With a focus on the canonical institutions of Shakespeare and Chekhov, John Tulloch brings together for the first time new concepts of "e;the theatrical event"e; with live audience analysis. Using mainstream theatre productions from across the globe that were highly successful according to both critics and audiences, this book of case studies-ethnographies of production and reception-offers a combined cultural and media studies approach to analyzing theatre history, production, and audience.Tulloch positions these concepts and methodologies within a broader current theatrical debate between postmodernity and risk modernity. He also describes the continuing history of Shakespeare and Chekhov as a series of stories "e;currently and locally told"e; in the context of a blurring of academic genres that frames the two writers. Drawn from research conducted over nearly a decade in Australia, Britain, and the U.S., Shakespeare and Chekhov in Production and Reception will be of interest to students and scholars of theatre studies, media studies, and audience research.