When Cocteau once asked Diaghilev what he could do for him in the realm of the theatre, Diahgilev replied ‘Astonish me’. It is this theatre of astonishment that is the focus of John Lahr’s second collection of theatrical essays. Dividing his book into “Pageants”, “Playwrights”, and “Performances”, Lahr writes vividly about Andre Gregory’s “Alice in Wonderland”, Luca Ronconi’s fabulous “Orlando Furioso”, Ariane Mnouchkine’s “1789”. Among the playwrights he analyzes are Neil Simon, Harold Pinter, Joe Orton, John Guare, Same Shepard, and Heathcote Williams. He also celebrates and dissects such varied performers as Comden & Green, Maurice Chevalier, and Muhammad Ali.

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