In most parts of the world, since the spread of television, there has been a scale and intensity of dramatic performance which is without precedent in the history of human culture. Many though not all societies have a long history of dramatic performance of some kind; but characteristically, in most societies, it has been occasional or seasonal. In the last few centuries regular performances have been available in large cities and resorts. But there has never been a time, until the last fifty years, when a majority of any population had regular and constant access to drama, and used this access. . . . [I]t seems probable that in societies like Britain and the United States more drama is watched in a week or weekend, by the majority of viewers, than would have been watched in a year or in some cases a lifetime in any previous historical period.