Encompassing puppetry, mime, street theatre, farce, and melodrama, theatre is an enduring and varied popular art form. From its historical roots in Ancient Greece and Rome, through Medieval Japan and Europe, as well as America and beyond, Marvin Carlson considers how theatre and its different forms have evolved and been experienced, interpreted, and enjoyed over the centuries and up to the present day. This Very Short Introduction also looks at the roles that theatre artists play - from the actor and director to the designer and the theatre owner, and asks what theatre has meant, and still means, to audiences around the world. -- from cover.