Theater: Theater History

A vast resource with many deep links.

Photos of Greek and Roman theatres, bibliography, glossary and seating capacities.

A collaborative project, with some areas available only to members. Free sign-up. Very interesting!

Based at Oxford University, this is a brilliant site, chronicling performances from earliest times to the present day.

An ejournal covering all aspects of performances of ancient Greek and Roman drama.

A repository of documents dating from the Middle Ages through 1642, relating to theatre, secular music and other forms of secular entertainment. Searchable by people, primary and secondary sources.

The world's largest collection of the printed works of Shakespeare as well as a repository of materials from the early modern period. Podcasts, excerpts from audio recordings of select plays, interactive resources and the ability to virtually meet with a referece library are all available.

Studies of stage texts used in different performances of Shakespeare's plays.

Registration is free to this collaborative resource, which contains not only a searchable database, but a vast collection of images. A great resource for information about French theater, opera, ballet and divertissements during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

A video overview of an 18th century theater still in use, with its original stage machinery.

A wonderful scholarly resource for historical research, with the inception of this theater in 1668. In French only.

A diverse array of well-researched scholarly articles on a variety of topics.

Covers the period between the 1890's and 1930's, including Chekov, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and the entire theatrical milieu. Extensive entries for visual art, directors, designers, plays and many additional resources.

Very helpful and expansive site containing chronologies, glossaries and more.

Timelines, Sounds of Kabuki and some online performances. English translation of the original site.

Connects different art archives and their digital databases. Widely diverse information (basic data, texts, images) on individuals, groups and institutions as well as details about exhibitions and literature.

Art/not art, performance art, people, exhibitions, films and links to a myriad of fluxus-related resources.

The world’s principal organization for live art is a knowledge, production, publication and research center. Free access to a wide variety of films and videos.

Interdisciplinary discourse within the arts. Excellent essays and performance arts pieces.

Film and video, dance and much more. “All avant-garde. All the time.”

Official Broadway database, with historical records of productions.

Excellent resource for all matters filmic

A vast array of resources in theater, dance and music.

Excellent resource for reviews, ads and essays Fully digitized copies from 1836-1922, and a complete US newspaper directory from 1690- the present, with links for finding specific publications.

Lists of videotapes from a broad variety of collections at the LOC, dating from the mid-19th century.

Online catalog of a vast number of images, including posters, many of which can be downloaded.

Over 600 photos of actors and performers from the mid to late nineteenth century.

At homepage, click on "Resources and Links" for good resources and excellent profiles.

19th century posters, playbills, programs and much more.

Entries for plays and playwrights. Searchable by title. People listed alphabetically.

Lists of playwrights, bibliographies, links and more. Not very current, but this could be useful.