'Could be read with profit and pleasure by any theatregoer.' -Steven Poole, The Guardian'A good basic introduction for first year students to problems of reading plays as performance texts, i.e. reading theatrically.' -Professor R. A. Cave, Royal HollowayA compact, wide-ranging, and accessible guide to reading plays, The Drama Handbook stresses the importance of understanding performance conventions and production processes through history, and offers clearly defined and presented critical vocabularies.