Globalization of Theatre 1870–1930

Christopher B. Balme holds the chair in theatre studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munchen. His books include The Theatrical Public Sphere (Cambridge, 2014) and he is a senior co-editor of the six-volume Cultural History of Theatre (2017). He is principal investigator of the ERC project 'Developing Theatre'.

• Introduction; 1. Family networks; 2. Mobile enterprises; 3. The micropolitics of locality; 4. Repertoires and publics; 5. Transported actors; 6. Contested contracts; 7. Infrastructure: from theatre to cinema; 8. Legacies.

'The theatrical enterprises of Maurice E. Bandmann played, at the start of the twentieth century, a highly significant role in promoting Western plays, musical comedies and revues throughout Asia, but they have been hitherto overlooked by historians. Christopher B. Balme has, through ingenious and thorough research, reconstituted the manifold activities of this pioneering manager. More importantly, he has situated them as a hub from which to explore such matters as global networks, transnational commerce, intercultural relations, playhouse architecture, and the diffusion of taste. His enquiries open out into thought-provoking analyses that stretch far beyond theatre itself. The result is an engrossing and intellectually stimulating study which is bound to open up new directions in theatre scholarship, much as Bandmann blazed trails in India and the Far East.' Laurence Senelick, Fletcher Professor of Drama and Oratory, Tufts University