The Cambridge Introduction to Early Modern Drama, 1576–1642

A stimulating introduction to the drama of the early modern era, through a focus on commercial playhouses and their repertoires.

Julie Sanders (Author)

9781107645479, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 February 2014

280 pages, 9 b/w illus. 1 map
22.6 x 15 x 1.3 cm, 0.46 kg

'The writing is lively and approachable, and both the chronology and bibliography are excellent.' Choice

Engaging and stimulating, this Introduction provides a fresh vista of the early modern theatrical landscape. Chapters are arranged according to key genres (tragedy, revenge, satire, history play, pastoral and city comedy), punctuated by a series of focused case studies on topics ranging from repertoire to performance style, political events to the physical body of the actor, and from plays in print to the space of the playhouse. Julie Sanders encourages readers to engage with particular dramatic moments, such as opening scenes, skulls on stage or the conventions of disguise, and to apply the materials and methods contained in the book in inventive ways. A timeline and frequent cross-references provide continuity. Always alert to the possibilities of performance, Sanders reveals the remarkable story of early modern drama not through individual writers, but through repertoires and company practices, helping to relocate and re-imagine canonical plays and playwrights.

Preface. An outline of approaches taken
Introduction: brick, lime, sand, plaster over lath, and 'new oaken boards': the early modern playhouse
Case study A. Richard III at the Globe
Case study B. An outdoor theatre repertoire: the Rose on Bankside
1. Tragedy
Case study C. Opening scenes
Case study D. Staging violence and the space of the stage
2. Revenge drama
Case study E. 'Here in the friars': the second Blackfriars indoor playhouse
Case study F. The social life of things: skulls on the stage
3. Histories
Case study G. Title pages and plays in print
4. Comedy, pastoral and romantic
Case study H. The boy actor: body, costume, and disguise
5. City comedies
Case study I. The dramaturgy of scenes
Case study J. Collaborative writing or the literary workshop
6. Satire
Case study K. Topical theatre and 1605–6
Case study L. 'Little eyases': the children's companies and repertoire
7. Tragicomedy
Case study M. The visual rhetoric of dumb show
Conclusion. The wind and the rain: the wider landscape of early modern performance
Chronology
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Theatre studies [AN]