Books in the Diaries, Letters and Essays series

Set against the background of his efforts to produce "Tantalus", Michael Kustow here charts a story from the birth of the RSC to work with such pioneers as Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook and Theatre de Complicite. The book presents an urgent case for theatre in our global "wired world".

"List of contemporary plays produced by Piscator between 1919 and 1930": p. 368-369.

Volume one of Edward Bond's notebooks charts the progress of his work, from 1959, when his plays were first produced at the Royal Court Theatre, to 1980, when he had achieved fame as a major writer. As well as commenting on his plays, it also considers his poems and stories.

These letters, most of them translated into English for the first time, tell the inside story of the Moscow Art Theatre, which changed the face of 20th century acting. They include correspondence between such important figures as Stanislavski, Chekhov, Bulgakov, Meyerhold and Isadora Duncan.

This collection of passionate and polemical essays deal with drama, from its origin in the human mind to its use in history and the present. It elucidates on the hidden working of drama behind the state, religion, family, crime and war.

With each section beginning with a short introductory essay summarizing Brecht's thought in the relevant year, this volume contains new translations to extend our image of one of the 20th century's most entertaining and thought-provoking writers on culture, aesthetics and politics.

This is the diary of Brian Cox, in which he describes the emotional and physical problems that came with playing the all-consuming role of King Lear. It also reveals the personal strains of touring, in particular the problems of being separated from his family as he embarks on a year-long tour.

Coward's entire collected verse compiled from published volumes, private letters and diaries and edited with a contextualising narrative by Coward expert Barry Day.

Brecht's "Work Journals" cover the period from 1938 to 1955, the years of exile and his return to East Berlin. The accounts of his writing practice provide insight into the creation of his dramatic works, the development of his political thinking and his theories about epic theatre.

Sara Hudston collects a range of plays, literature and writings about private and public theatrical spectacles during the Victorian era to show how British theatre had, by the 1890s, reached out to the widest audience possible.

'A uniquely charming and enticing journey through a remarkable life.' Stephen Fry With virtually all the letters in this volume previously unpublished - this is a revealing new insight into the private life of a legendary figure.