«Emotions are the staple ingredient of Theatre and Performance, but our understanding of them has been notably elastic, if not contradictory, over the years. Peta Tait’s deeply scholarly survey of this complex field does all of us wanting to practice and teach the art of emotion a huge favour. Deftly chosen and lively case studies, from Aristotle to Abramovic, bring clarity and definition to emotion studies and paint a vivid picture of how the shifting sands of mood, feeling and affect have settled on the world stage in such different, eye-catching patterns.»

Jonathan Pitches, Head of School of Performance and Cultural Industries, University of Leeds, UK

«Tait leads us through a history of emotions in performance, introducing the key ideas and figures in classical, modern and contemporary theatre and showing how the emotions work in a stunning array of case studies spanning the classics, modern drama, commercial musicals and contemporary performance. Erudite and informative, the focus on emotion, feeling, affect and mood in this book is timely and precisely detailed in the many references to scholarly and artistic perspectives. The concluding observations on the nature of intensity are highly relevant and helpful to understanding theatre in our time. Tait’s deep knowledge of theories of emotion in western theatre and performance is unmatched among scholars in the field.»

Peter Eckersall, Professor of Theatre and Performance, The Graduate Center, City University of New Y