There were several predecessors to Genest in documenting the history of the theatre in Britain, some more reliable than others, and Genest's work shows a detailed knowledge of their assertions. "Some Account of the English Stage... is a remarkable achievement, not only by virtue of its length and detail, but because it has shown itself in the course of time to be remarkably accurate.
A seminal resource for scholars and researchers of the period covered, it deals with the subject from a number of aspects. The core of the study is a series of substantial listings of productions at major theatres in London, Bristol, Bath, and York, including dates, principal actors and such details as the last occasion on which the play had been produced and whether this was the first attempt of a given actor in the role concerned. There is also a useful section on theatre in Scotland and references to the production of foreign plays, including Greek tragedy.
In addition to a substantial index, the author supplies outlines of the careers of selected playwrights and critics, ranging from John Dryden and Thomas Shadwell to Jeremy Collier, William Prynne, Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Lord Byron, in relation to their major works. The overall frame of reference from which he compiled his study is impressively broad.