World of Theatre 2003 Edition

Book excerpt: Edited by Ian Herbert, President of the International Association of Theatre Critics, Secretary of the Drama Section of the Critics' Circle in London, and editor of Theatre Record, the chronicle of the British stage, and Nicole Leclercq, Archives et Musée de la Littérature, Brussels, the World of Theatre is a lavishly illustrated biennial publication providing on-the-spot and authoritative surveys of current theatrical activity from across the globe. The content of the book is as varied as the theatrical situations it describes, from magisterial round-ups by leading critics in Europe to desperate and pitiful reports from the battlefield in war-torn countries. With expanded coverage, this new edition encompasses the three seasons from 1999 to 2002 and contains articles from over seventy countries. The contributors include leading commentators such as Jim O'Quinn, editor of American Theatre, and England's Peter Hepple, the longest serving London theatre critic and a former editor of The Stage. The World of Theatre will be welcomed by theatre scholars as an ongoing revision of another Routledge reference work, the World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre and is essential reading for anyone seeking up-to-date information on the developments in the leading theatre nations as well as those countries whose theatre is little known outside their boundaries.