Greek Tragic Theatre.

'Ambitious in its aims, businesslike in construction, thought-provoking in assertions, the boo addresses an awesomely wide range of issues. In the first half of the book R. discusses aspects of performance that are all the more tricky because they are taken for granted by the ancient writers and theatre-goers themselves and yet are barely intelligible to modern audiences and critics. In the second half he explores the theatrical purpose and effectiveness of four paradigm 'plays'. (.) The scale and range of the book mean that it can bring out in brief space what T.S Eliot calls the 'concrete visual actuality' of these extraordinary productions. It does this with flair. The size and shape of the theatre, dress, props, costings etc. (all controversial issues) are dealt with in a clear brisk manner that is helpful to anyone wishing to grasp the total picture(.). At a more basic level it is nice how succinctly he glosses all those key theatrical words (.). Unexpectedly for a book by a writer on drama the book is at its best where it is most philosophical; weakest where it discusses the plays in performance.' (EVERARD FLINTOFF in The Classical Review (New Series), 1993, pp.434-435).