LibGuides: English Literature: Drama

Searching Strategies

When searching for dramatic criticism, there are a few key strategies to keep in mind.

If you're looking for criticism of a specific performance:

Look for specific actors, directors, and theaters.
Remember to account for spelling variations, especially with foriegn names.

If you're looking for criticism of a written work:

Look for specific authors, publishers, and titles.
Remember to look for related works by the same author, as sometimes works can be compiled and judged together.

Drama Resources

The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama by Gabrielle H. Cody (Editor); Evert Sprinchorn (Editor)
Call Number: [Reference] PN1861 .C65 2007

ISBN: 9780231140324

Publication Date: 2007-07-03
Supplement III to the Second Edition by Floyd E. Eddleman (Editor)
Call Number: [Ref] PS332 .E33 1979 Suppl.3

ISBN: 0208022708

Publication Date: 1992-06-01

This third supplement (second was 1989) to the second edition (1979) of American drama criticism lists references to American plays published in books, periodicals, and monographs through 1990. This supplement is longer than the earlier ones, although it covers fewer years, mainly because of the app
A Companion to Modern British and Irish Drama, 1880-2005 by Mary Luckhurst (Editor)
Call Number: PR736 .C575 2006

ISBN: 9781405122283

Publication Date: 2006-10-16

This wide-ranging Companion to Modern British and Irish Drama offers challenging analyses of a range of plays in their political contexts. It explores the cultural, social, economic and institutional agendas that readers need to engage with in order to appreciate modern theatre in all its complexity. An authoritative guide to modern British and Irish drama. Engages with theoretical discourses challenging a canon that has privileged London as well as white English males and realism. Topics covered include: national, regional and fringe theatres; post-colonial stages and multiculturalism; feminist and queer theatres; sex and consumerism; technology and globalisation; representations of war, terrorism, and trauma.