Theatre critic and presenter, Michael Billington has made a personal selection taken from the "Dictionary of National Biography" of over 100 mini-biographies spanning a wide spectrum of people who have played some part in shaping the culture of the worlds of stage and screen in Britain. As Michael Billington details in his introduction, the choice of entries has been based partly on the subject of the entry and partly on the individual biographer and their own insight into the life of the subject. The biographies include actors, critics, entertainers, directors and pioneers in film and theatre.