Reviewing Shakespeare
Journalism and Performance from the Eighteenth Century to the Present

Paul Prescott presents an engaging account of the ways in which theatre critics have responded to Shakespeare over four centuries.

Paul Prescott (Author)

9781108439077, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 March 2018

226 pages, 1 table
23 x 15.3 x 1.3 cm, 0.35 kg

'… Prescott's survey is the first book about the subject, and as such makes an important contribution to correct 'the low esteem in which scholars have held journalists and journalistic criticism'.' Gefen Bar-On Santor, Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

Ranging from David Garrick's Macbeth in the 1740s to the World Shakespeare Festival in London 2012, this is the first book to provide in-depth analysis of the history and practice of Shakespearean theatre reviewing. Reviewing Shakespeare describes the changing priorities and interpretative habits of theatre critics as they have both responded to and provoked innovations in Shakespearean performance culture over the last three centuries. It analyses the conditions – theatrical, journalistic, social and personal – in which Shakespearean reception has taken place, presenting original readings of the works of key critics (Shaw, Beerbohm, Agate and Tynan), whilst also tracking broader historical shifts in the relationship between reviewers and performance. Prescott explores the key function of the 'night-watch constable' in patrolling the boundaries of legitimate Shakespearean performance and offers a compelling account of the many ways in which newspaper reviews are uniquely fruitful documents for anyone interested in Shakespeare and the theatre.

1. An introduction to the night-watch constable
2. Tradition and the individual talent: reviewing the Macbeth actor c.1740s–1890s
3. New journalism, new critics c.1890–1910
4. The reviewer in transition c.1920–60
5. New contexts, new crises (1997–2012): reviewing from the opening of Shakespeare's Globe to the World Shakespeare Festival 2012
Works cited.

Subject Areas: Shakespeare studies & criticism [DSGS], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Shakespeare plays [DDS]