This title was first published in 2003. Burlesque was one of the most reviled - and most appealing - types of theatrical performance in the Victorian age. Wildly popular in their own day, burlesque plays are now little read, scarcely studied, and never performed. Yet, as the author here shows, burlesques are a distinctive form of metatheatrical criticism-plays about plays-and thus offer us a unique opportunity to understand how drama changes over time. This critical edition is the first to focus exclusively on Victorian burlesques of Victorian plays. Victorian Theatrical Burlesques provides a general overview of theatrical burlesques in the period, emphasizing performance history. Sustained reference is made to burlesques other than those presented in the anthology. The volume also includes prefaces to each of the plays, fully annotated scripts, illustrations of burlesque performances, a checklist of burlesque plays, and a bibliography.