Stage Directions: How Much Of Them Should Playwrights Include?

Ibsen and Shaw included lots of them; Eugene O’Neill wrote so many that they’ve been made into a play by themselves. Sinmon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), on the other hand, says his play couldn’t have become what it is if he had written out how he thought it should look and sound. Lyn Gardner considers the issue.