Encyclopedia of Asian Theatre

“Natural disasters, political upheavals, economic chaos, civil strife, and other tragic occurrences often made it difficult for writers working from their home countries to supply material in a timely fashion” writes the editor in his preface. Other difficulties were problems of translation, transliteration, citing names and taxonomy. With 27 countries featured, 323 biographical entries, and a time span from ancient to modern, one has to admire the achievement of editor Leiter, his advisory board, and their 90 plus contributors in this stylish work from Greenwood. There is a wry comment in the preface that “Books in English either partly or...