'Moli're was not just a playwright,' wrote scholar Ethan Mordden. 'Moli're was a thespian, wholly of the theater, and his compositions breach the gulf between literature and performance, between language as its own art and language as a tool of art.' Like Shakespeare, who was an actor first, Moli're

Clever, Dystopic, Excessive, Funny, In-your-face, Ironic, Renaissance theater

In Sophocles' world, the gods have receded. They've already determined (more or less) the fate of human beings and are content to watch from a comfortable distance. Of course, it's unclear exactly what their motives are; it all seems basically arbitrary and cruel. Indeed, the morality of the gods is

Classical, Classical greek, Excessive, Pathos, Sublime, Tense, Tragic, Violent

In 1994 Dennis Potter knew he was going to die. The writer of such television theater masterpieces as "The Singing Detective" and "Pennies from Heaven" had just been diagnosed with untreatable cancer of the liver and pancreas. In a strange move, he agreed to talk with the BBC about his life and immin

Contemplative, Contemporary plays, Dense, Political, Profane, Witty

Ravenhill's "Shopping and Fucking' -- about a rent boy, an ecstasy dealer, and a recovering addict -- soon became "Shopping and...': English productions were forced to euphemize the title. And even in San Francisco, the United States' most tolerant city, the Magic Theater publicized the production as

Anal, Angry, Bright, Contemporary plays, Dystopic, Gay/lesbian theater, Intense, Journalism, Sexy