FRONTIER THEATRE: A HISTORY OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY THEATRICAL ENTERTAINMENT IN THE CANADIAN FAR WEST AND ALASKA Chad Evans. Victoria, Sono Nis Press, c1983. 326pp, cloth, $16.95. ISBN 0-919203-24-8. Post-Secondary. Reviewed by David C. S. Robertson. Volume 11 Number 4. 1983 July. Chad Evans, author of Frontier Theatre, holds an MA in drama from the University of Toronto. Subsequent to his graduate degree, he worked as a heritage consultant for the Province. He has published short works in government publications, magazines, and scholarly journals. Evan's intention in writing this history seems to have been to make some sense of the theatrical enterprise extant just before the turn of the cejitury in British Columbia. Rather predictably, the going is somewhat heavy since the material he has to work with is drawn largely from mining town newspapers. Given that he has to deal with small town editorial moralizings and biases, he does a remarkable job of drawing out inferences as to the relative development or decline of theatrical taste and sophistication of early British Columbia communities and audiences. However, he demonstrates a definite bias toward "legitimate" theatre, which he never quite defines. The organization of the subject by town or area is cumbersome, tedious, and repetitious, and one does not hope to come away with a clear concept of frontier theatre but rather a feel for the ambience of the period. Fortunately, there is an eight-and-a-half page bibliography to support his book and some very interesting photographs and poster examples to enliven the presentation. David C. S. Robertson, Vernon S. S. S., Vernon, BC.