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The Theatre Guide: A Comprehensive A-Z of the World's Best Plays
and Playwrights
By Trevor R Griffiths
424 pages
£19.99 in paperback
A and C Black
Dateline: 30th November, 2003
This book is an absolute must for any playgoer's shelves. As its subtitle
claims, it is a comprehensive A-Z of the world's best plays and playwrights.
It is set out in encyclopaedic form and contains details of over 550
playwrights that Professor Trevor R Griffiths believes are likely to
be seen on the world's stages in the future. While his approach can
be slightly Anglophile, that is forgivable.
For each featured playwright, the reader is given dates of birth and
death, a brief description (e.g. French dramatist), a list of the major
plays, a description that can be anything from a few lines to two-and-half
pages and a section headed "try these".
The last tries to take playwright's major attributes and choose other
similar writers that might give interest to fans. For example, under
Jonathan Harvey the first entry refers readers to Kevin Elyot and Mark
Ravenhill "for different contemporary gay sensibilities".
The main narrative section for each playwright briefly describes them
and then runs through a series of their work often trying to encapsulate
a play's essence in no more than half a dozen words. Not surprisingly,
this can be rather hit-and-miss but on occasions a whole production
can be brought to life in half a sentence.
In earlier editions of the book, there were separate entries for individual
plays and some of those have been included under the relevant author's
section. Typically, these are 100-200 words in length and skilfully
written.
It is inevitable, with such a panoramic book that certain plays are
missed completely and one sometimes imagines that this is simply because
poor Professor Griffiths cannot be expected to have seen or read every
one of the thousands of plays referred to.
The section on Shakespeare is perhaps the best piece in the book. It
covers two and a half pages and is so well-written that those who have
no intention of ever visiting a theatre again in their lives, or of
reading a play, could still probably take this section and bluff their
way through a dinner-party, talking knowledgeably about the Bard.
The value of this book is very great. It can be used when one is about
to visit or has visited a theatre to find out more about the relevant
playwright. Alternatively, it can operate wonderfully as a bedside book
for dipping into in the wee small hours of the night. It is also a useful
education into the playwrights of one's own country let alone those
of far flung places.
One of the great pleasures can be in reading about one person and in
getting kidnapped, either alphabetically or by the cross-referencing,
into a stream of others. It is all too easy to start reading about Arthur
Miller, be dragged into Ibsen and Mamet and half-an-hour later find
oneself reading about Caryl Churchill or Patrick Marber.
It is easy to be critical of books that have cost authors many hours
of blood, toil, sweat and tears. Some of the descriptions of plays can
be a little too terse to be useful while others cannot be found at all.
In addition, the cross-referencing can be a little obscure and occasionally
seems to be included for the sake of it, rather than with any real object
in mind.
It is also grossly unfair but part of the game to pick the most famous
playwrights who have not made it into the top 550. My list includes
Bernard-Marie Koltès, Richard Bean and most surprisingly of all,
Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Despite these very minor criticisms, this book is strongly recommended
and will delight any theatre lover who is lucky enough to find it under
the Christmas tree. If it isn't there, come Boxing Day, it is worth
spending £20 on anyway.
Philip
Fisher
You can buy The
Theatre Guide: A Comprehensive A-Z... from our Bookshop for
£13.99
Articles Indices:
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