General Advice

• Warwick Library has reasonably good holdings on modern theatre: be inventive when looking up keywords and using the search engines on OPAC. To find original reviews, look out for Casebooks (e.g. Harold Pinter: The Birthday Party [etc.]: A Casebook), and the File on [playwright's surname] series (e.g. File on Osborne or File on Churchill).
• Don’t be afraid to think laterally – look out for works such as memoirs by critics such as Kenneth Tynan and Harold Hobson, directors such as George Devine, Joan Littlewood and Peter Hall, actors such as Laurence Olivier (who acted in a lot of John Osborne), and of course, the non-fiction by the playwrights themselves.
• Use the internet (carefully) - make sure that you know where all the material has come from and that it is accurate and reliable.
• Be careful never to quote or borrow detailed ideas without referencing them or acknowledging your sources.

Theatre Periodicals

Using articles

This is an extremely valuable thing to do, and to learn how to do. You’re skilled at using the internet. Get to grips with the databases on the library webpages too.

Using articles to do your research is a great way of

A) finding a concise version of the argument/ideas that the author has probably expanded, not always usefully, into book form elsewhere.

B) Getting hold of criticism when books are in short supply

C) Finding hidden critical treasures

D) Impressing your tutors.

E) Feeling as though you’re doing real research…  

F) Looking important in the library.

How to look for articles

Go to the Electronic Resources link on the main Warwick Library webpage.

Then go to Databases

Then go to Arts

Then go to MLA. 

Type your Keywords (or whatever) into the search engine.

[At the MLA search engine, there is also the choice to go to other databases. You can also try ‘ArticleFirst’ or – for books – ‘WorldCat’]

Fascinating as it would be, you probably won’t have time to browse among many of the periodicals below, but if you find references to articles on theatre, this list will give you some idea of whether or not we have the journal (though do check as it’s not absolutely exhaustive). Those in bold are particularly important and likely to come up.

Journals we have:

In Arts Periodicals section:

Assaph: Studies in the Theatre

L’Avant-scène: Théâtre (French journal (in case you hadn’t noticed))

British Theatre Directory (useful reference work)

Comparative Drama (good on foreign theatre)

Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television

Dance Theatre Journal

Drama magazine (only a few issues; 1990s)

Drama broadsheet

Drama (only a few issues; 1990s)

Drama review (New York)

Essays in Theatre

Gambit: International Theatre Review

International Theatre Annual (1950s)

London Drama (a few issues; 1980s)

London Theatre Record (1980s)

Modern Drama

Modern International Drama

New Theatre Magazine

New Theatre Quarterly

Performing Arts Resources (practical info re. the performing arts world)

Theater (US-based journal)

Theatre Annual (1940s and 1950s)

Theatre Arts

Theatre Forum (international theatre)

Theatre History Studies

Theatre Journal

Theatre Notebook

Theatre Quarterly

Theatre Research

Theatre Research International

Theatre Record (reviews of very recent theatre)

Theatre Studies

Theatre Survey (sporadic issues)

Theatre World

Themes in Drama

Tulane Drama Review

Women and Theatre Newsletter (1989-90)

In the Social Science Periodicals section:

[Journals that relate drama to education, or discuss the teaching of drama – specialized educational journals:]

2d: Drama, Dance

Research in drama education

Teaching Drama

Theatre and Education Journal