This is the online presence of the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama (APGRD), an inter-disciplinary research project at the University of Oxford which is aimed at establishing the international history of the production and reception of classical plays from the Renaissance to the present day, and to trace all extant evidence for performance and re-performance of plays within antiquity. The purpose of the APGRD is both to serve as a repository of physical materials relating to the stage history of the works in performance (such as playbills, programmes, reviews, drawings, photographs and audio-visual recordings) and to compile a comprehensive production history of ancient drama on the modern stage (revivals and adaptations on stage and film, and in opera and dance). Users may register to search the online APGRD Database of more than 9,000 productions of Greek and Roman drama on the modern stage, plus bibliographical sources for them. Playwrights whose works feature are Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Menander, Plautus, Terence, and Seneca. This site provides information about the project, its events (including seminars, conferences and colloquia) and publications, as well as links to further research resources and listings of current and forthcoming productions of ancient drama. Links to relevant online resources include those for the reception of ancient drama, Classics in general and theatre studies. Funding is received from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
http://www.apgrd.ox.ac.uk/

This website was created to accompany an undergraduate course on the history of drama, taught at Emory University. At the time of review, much of the site was still under construction, although the sections on Greek and Roman theatre were largely complete. Further sections will cover the medieval, Renaissance, and neoclassical periods. Each section is divided into four parts, dealing respectively with: plays and playwrights; art and architecture; literary criticism; and 'life and times' (timelines and background materials). The 'plays and playwrights' sections give a brief overview of the kinds of drama performed during the period, summaries of the achievements of important playwrights, and short lists of their plays. The 'art and architecture' sections provide graphical illustrations of theatre design and costumes. The 'literary criticism' sections contain primary texts (in translation) of key works relating to drama theory. These include selections from: Aristotle's 'Poetics'; Plato's 'Republic' and 'Ion'; Horace's 'Ars Poetica'; and Sir Philip Sidney's 'Defence of Poetry'. The Renaissance section includes a few additional historical documents relating to public attitudes towards the theatre. This resource is intended as an undergraduate introduction to drama and theatre history, and is unlikely to be of interest to more advanced researchers. Once it has been fleshed out a little more it should be a useful addition to the Web.
http://www.english.emory.edu/DRAMA/HistDrama1.html

"The History of the Theatre" by Oskar Brockett and Franklin Hildy traces the course of dramatic performance from its origins, through European theatre of the Middle Ages, to the dramas of Europe and America in the modern period. It also includes chapters on Asian and African theatre. This website is a companion to this important book, and has a twofold aim. Firstly, to provide updates to the text, and secondly to deploy new technology to develop new approaches to the study of the theatre.

The website is of principal value for its list of links, organised chapter by chapter. These provide a much-needed and useful resource for a prospective student. Although not intended to be comprehensive, a wide range of websites are included, ranging from large academic projects, such as Perseus and the University of Virginia's Electronic Text Center to individual pages of scholars and tutors. The authors also welcome suggested links from interested users.

The website accompanies the eighth edition and updates to the text are limited; additions and corrections were last made in February 1999. However, the book is now in its ninth edition, and a companion website introduces the alterations (mainly the reorganisation of chapters) and has an appendix on the nature of theatre history that is omitted from the text. On account of its recent publication, there are no updates or bibliographic additions.
http://www.abacon.com/brockett/

The website TheatreHistory.com features information about a wide range of theatrical traditions in Europe, North America and Asia. The site offers an index of topics relating to the theatre history of different cultures. There are resources on Irish theatre, British theatre, Russian theatre, Spanish theatre and many more. There is a good cross-section of information about contemporary theatre, as well as pages devoted to ancient Greek and Roman and medieval theatre. There is also general information about the origins and development of the theatre. Under each topic, users can access information on playwrights and dramatic practice. Topics include biographies of key figures in the history of drama, synopses of plays and contextual studies about relationships between drama and society. Links are well-annotated so that information is easy to locate. The site also offers an online script archive. This is not fully comprehensive but there is a variety of full-length plays, one-act plays, short plays and monologues. The archive would be helpful for drama teachers looking for performance pieces. The site has an excellent range of resources and would be of use to those studying almost any dramatic tradition.
http://www.theatrehistory.com/