The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance
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.
This book is found in the following Credo Collections:
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