Macbeth and the Players

Bartholomeusz reconstructs the major interpretations of the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth on the English stage from 1611 to the 1960s.

Dennis Bartholomeusz (Author)

9780521293228, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 May 1978

332 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.66 kg

'With an intimacy which is a tribute not only to the quality and abundance of his evidence, but also to Mr Bartholomeusz's skills and imagination in using it, we see how Betterton, Garrick, Mrs Siddons, Kemble, Macready and Olivier created the roles that set the standards for their own day, through their close and meticulous encounters with the text.' The Times Literary Supplement

There is now considerable support for the view that a performance by an actor of genius can constitute a critical interpretation of a play and that only through such performance studies can a completely valid judgement about the play be made. In this paperback edition of a pioneering work, Dennis Bartholomeusz reconstructs from prompt copies, playbills and contemporary accounts, the major interpretations of the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth on the English stage from 1611 to the 1960s and relates the outstanding peformances of Burbage and Olivier, Siddons and Thorndike to the overall production history of Macbeth.

List of plates
Preface to the paperback edition
Preface
Introduction
List of abbreviations
1. Macbeth at the Globe
2. The age of Betterton
3. Powell and Mills: Quin and Mrs Porter
4. Garrick and Mrs Pritchard
5. Interpretations from Mossop to Henderson
6. Sarah Siddons and Kemble
7. From Kemble to Macready
8. Macready
9. The years between Macready and Irving
10. Interpretations from 1875 to 1911
11. Tradition and innovation (1912–55)
12. Stratford (1955) - The Mermaid (1964)
Appendices
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Shakespeare studies & criticism [DSGS]