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During the past quarter of a century, the study of patronage-theatre relations in early modern England has developed considerably. This, however, is an extensive, wide-ranging and representative 2002 study of patronage as it relates to Shakespeare and the theatrical culture of his time. Twelve distinguished theatre historians address such questions as: What important functions did patronage have for the theatre during this period? How, in turn, did the theatre impact and represent patronage? Where do paying spectators and purchasers of printed drama fit into the discussion of patronage? The authors also show how patronage practices changed and developed from the early Tudor period to the years in which Shakespeare was the English theatre's leading artist. This important book will appeal to scholars of Renaissance social history as well as those who focus on Shakespeare and his playwriting contemporaries.
This book is the first to examine early Tudor theatre specifically from the perspective of the great households of England. The aristocrats of the sixteenth century commissioned, funded, and staged complex and often lavish entertainments for their households including plays, masques,concerts, dances, and sports. These thematically and stylistically unified revels, watched by guests and retainers, were designed to swell the social and artistic reputation of the patron and to communicate his ideology - in fact to delight the eye and ear while selectively educating the mind andsoul. Theatre became for the nobleman a means to secure loyalty, a loyalty that both reflected and reinforced his political power. Important both as a collection of primary source documents and for its detailed examination of them, Patrons and Performance first considers the evolution, theatrical talents, duties and privileges, and techniques of retained performers, including Chapel Children and Gentlemen, minstrels,playwrights, and players. It then proceeds to a discussion of the interlude and of how the unique relationship between nobleman and artist affects the play's characters, theme, and structures.
The Children’s Troupes and the Transformation of English Theater 1509–1608 uncovers the role of the children’s companies in transforming perceptions of authorship and publishing, performance, playing spaces, patronage, actor training, and gender politics in the sixteenth century. Jeanne McCarthy challenges entrenched narratives about popular playing in an era of revolutionary changes, revealing the importance of the children’s company tradition’s connection with many early plays, as well as to the spread of literacy, classicism, and literate ideals of drama, plot, textual fidelity, characterization, and acting in a still largely oral popular culture. By addressing developments from the hyper-literate school tradition, and integrating discussion of the children’s troupes into the critical conversation around popular playing practices, McCarthy offers a nuanced account of the play-centered, literary performance tradition that came to define professional theater in this period. Highlighting the significant role of the children’s company tradition in sixteenth-century performance culture, this volume offers a bold new narrative of the emergence of the London theater.
This book surveys the history of Asian American theatre from 1965 to 2005.
Publisher Description
Contains forty original essays.
A Monster with a Thousand Hands makes visible a figure that has been largely overlooked in early modern scholarship on theater and audiences: the discursive spectator, an entity distinct from the actual bodies attending early modern English playhouses. Amy J. Rodgers demonstrates how the English commercial theater's rapid development and prosperity altered the lexicon for describing theatergoers and the processes of engagement that the theater was believed to cultivate. In turn, these changes influenced and produced a cultural projection—the spectator—a figure generated by social practices rather than a faithful recording of those who attended the theater. The early modern discursive spe...
Shakespeare Studies is an international volume published every year in hard cover, containing essays and studies by critics and cultural historians from both hemispheres. It includes substantial reviews of significant books and essays dealing with the cultural history of early modern England, as well as the place of Shakespeare's productions - and those of his contemporaries - within it. Volume XXXII continues the second in a series of essays on Early Modern Drama around the World in which specialists in theatrical traditions from around the globe during the time of Shakespeare discuss the state of scholarly study in their respective areas. O'Hara reviews work relevant to the theater of early modern France. Volume XXXII also includes another in the journal's series of Forums, entitled The Future of Renaissance Manuscript Studies. Organized and introduced by Peter Beal, the Forum includes contributions by Margaret J. M. Ezell, Grace Ioppolo, Harold Love, and Steven W. May. Additionally, this volume contains seven full-length articles and twenty-two book reviews. Leeds Barroll is a Scholar in Residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library,
Analyses the role of drama in English and Scottish court politics during the sixteenth century.
Everyman and Mankind are morality plays which mark the turn of the medieval period to the early modern, with their focus on the individual. Everyman follows a man's journey towards death and his efforts to secure himself a life thereafter, whilst Mankind shows a man battling with temptation and sin, often with great humour. Both texts are modernised here and edited to the highest standards of scholarship, with full on-page commentaries giving the depth of information and insight associated with all Arden editions. The comprehensive, illustrated introduction argues that the plays signal the birth of the early modern consciousness and puts them in their historic and religious contexts. An account is also given of the staging and performance history of the plays and their critical history and significance. With a wealth of helpful and incisive commentary this is the finest edition of the plays available.