The Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary is the first of its kind, a brand new illustrated alphabetical dictionary of all the words and meanings students of Shakespeare need to know. Usage notes and theatre notes provide additional background to Shakespearean times and the performance of his plays. Further support is provided by language panels on select topics like the humors, swearing, and stage directions, and full-color illustrated thematic spreads on special feature topics from clothes and armor to music and recreation.

First published in 1984, Gerald Bordman's Oxford Companion to American Theatre is the standard one-volume source on our national theatre. The volume includes playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famous playhouses, dramatic movements, and much more. many commercially successful plays (such as Getting Gertie's Garter), plus entries on foreign figures that have influenced our dramatic development (from Shakespeare to Beckett and Pinter). New entries include recent plays such as Angels in America and Six Degrees of Separation, performers such as Eric Bogosian and Bill Irwin, playwrights like David Henry Hwang and Wendy Wasserstein, and relevant developments and issues including AIDS in American theatre, theatrical producing by Disney, and the rise in solo performance.

The Encyclopedia's inclusive approach encompasses opera and film, dance and radio, and para-theatrical, non-dramatic performances including circuses and carnivals, and parades and public executions--providing truly extensive coverage from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe. The Encyclopedia pays special attention to non-Western styles through articles on theatre and performance throughout the many countries and traditions of Asia and Africa. Numerous biographical entries cover the lives and work of major figures: actors, playwrights, directors, designer, company managers, and critics. Race and theatre, the nature of acting, censorship, safety, special effects, and media and performance are all debated.