Adolphe Appia: Artist and Visionary of the Modern Theatre (Contemporary Theatre Studies)

The Swiss theatre designer and theorist Adolphe Appia (1862-1928) has long been acclaimed in Europe as the most important innovator in the concept and use of stage lighting. Many of his ideas were extremely advanced for his time and have now been widely accepted and put into practice. Yet much of his important theoretical work has been difficult to obtain in English. This account, analysis and critical evaluation of the work of Appia demonstrates how his far-sighted imagination also embraced the fundamental reform of scenic design, the use of theatrical space, and a greatly expanded conception of the nature and possibilities of theatrical art.