This Companion is designed for readers interested in the creation, production and interpretation of Victorian and Edwardian theater. An introduction surveying the historical period of the theater is followed by an essay contextualizing it within the culture as a whole. Succeeding chapters examine performance and production, (including music, actors, stagecraft and audience), plays and playwriting and issues of class and gender. Types of performances (such as comedy, farce, melodrama) and the economics of the theater are also analyzed.