Students embarking on the discipline of theatre studies at the beginning of the twenty-first century are confronted by a wealth of perspectives that the founders of the discipline at the beginning of the twentieth century could have scarcely imagined. They will find themselves situated in an academic discipline that is unique in a number of ways. Firstly, it links practice and theory in a manner that is still unusual within university study but which is slowly becoming a model for other subjects. Secondly, it offers a choice of perspectives and emphases ranging from the historical to the philosophical, from the purely aesthetic to the explicitly political. Thirdly, the student will find a subject that is by definition comparative and international in outlook.

The potential flipside of such variety is of course disorientation and lack of focus. Because the discipline of theatre studies has developed in so many different directions, it is often difficult to orientate oneself and situate what one is actually studying within the ‘wider picture’. It is the aim of this introduction to provide an initial orientation. It is structured in such a way that will be of interest to students at different levels of study, both undergraduate and graduate. It seeks to provide information and answers to questions that may be posed at various stages of university study.