---

What do we mean by entertainment? How does this concept relate to theatre? Should theatre be for pleasure or instruction? Can it not be both?

In this stimulating book, Jim Davis examines the relationship between theatre and entertainment by assessing audience reception, political theatre and melodrama. He explores definitions of entertainment, arguing that it can be found embedded in all forms of theatre, not just the ´popular´. Davis concludes with a review of contemporary perspectives on the topic and questions the limits of entertainment in theatrical performance.

---

Series preface.- 1. Defining Entertainment.- 2. Cultural Production.- 3. Melodrama.- 4. Music Theatre.- 5. Theatre for Pleasure and Theatre for Instruction.- 6. Politics, Efficacy and Entertainment.- 7. Entertainment and Audiences.- 8. The Limits of Entertainment.- 9. Towards Utopian/Dystopian Notions of Entertainment.- 10. Conclusion.- Further Reading.- Index.

---

Jim Davis is Professor of Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick, UK. He has authored numerous books and articles, among the most recent of which are Comic Acting and Portraiture in Late-Georgian and Regency England (2015) and Victorian Pantomime: A Collection of Critical Essays. He is also joint-author of Reflecting the Audience: London 1840-1880 (with Victor Emeljanow) which was awarded the 2001 Theatre Book Prize.

---