Before the curtain rises, the record matters. James Barker's The drama recorded turns two centuries of English theatre into a navigable map. Find any play in seconds. Part english plays bibliography, part theatre reference catalogue, this volume arranges play titles and authors alphabetically, showing at a glance the date, size, and known alterations of each work from the earliest period through english drama to 1814. It is the kind of chronological drama directory you reach for when a name is half-remembered, when a title has changed, or when you want to see how a piece travelled across stages and generations. It rewards quiet evenings of browsing as much as urgent fact-checking before rehearsal. Added to the list is Notitia Dramatica: a brisk theatrical events chronology that anchors texts to the lived world of managers, premieres, and the shifting fortunes of British stage history, with particular value for georgian era theatre and early modern theatre studies. For the casual browser, it is a pleasure of discovery; for the serious reader, an indispensable dramaturgy research tool and a dependable library reference for drama. Collectors of reference books will appreciate its period voice and orderly ambition, a snapshot of how Britain remembered its theatre. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Keep it close, and the British drama catalogue collection opens like a well-labelled archive.