'Like the best theatre, this book is fast-moving, accessible, and thoroughly enjoyable.' Antony Sher
'... until Trussler's [book], I do not recall reading a complete history of the theatre in this country which puts everything into context ...Trussler has therefore discovered a gap in the market and well he fills it ... Taken a chapter at a time, the sheer magnitude of Trussler's task, the amount of effort and scholarship he has put into it, becomes evident, not least the careful selection of illustrations ... a considerable work of reference, covering not only the plays, the actors, the styles of playing and the theatres themselves, but the social and political attitudes of each era ...'. Stage
'... an enlightening and enlivening read'. The Times Literary Supplement
'A combination of authoritative writing and superb illustration makes this one hard to beat as an overview.' The National Theatre Magazine
'... this is a history likely to prove both enticing and affordable to the beginner whilst being sufficiently unexpected in many of its conjections to engage the specialist'. Theatre Research International
'In this excellent history of British theatre from Roman drama to contemporary stand-up comedy, Simon Trussler shows that the intrigues, prohibitions and shady entrepreneurship so wittily realised in the film Shakespeare in Love informed every phase of theatre's development ... This is a passionately written work full of drama and incident.' Saturday Extra (Australia)
"Simon Trussler has produced a work whose wit, readability and inclusiveness--and even inventive layout--make it the very model of modern theater history." John Simon, The New York Times Book Review
"...filled with beautiful illustrations, many in color, this sweeping history of British theater could pass as merely a great coffee-table book. Trussler has taken care, however, that his exhaustive, highly readable history be more than mere literary decoration for the pictures, just as he has striven to make his book better than a college-level textbook....Theater enthusiasts of all ages will enjoy his fascinating effort..." Jack Helbig, Booklist
"...until Trussler's [book], I do not recall reading a complete history of the theatre in this country which puts everything into context...Trussler has therefore discovered a gap in the market and well he fills it...Taken a chapter at a time, the sheer magnitude of Trussler's task, the amount of effort and scholarship he has put into it, becomes evident, not least the careful selection of illustrations...a considerable work of reference, covering not only the plays, the actors, the styles of playing and the theatres themselves, but the social and political attitudes of each era..." Stage
