The play: a manual offers a comprehensive framework for dramatic analysis, addressing the unique challenges of examining texts intended for performance. This scholarly guide explores how performance orientation influences key dramatic elements including characterization, temporality, spatial dynamics, dialogue, stage directions, and structural composition. Written in an accessible style, it serves as an essential resource for both educators and students, providing foundational drama theory alongside practical analytical methodologies. Theoretical concepts are consistently illuminated through examples drawn from over thirty prominent English South African dramatic works, ensuring theoretical principles are grounded in recognizable contexts.