1930 Paul Robeson and Peggy Ashcroft appear, amongst controversy due to the fact that Paul Robeson is black, in William Shakespeare's "Othello" in London.

1934 Sir John Gielgud plays "Hamlet" in London.

1935 "Porgy And Bess," a musical by George and Ira Gershwin, bursts onto the scene. It is considered an American folk opera and depicts a black community on Catfish Row- the musical score, influenced by jazz, with intricate rhythms and sophisticated lyrics. In this same year, Elia Kazan directs the now famous play, "Waiting For Lefty" by Clifford Odets. This was Odets first play.

1936 Eugene O'Neill receives the Nobel Prize for his dramatic works. Orson Welles directs Shakespeare's "Macbeth" with an all African-American cast.

1937 Tyrone Guthrie directs Laurence Olivier in an uncut version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" at the Old Vic in London.

1938 The French actor, director, and theatre theorist, Antonin Artaud, publishes his revolutionary book "The Theatre and Its Double." Thorton Wilder's "Out Town" wins the Pulitzer Prize for drama.