The Challenge of World Theatre History

The future of theatre history studies requires consideration of theatre as a global phenomenon. The Challenge of World Theatre History offers the first full-scale argument for abandoning an obsolete and parochial Eurocentric approach to theatre history in favor of a more global perspective. This book exposes the fallacies that reinforce the conventional approach and defends the global perspective against possible objections. It moves beyond the conventional nation-based geography of theatre in favor of a regional geography and develops a new way to demarcate the periods of theatre history. Finally, the book outlines a history that recognizes the often-connected developments in theatre across Eurasia and around the world. It makes the case that world theatre history is necessary not only for itself, but for the powerful comparative and contextual insights it offers to all theatre scholars and students, whatever their special areas of interest.

Steve Tillis is the author of Toward an Aesthetics of the Puppet (1992) and Rethinking Folk Drama (1999), as well as articles on world theatre history published in Theatre History Studies, New Theatre Quarterly, Theatre Survey, Theatre Topics, TDR: The Drama Review, and Asian Theatre Journal. He currently teaches at Saint Mary's College of California, USA.