Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, University Lecturer in Modern Drama, Faculty of English, University of Oxford

Kirsten E. Shepherd-Barr is Professor of English and Theatre Studies at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Catherine's College. She is the author of Theatre and Evolution from Ibsen to Beckett (Columbia University Press, 2015), Science on Stage: From Doctor Faustus to Copenhagen (Princeton University Press, 2006), and Ibsen and Early Modernist Theatre, 1890-1900 (Greenwood Press, 1997) as well as numerous articles on modern drama.

"Shepherd-Barr manages to survey over a hundred years of Western drama in this pocket-sized book ... Providing a cursory, but considered, overview that introduces the reader to the richness and diversity of the topic in an engaging and readily comprehensible manner. That is no mean feat." - Adrian Curtin, Studies in Theatre and Performance

"an excellent and insightful short introduction to modern drama" - Adrian Curtin, Studies in Theatre and Performance

"Modern Drama: A Very Short Introduction, is something of a marvel. A clear case is made for each of the eras of modern drama while also demonstrating the lasting influence of directors, playwrights, and styles." - Lee Jacobus, Emeritus Prof. of English, UConn, Storrs