The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theatre

Edited by Richard Dutton

Oxford Handbooks

An indispensable reference for the study of Early Modern Theatre
Thirty-five specially written contributions by an international team of experts providing the most advanced scholarship in each area
Unusually, contains essays on theatre history methodology, questioning the field and how scholars handle it
Includes numerous illustrations, gathering most of the key visual evidence in one place

The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theatre

Edited by Richard Dutton

Description

There was no single 'Elizabethan stage'. Early modern actors exploited various opportunities for patronage and profit between the 1570s and 1642, whether touring, or performing at inns, in country houses, in purpose-built theatres, at court, at the universities, or at the inns of court. This authoritative and comprehensive collection of new essays explores the social, political, and economic pressures under which the playing companies of Shakespeare and his contemporaries operated. It shows how they evolved over time to meet new challenges such as the opposition of City of London authorities, the possibility of permanent location in London, the re-emergence of boy companies c. 1600, and the great increase in court performance which began under James I. Essays also explore the practical everyday business of playing: acquiring scripts and playhouses, dramatic authorship, the contribution of financiers and entrepreneurs, rehearsing, lighting, music, props, styles of acting, boy actors, and the role of women in an 'all-male' world. A number of contributors address the methodologies of theatre history itself, questioning its philosophical premises and evaluating the nature of the evidence we have, such as that from stage directions in play-books or from the visual records. The collection as a whole offers a challenging account of the world of the players in Tudor-Stuart England, revising old assumptions and so inviting us to explore anew the plays which were written for them and which are their greatest living legacy.

The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theatre

Edited by Richard Dutton

Oxford Handbooks

Introduction: Early Modern Theatre History: where we are now, how we got here, where we go next, William Ingram
Section A: Theatre Companies
1. Adult Playing Companies to 1583, W.R. Streitberger
2. Adult Playing Companies, 1583 to 1593, Sally-Beth MacLean
3. Adult Playing Companies, 1593 to 1603, Roslyn Knutson
4. Adult Playing Companies 1603 to 1613, Tom Rutter
5. Adult Playing Companies 1613 to 1625, James Marino
6. Adult playing companies 1625 to 1642, Martin Butler
7. Early (pre-1590) Boy Companies & their Acting Venues, Michael Shapiro
8. The boy companies 1599-1613, Mary Bly
Section B: London Playhouses
9. Inn-yard Playhouses, David Kathman
10. The Theatre in Shoreditch, 1576-1599, Gabriel Egan
11. Why the Globe is Famous, Andrew Gurr
12. The Most Convenient Place: The Second Blackfriars Theatre and Its Appeal, Ralph Alan Cohen
13. The Red Bull Playhouse, Mark Bayer
14. The Phoenix and the Cockpit-in-Court Playhouses, Frances Teague
Section C: Other Playing Spaces
15. 'He who pays the piper calls the tune': Household Entertainments, Suzanne Westfall
16. The Universities and the Inns of Court, Alan H. Nelson
17. Touring, Peter Greenfield
18. Court theatre, . John H. Astington
19. London Street Theatre, Anne Lancashire
Section D: Social Practices
20. Not Just Sir Oliver Owlet: From Patrons to 'Patronage' of Early Modern Theatre, Alan Somerset
21. The Court, The Master of the Revels and The Players, Richard Dutton
22. Theatre Entrepreneurs and Theatrical Economics, Susan Cerasano
23. The City of London and the Theatre, Ian W. Archer
24. Players, Livery Companies, and Apprentices, David Kathman
25. Materiality and the Market: the case of the Lady Elizabeth's Men. The Lady Elizabeth's Men and the challenge of theatre history, Kathleen E. McLuskie
26. 'For the author's credit': Issues of Authorship in English Renaissance Drama, Heather Hirschfeld
27. Women in the Theatre, Natasha Korda
Section E: Evidence of Theatrical Practices
28. Early Modern Naturalistic Acting: The Role of the Globe in the Development of Personation, Jacalyn Royce
29. Actors' Parts, Tiffany Stern
30. Stage Directions and the Theatre Historian, Alan C. Dessen
31. Lighting, R. B. Graves
32. Music and sound, Lucy Munro
33. Properties, Andrew Sofer
34. Eyewitnesses to History: Visual Evidence for Theatre in Early Modern England, Thomas Postlewait
35. Christopher Beeston, His Property and Properties, Eva Griffith
Composite Bibliography
Index

The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theatre

Edited by Richard Dutton

Oxford Handbooks

Author Information

Contributors:

Ian W. Archer, Keble College, Oxford
John H. Astington, University of Toronto
Mark Bayer, American University of Beirut
Mary Bly, Fordham University
Martin Butler, University of Leeds
S. P. Cerasano, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Ralph Alan Cohen, American Shakespeare Center, Staunton, Virginia
Alan C. Dessen, (Emeritus), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Richard Dutton, Ohio State University
Gabriel Egan, Loughborough University
Robert Graves, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Peter Greenfield, University of Puget Sound
Eva Griffith, University of Durham
Andrew Gurr (Emeritus), University of Reading
Heather Hirschfeld, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
William Ingram, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
David Kathman, independent scholar
Roslyn L. Knutson, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Natasha Korda, Wesleyan University
Anne Lancashire, University of Toronto
Sally-Beth MacLean, University of Toronto
James J. Marino, Cleveland State University
Lucy Munro, Keele University
Alan H. Nelson (Emeritus), University of California, Berkeley
Thomas Postlewait, University of Washington
Jacalyn Royce, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington
Tom Rutter, Sheffield Hallam University
Michael Shapiro (Emeritus), University of Illinois
Andrew Sofer, Boston College
Tiffany Stern,University College, Oxford
W.R. Streitberger, University of Washington
Fran Teague, University of Georgia
Suzanne Westfall, Lafayette College