen Elizabeth's Men)
  • Quem Quaeritis trope
  • Quin, James (1693–1766)
  • Quinault, Philippe (1635–88)
  • Quintero, José (1924–99)
  • R
  • Rabe, David (1940– )
  • Rabinal Achi
  • Rachel (Élisa Félix) (1821–58)
  • Rachilde (Marguerite Eymery) (1860–1953)
  • Racine, Jean (1639–99)
  • Radlov, Sergei (1892–1958)
  • Radok, Alfréd (1914–76)
  • Radrigán, Juan (1937– )
  • Radzinsky, Edvard (1936– )
  • Raimund, Ferdinand (1790–1836)
  • Rakesh, Mohan (1929–72)
  • Rakotoson, Michèle (1948– )
  • Rama VI (1880–1925)
  • Rame, Franca (1929–2013)
  • Ram lila
  • Ramly, Lenin El- (1945– )
  • Ramos-Perea, Roberto (1959– )
  • Rana, Juan (Cosme Pérez) (fl. 1622–72)
  • Rand, Sally (1904–79)
  • randai
  • rasa
  • Rascón Banda, Víctor Hugo (1948–2008)
  • ras lila
  • Rattigan, Terence (1911–77)
  • Raucourt, Mlle (Françoise-Marie-Antoinette-Josèphe Saucerotte) (1756–1815)
  • Raupach, Ernst (1784–1852)
  • Ravenhill, Mark (1967– )
  • Ravenscroft, Edward (fl. 1671–97)
  • Razumovskaya, Lyudmila (1946– )
  • Reade, Charles (1814–84)
  • realism and reality
  • Reaney, James (1926–2008)
  • recognition
  • Redgrave, Michael (1908–85)
  • Redgrave, Vanessa (1937– )
  • Rees, Roger (1944–2015)
  • regional repertory theatres, UK
  • regional theatres, USA
  • Regnard, Jean-François (1655–1709)
  • Rehan, Ada (1857–1916)
  • rehearsal
  • Reid, Christina (1942–2015)
  • Reid, Kate (1930–93)
  • Reinhardt, Max (1873–1943)
  • Réjane (Gabrielle Réju) (1856–1920)
  • Renaissance
  • Renaud, Madeleine (1900–94)
  • Rendra, W. S. (1935–2009)
  • Renée (1929– )
  • Rengifo, César (1915–80)
  • repertory playing
  • République, Théâtre de la
  • revenge tragedy
  • reversal
  • revolutionary modern drama (revol-utionary model drama)
  • revue
  • Revuelta, Vicente (1929–2012)
  • Reza, Yasmina (1959– )
  • Rhone, Trevor (1940–2009)
  • Riantiarno, Nano (1949– )
  • Riccoboni family
  • Rice, Elmer (Elmer Reizenstein) (1892–1967)
  • Rice, Thomas D. (1808–60)
  • Rice, Tim (1944– )
  • Rich, Christopher (c.1657–1714)
  • Rich, John (Lun) (1692–1761)
  • Richards, Lloyd (1922–2006)
  • Richardson, Ian (1934–2007)
  • Richardson, Ralph (1902–83)
  • Richardson, Tony (1928–91)
  • Richelieu, Cardinal Armand-Jean du Plessis (1585–1642)
  • Ridiculous Theatrical Company
  • Rigby, Terence (1937–2008)
  • Rigg, Diana (1938– )
  • Rihany, Naguib el- (1892–1949)
  • Ringwood, Gwen Pharis (1910–84)
  • riots
  • Ristori, Adelaide (1822–1906)
  • ritual and theatre
  • Rix, Brian (1924– )
  • RNT
  • Robards, Jason (1922–2000)
  • Robbins, Jerome (1918–98)
  • Robertson, T. W. (Thomas William) (1829–71)
  • Robeson, Paul (1898–1976)
  • Robey, George (George Wade) (1869–1954)
  • Robin Hood play
  • Robins, Elizabeth (1862–1952)
  • Robinson, Bill (‘Bojangles’) (1878–1949)
  • Robinson, Lennox (1886–1958)
  • Robson, Flora (1902–84)
  • Robson, Frederick (1821–64)
  • Rodgers, Richard (1902–79)
  • Rodrigues, Nelson (1912–80)
  • Rodríguez, Jesusa (1955– )
  • Rogers, Will (1879–1935)
  • Rojas, Fernando de (c.1465–c.1541)
  • Rojas Zorrilla, Francisco de (1607–48)
  • Rolland, Romain (1866–1944)
  • Roller, Alfred (1864–1935)
  • Romains, Jules (1885–1972)
  • Roman theatre
  • romanticism
  • Romberg, Sigmund (1887–1951)
  • Romeril, John (1945– )
  • Romero, Mariela (1949– )
  • Ronconi, Luca (1933–2015)
  • Ronfard, Jean-Pierre (1929–2003)
  • Roscius Gallus, Quintus (c.120–62 bc)
  • Rose, Billy (1899–1966)
  • Rosencof, Mauricio (1933– )
  • Rosenthal, Jean (1912–69)
  • Rose Theatre
  • Rossi, Ernesto (1829–1906)
  • Rostand, Edmond (1868–1918)
  • Roswitha
  • Rotimi, Ola (1938–2000)
  • Rotrou, Jean (1609–50)
  • Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1712–78)
  • Roux, Jean-Louis (1923–2013)
  • Rovina, Hanna (1889–1980)
  • Rovner, Eduardo (1942– )
  • Rowe, Nicholas (1674–1718)
  • Rowley, Samuel (c.1575–c.1624)
  • Rowley, William (c.1585–1626)
  • Royal Court Theatre
  • Royal National Theatre
  • Royal Shakespeare Company
  • Royal Shakespeare Theatre
  • royalties
  • Różewicz, Tadeusz (1920–2014)
  • Rozov, Viktor (1913–2004)
  • Rozovsky, Mark (1937– )
  • Rudkin, David (1936– )
  • Rudman, Michael (1939– )
  • Rueda, Lope de (c.1512–1565)
  • Ruganda, John (1941–2007)
  • Ruggeri, Ruggero (1871–1953)
  • Ruiz de Alarcón y Mendoza, Juan (c.1581–1639)
  • Rush, Geoffrey (1951– )
  • Russell, Lillian (1861–1922)
  • Russell, Willy (1947– )
  • Ruzante (c.1495–1542)
  • Rylance, Mark (1960– )
  • S
  • Sacco, Antonio (1708–88)
  • Sackville, Thomas (1536–1608) Thomas Norton (1532–84) English politicians and dramatists.
  • sacra rappresentazione
  • Saddiki, Tayeb (1930–2016)
  • Sadler's Wells Theatre
  • Sadovsky, Prov (1818–72)
  • sainete
  • Saint-Denis, Michel (1897–1971)
  • St Denis, Ruth (1879–1968)
  • saint play
  • Sakata Tōjūrō (1647–1709)
  • Salazar Bondy, Sebastián (1924–65)
  • Salcedo, Hugo (1964– )
  • Salem, Ali (1936–2015)
  • Salle des Machines
  • Salmawy, Mohammed (1945– )
  • Saltykov-Shchedrin, Mikhail (1826–89)
  • Salvini, Tommaso (1829–1915)
  • Salzburg Festival
  • Sánchez, Florencio (1875–1910)
  • Sánchez, Luis Rafael (1936– )
  • Sanchez-Scott, Milcha (1953– )
  • Sanchis Sinisterra, José (1940– )
  • sandiwara
  • Sandow, Eugen (Ernst Friedrich Möller) (1876–1925)
  • Sanger, ‘Lord’ George (1827–1911)
  • sanghyang
  • Sannu, Yacub (1839–1912)
  • Sanskrit theatre and drama
  • Santana, Rodolfo (1944– )
  • Santander, Felipe (1934–2001)
  • Santareno, Bernardo (1957–81)
  • Sardou, Victorien (1831–1908)
  • Saro-Wiwa, Ken (1941–95)
  • Saroyan, William (1908–81)
  • Sartre, Jean-Paul (1905–80)
  • Sastre, Alfonso (1926– )
  • satire
  • Satoh Makoto (1943– )
  • satyr-play
  • Savary, Jérôme (1942–2013)
  • Savits, Jocza (1847–1915)
  • Saxe-Meiningen
  • Scamozzi, Vincenzo (1552–1616)
  • Scaparro, Maurizio (1932– )
  • Scarpetta, Eduardo (1853–1925)
  • Scarron, Paul (1610–60)
  • scenario
  • scenography
  • Schaubühne
  • Schechner, Richard (1934– )
  • Schiaretti, Christian (1955– )
  • Schikaneder, Emanuel (1751–1812)
  • Schiller, Friedrich (1759–1805)
  • Schiller, Leon (1887–1954)
  • Schinkel, Karl Friedrich (1781–1841)
  • Schlegel, August Wilhelm (1767–1845)
  • Schlemmer, Oskar (1888–1943)
  • Schmidhuber de la Mora, Guillermo (1943– )
  • Schneider, Alan (1917–84)
  • Schnitzler, Arthur (1862–1931)
  • Schoenaerts, Julien (1925–2006)
  • Schönberg, Claude-Michel
  • Schouwburg
  • Schröder, Friedrich Ludwig (1744–1816)
  • Schröder, Sophie Charlotte (Ackermann) (1714–93)
  • Schumann, Peter
  • Schwab, Werner (1958–94)
  • Scofield, Paul (1922–2008)
  • Scott, Dennis (1939–91)
  • Scott, George C. (1927–99)
  • Scribe, Augustin-Eugène (1791–1861)
  • Scudéry, Georges de (1601–67)
  • Segal, Zohra (1912–2014)
  • Sellars, Peter (1957– )
  • Semyonova, Ekaterina (1786–1849)
  • Senda Koreya (1904–94)
  • Seneca, Lucius Annaeus (5/4 bc–ad 65)
  • Şerban, Andrei (1943– )
  • Serlio, Sebastiano (1475–1554)
  • Serumaga, Robert (1939–81)
  • Servandoni, Jean-Nicolas (1695–1766)
  • set/setting
  • Settle, Elkanah (1648–1724)
  • Sewell, Stephen (1953– )
  • sex shows and dances
  • Seyler, Athene (1889–1990)
  • shadow-puppet theatre
  • Shadwell, Thomas (c.1642–1692)
  • Shaffer, Peter (1926–2016)
  • Shakespeare, William (1564–1616)
  • Shakespeare Memorial Theatre
  • Shakhovskoy, Prince Aleksandr (1777–1846)
  • Shange, Ntozake (Paulette Williams) (1948– )
  • Sharman, Jim (1945– )
  • Shatrov, Mikhail (Mikhail Marshak) (1932–2010)
  • Shaw, Fiona (1958– )
  • Shaw, George Bernard (1856–1950)
  • Shaw, Glen Byam (1904–86)
  • Shaw Festival
  • Shawn, Wallace (1943– )
  • Shchepkin, Mikhail (1788–1863)
  • Sheldon, Edward (1886–1946)
  • Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1792–1822)
  • Shelving, Paul (1888–1968)
  • Shen Jing (Shen Ching) (1553–1610)
  • Shepard, Sam (1943– )
  • Sher, Antony (1949– )
  • Sheridan, Richard Brinsley (1751–1816)
  • Sherriff, R. C. (Robert Cedric) (1896–1975)
  • Sherwood, Robert E. (1896–1955)
  • Shiels, George (1886–1949)
  • Shimizu Kunio (1936– )
  • shimpa
  • shingeki
  • Shipenko, Aleksei (1961– )
  • Shirley, James (1596–1666)
  • shite
  • Shubert brothers
  • Sichuan opera
  • Siddons, Sarah (1755–1831)
  • Sierra, Gregorio Martínez
  • Sieveking, Alejandro (1935– )
  • Silva, António José da (1705–39)
  • Sim, Alastair (1900–76)
  • Simon, Barney (1933–95)
  • Simon, Neil (1927– )
  • Simonson, Lee (1888–1967)
  • Simov, Viktor (1858–1935)
  • sinakulo
  • Sinden, Donald (1923–2014)
  • Singspiel
  • Sircar, Badal (1925– )
  • Sissle, Noble
  • site-specific performance
  • Sjöberg, Alf (1903–80)
  • Skelton, John (c.1464–1529)
  • skene
  • Skinner, Cornelia Otis (1901–79)
  • Skinner, Otis (1858–1942)
  • Slabolepszy, Paul (1948– )
  • slapstick
  • Slavkin, Viktor (1935–2014)
  • Słowacki, Juliusz (1809–49)
  • Sly, William (fl.1590–1608)
  • Smith, Albert (1816–60)
  • Smith, Anna Deavere (1950– )
  • Smith, Maggie (1934– )
  • Smithson, Harriet Constance (1800–54)
  • Smock Alley Theatre
  • Sobol, Joshua (1939– )
  • socialist realism
  • Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio
  • Sofola, Zulu (1938–95)
  • Soleil, Théâtre du
  • soliloquy
  • Sologub, Fyodor (1863–1927)
  • Solórzano, Carlos (1922–2011)
  • Somigliana, Carlos (1932–87)
  • Sondheim, Stephen (1930– )
  • Sophocles (c.495–406 bc)
  • Sorescu, Marin (1936–96)
  • Sorge, Reinhard Johannes (1892–1916)
  • Sorma, Agnes (1865–1927)
  • Sothern, E. A. (Edward Askew) (1826–81) and E. H. (Edward Hugh) (1859–1933)
  • Southerne, Thomas (1660–1746)
  • Sowande, Bode (1948– )
  • Sowerby, Githa (1876–1970)
  • Soyinka, Wole (1934– )
  • Specht, Kerstin (1956– )
  • spectator
  • Sperr, Martin (1944–2002)
  • Split Britches
  • spoken Chinese theatre
  • sport
  • Spring Willow Society
  • Squarzina, Luigi (1922–2010)
  • Sriranga (Adya Rangacharya) (1904–86)
  • Stafford-Clark, Max (1943– )
  • stage design
  • stage lighting
  • stage manager
  • Stage Society
  • Stanfield, Clarkson (1793–1867)
  • Stanislavsky, Konstantin (1863–1938)
  • Stapleton, Maureen (1925–2006)
  • Steele, Richard (1672–1729)
  • Stein, Gertrude (1874–1946)
  • Stein, Peter (1937– )
  • Stepanova, Varvara (1894–1958)
  • Stephens, Robert (1931–95)
  • Stephens, Simon (1971– )
  • Stephenson, Elie (1944– )
  • Stern, Ernst (1876–1954)
  • Sternheim, Carl (1878–1942)
  • Stevenson, Juliet (1956– )
  • Stewart, Ellen
  • Stewart, Nellie (1858–1931)
  • Stewart, Patrick (1940– )
  • stock character
  • stock company
  • Stoklos, Denise (1950– )
  • Stoppard, Tom (1937– )
  • Storey, David (1933– )
  • storm and stress
  • Stranitzky, Joseph Anton (1676–1726)
  • Strasberg, Lee (1901–82)
  • Stratford Festival
  • Strauss, Botho (1944– )
  • street theatre
  • Strehler, Giorgio (1921–97)
  • Strindberg, August (1849–1912)
  • striptease
  • Strouse, Charles (1928– )
  • Sturm und Drang
  • Sturua, Robert (1938– )
  • Styne, Jule (1905–94)
  • Suassuna, Ariano (1927–2014)
  • subsidy
  • subtext
  • Sudermann, Hermann (1857–1928)
  • Sudraka Ancient Indian playwright of Mricchakatika (The Little Clay Cart).
  • Sukhovo-Kobylin, Aleksandr (1817–1903)
  • Sulerzhitsky, Leopold (1872–1916)
  • Sullivan, Arthur (1842–1900)
  • Sullivan, Barry (1821–91)
  • Sumarokov, Aleksandr (1717–77)
  • Sunarya, Asep Sunander (1953– )
  • Sundari, Jaishanker (1889–1975)
  • Supple, Tim (1962– )
  • surrealism
  • Sutherland, Efua (1927–96)
  • Sütő, András (1927–2006)
  • sutradhara
  • Suzman, Janet (1939– )
  • Suzuki Tadashi (1939– )
  • Svoboda, Josef (1920–2002)
  • Swann, Donald
  • Swan Theatre
  • Swinarski, Konrad (1929–75)
  • symbolism
  • Synge, John Millington (1871–1909)
  • Szajna, Józef (1922–2008)
  • Szyfman, Arnold (1882–1967)
  • T
  • tableau vivant
  • Tabori, George (1914–2007)
  • Tagore, Rabindranath (1861–1941)
  • Tairov, Aleksandr (1885–1950)
  • Takarazuka Revue
  • Takeda Izumo II (1691–1756)
  • Takemoto Gidayū (1651–1714)
  • Talma, François-Joseph (1763–1826)
  • tamasha
  • Tandy, Jessica (1909–94)
  • Tang Xianzu (T’ang Hsien-tsu) (1550–1617)
  • Tanvir, Habib (1929–2009)
  • Tarkington, Booth (1869–1946)
  • Tarlton, Richard (d.1588)
  • Tasso, Torquato (1544–95)
  • Tate, Nahum (1652–1715)
  • Tavira, Luis de (1948– )
  • Taylor, C. P. (Cecil Philip) (1928–81)
  • Taylor, Laurette (Cooney) (1884–1946)
  • Taylor, Tom (1817–80)
  • Taymor, Julie (1952– )
  • Ta’zieh
  • Teirlinck, Herman (1879–1967)
  • Téllez, Fray Gabriel
  • Tempest, Marie (1862–1942)
  • Tendulkar, Vijay (1928–2008)
  • tennis-court theatres
  • Terayama Shūji (1935–83)
  • Terence (Publius Terentius Afer) (195/185–159 bc)
  • Terriss, William (1847–97)
  • Terry, Ellen (1847–1928)
  • Terry, Megan (1932– )
  • Terry family
  • teyyam
  • Thacker, David (1950– )
  • Thalbach, Katharina (1954– )
  • Theatertreffen
  • theatre
  • theatre
  • Theatre, the
  • theatre design
  • Théâtre-Français
  • Theatre Guild
  • theatre-in-education
  • Théâtre National Populaire
  • Theatre Workshop
  • Theatrical Syndicate
  • theatron
  • Theobald, Lewis (1688–1744)
  • Thespis (fl.534 bc)
  • Thiong’o, Ngugi, wa (1938– )
  • Thiyam, Ratan (1948– )
  • Thomas, Augustus (1857–1934)
  • Thomas, Brandon (1856–1914)
  • Thomas, Gerald (1954– )
  • Thompson, Judith (1954– )
  • Thompson, Mervyn (1935–92)
  • Thorndike, Sybil (1882–1976)
  • Throckmorton, Cleon (1897–1965)
  • Tian Han (T’ien Han) (1898–1968)
  • Tieck, Ludwig (1773–1853)
  • Tillemans, Walter (1932– )
  • Tilley, Vesta (Matilda Powles) (1864–1952)
  • Tipton, Jennifer (1937– )
  • Tirso de Molina (Gabriel Téllez) (1579–1648)
  • Toller, Ernst (1893–1939)
  • Tolstoy, Aleksei (Konstantinovich) (1817–75)
  • Tolstoy, Lev (Leo) (1828–1910)
  • Tomashefsky, Boris (c.1866–1939)
  • Tom show
  • topeng
  • Torelli, Giacomo (1608–78)
  • Torres Molina, Susana (1946– )
  • total theatre
  • touring
  • Tourneur, Cyril (c.1575–1626)
  • Tovstonogov, Georgy (1915–89)
  • township musicals
  • toy theatre
  • tragedy
  • tragicomedy
  • Travers, Ben (1886–1980)
  • Treadwell, Sophie (1885–1970)
  • Tree, Ellen (1806–80)
  • Tree, Herbert Beerbohm (1853–1917)
  • Tremblay, Michel (1942– )
  • Trenyov, Konstantin (1876–1945)
  • Tretyakov, Sergei (1892–1939)
  • Triana, José (1931– )
  • Trissino, Gian Giorgio (1478–1550)
  • Trotter, Catherine (Cockburn) (1679–1749)
  • Tsubouchi Shōyō (1859–1935)
  • Tsukiji Little Theatre
  • Tsuruya Nanboku IV (1755–1829)
  • Tsypin, George (1954– )
  • Tucker, Sophie (1884–1966)
  • Tuileries, Théâtre des
  • Tune, Tommy (1939– )
  • Turgenev, Ivan (1818–83)
  • Turlupin (Henri Legrand) (1587–1637)
  • Turrini, Peter (1944– )
  • Tutin, Dorothy (1931–2001)
  • Tyl, Josef Kajetán (1808–56)
  • Tyler, Royall (1757–1826)
  • Tynan, Kenneth (1927–80)
  • U
  • Udall, Nicholas (c.1505–1556)
  • Ukala, Sam (1948– )
  • unities
  • Unity Theatre
  • Unruh, Fritz von (1885–1970)
  • Urban, Joseph (1872–1933)
  • Usigli, Rodolfo (1905–79)
  • Ustinov, Peter (1921–2004)
  • U’Tamsi, Tchicaya (Gérard Félix) (1931–88)
  • V
  • Vaca, Jusepa (fl. 1602–34)
  • Vakhtangov, Evgeny (1883–1922)
  • Valdez, Luis (1940– )
  • Valentin, Karl (1882–1948)
  • Valle-Inclán, Ramón del (1866–1936)
  • Vampilov, Aleksandr (1937–72)
  • van Bridge, Tony (1917–2004)
  • Vanbrugh, John (1664–1726)
  • Van Druten, John (1901–57)
  • Van Itallie, Jean-Claude (1936– )
  • variety
  • Varlamov, Konstantin (1848–1915)
  • Vasari, Giorgio (1511–74)
  • Vasiliev, Anatoly (1942– )
  • vaudeville
  • Vauthier, Jean (1910–92)
  • Vedrenne–Barker seasons
  • Vega (Carpio), Lope de (1562–1635)
  • Vélez de Guevara, Luis (1579–1644)
  • Veranna, Gubbi (1890–1972)
  • Verdi, Giuseppe (1813–1901)
  • Verdon, Gwen (1925–2000)
  • Verfremdung
  • Vestris, Madame (Lucia Elizabeth Bartolozzi) (1797–1856)
  • Viana Filho, Oduvaldo (Vianinha) (1936–74)
  • Vicente, Gil (c.1465–c.1536)
  • vidushaka
  • Viganò, Salvatore (1769–1821)
  • Vigarani family
  • Vigny, Alfred de (1797–1863)
  • Vilalta, Maruxa (1932–2014)
  • Vilar, Jean (1912–71)
  • villain
  • Villegas, Oscar (1943– )
  • Vinaver, Michel (1927– )
  • Vincent, Jean-Pierre (1942– )
  • Visconti, Luchino (1906–76)
  • Vishnevsky, Vsevolod (1900–51)
  • Vitez, Antoine (1930–90)
  • Vitrac, Roger (1899–1952)
  • Viviani, Raffaele (1888–1950)
  • Viviescas, Victor (1958– )
  • Vodanovic, Sergio (1926–2001)
  • Vogel, Paula (1951– )
  • Volkov, Fyodor (1729–63)
  • Volksbühne (people's theatre)
  • Volonakis, Minos (1925–99)
  • Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet) (1694–1778)
  • Vondel, Joost van den (1587–1679)
  • Von Sydow, Max (1929– )
  • voodoo
  • Voss, Gert (1941–2014)
  • Vychodil, Ladislav (1920–2005)
  • Vysotsky, Vladimir (1938–80)
  • W
  • Wagner, Richard (1813–83)
  • Wagner, Robin (1933– )
  • Wagner, Wieland (1917–66)
  • Wahba, Saad Eddin (1923–97)
  • Wajda, Andrzej (1926– )
  • Walcott, Derek (1930– )
  • Walker, George F. (1947– )
  • Wall, Max (1908–90)
  • Wallace, Nellie (1870–1948)
  • Waller, Lewis (1860–1915)
  • Wälterlin, Oskar (1895–1961)
  • Walters, Sam (1939– )
  • Wanamaker, Sam (1919–93)
  • Wang Shifu (Wang Shih-fu) (probably mid- to late-thirteenth century)
  • Wannous, Sadallah (1941–97)
  • Warchus, Matthew (1966– )
  • Ward, Douglas Turner (1930– )
  • Ward, Nick (1962– )
  • Warner, David (1939– )
  • Warner, Deborah (1959– )
  • Warren, Mercy Otis (1728–1814)
  • Warren, William (the Elder) (1762–1832)
  • Washington Square Players
  • Wasserstein, Wendy (1950–2006)
  • Waterhouse, Keith (1929–2009)
  • Waters, Ethel (1896–1977)
  • Waterston, Sam (1940– )
  • wayang kulit
  • Webb, John (1611–72)
  • Webber, Andrew Lloyd
  • Weber, Joseph (1867–1942) and Lew Fields (1867–1941)
  • Webster, Benjamin (1797–1882)
  • Webster, John (c.1580–c.1633)
  • Webster, Margaret (1905–72)
  • Wedekind, Frank (1864–1918)
  • Weigel, Helene (1900–71)
  • Wei Liangfu (fl.1522–73)
  • Weill, Kurt (1900–50)
  • Weimar Court Theatre
  • Wei Minglun (1941– )
  • Weiss, Peter (1916–82)
  • Wekwerth, Manfred (1929–2014)
  • Welfare State International
  • Weller, Michael (1942– )
  • Welles, Orson (1915–85)
  • well-made play (la pièce bien faite)
  • wenming xi
  • Werfel, Franz (1890–1945)
  • Werkteater
  • Wertenbaker, Timberlake (1951– )
  • Wesker, Arnold (1932–2016)
  • West, Mae (1893–1980)
  • West, Timothy (1934– )
  • White, George (1890–1960)
  • White, Patrick (1912–90)
  • Whitehall Banqueting House
  • Whitelaw, Billie (1932–2014)
  • Whiting, John (1917–63)
  • Wignell, Thomas (1753–1803)
  • Wijaya, Putu (1944– )
  • Wilbrandt, Adolf von (1837–1911)
  • Wilde, Oscar (1854–1900)
  • Wilder, Thornton (1897–1975)
  • Wild West shows
  • Wilkinson, Norman (1882–1934)
  • Wilkinson, Tate (1739–1803)
  • Wilks, Robert (c.1665–1732)
  • Williams, Bert (1876–1922)
  • Williams, Clifford (1926–2005)
  • Williams, Emlyn (1905–87)
  • Williams, Harcourt (1880–1957)
  • Williams, Tennessee (Thomas Lanier Williams) (1911–83)
  • Williamson, David (1942– )
  • Williamson, J. C. (James Cassius) (1844–1913)
  • Williamson, Nicol (1938–2011)
  • Wills, W. G. (1828–91)
  • Wilson, August (1945–2005)
  • Wilson, Lanford (1937–2011)
  • Wilson, Robert (fl.1572–1600)
  • Wilson, Robert (1941– )
  • Wilton, Marie (1839–1919)
  • Winge, Stein (1940– )
  • Witkiewicz, Stanisław Ignacy (1885–1939)
  • Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville) (1881–1975)
  • Woffington, Peg (c.1720–60)
  • Wolfe, George C. (1954– )
  • Wolff, Egon (1926– )
  • Wolfit, Donald (1902–68)
  • Wood, Charles (1932– )
  • Wood, John (1930–2011)
  • Wooster Group
  • Worth, Irene (1916–2002)
  • Wright, Garland (1946–98)
  • Wu Hsing-kuo (pinyin, Wu Xingguo) (1953– )
  • wujü (wu chü)
  • Wycherley, William (1641–1715)
  • Wyndham, Charles (1837–1919)
  • Wynn, Ed (Isaiah Edwin Leopold) (1886–1966)
  • Wynyard, Diana (Dorothy Isobel Cox) (1906–64)
  • Wyspiański, Stanisław (1869–1907)
  • X
  • Xenopoulos, Gregorios (1867–1951)
  • Xirgu, Margarita (1888–1969)
  • Y
  • Yacine, Kateb (1929–89)
  • yakshagana
  • Yassin, Mustapha Kamil (1925–2011)
  • Yates, Mary Ann (1728–87)
  • Yeats, William Butler (1865–1939)
  • Yiddish theatre
  • Ying Ruocheng (Ying Jo-ch’eng) (1929–2003)
  • yokthe pwe
  • Yoruba popular theatre
  • Yoshizawa Ayame I (1673–1729)
  • Young, Stark (1886–1963)
  • youth, theatre for
  • Yu Ch’i-jin (1905–74)
  • Yung, Danny (1943– )
  • Yusem, Laura (1939– )
  • Yu Zhenfei (Yü Chen-fei) (1902–93)
  • Z
  • Zacconi, Ermete (1857–1948)
  • Zadek, Peter (1926–2009)
  • zaju (tsa-chü)
  • Zakharov, Mark (1933– )
  • Zaks, Jerry (1946– )
  • Zamyatin, Evgeny (1884–1937)
  • Zanni
  • Zapolska, Gabriela (1857–1921)
  • zarzuela
  • zat pwe
  • Zeami (Kanze Motokiyo) (1363–1443)
  • Zeffirelli, Franco (1923– )
  • Zemach, Nahum (1887–1939)
  • Ziegfeld, Florenz (1869–1932)
  • Zipprodt, Patricia (1925–98)
  • Zola, Émile (1840–1902)
  • Zorin, Leonid (1924– )
  • Zorrilla, José (1817–93)
  • Zuckmayer, Carl (1896–1977)
  • Zweig, Stefan (1881–1942)
  • Timeline
  • Further reading
  • Web resources