What have we learned from the first experiments performed at the reconstructed Globe on Bankside? What light have recent productions shed on the way Shakespeare intended his plays to be seen? Written by the Leverhulme Fellow appointed to study and record actor use of this new-old playhouse, here is the first analytical account of the discoveries that have been made in its important first years, in workshops, rehearsals and performances. It shows how actors, directors and playgoers have responded to the demands of 'historical' constraints (and unexpected freedoms) to provide valuable new insights into the dynamics of Elizabethan theatre.
By bringing together evidence from different sources--documentary, archaeological, and the play-texts themselves--Staging Shakespeare's Theatres reconstructs the ways in which the plays were originally staged in the theaters of Shakespeare's own time, and shows how the physical possibilities and limitations of these theaters affected both the writing and the performances. The book explains the conditions under which the early playwrights and players worked, their preparation of the plays for the stage, and their rehearsal practices. It looks at the quality of evidence supplied by the surviving play-texts, and the extant to which audiences of the time differed from modern audiences; and it gives vivid examples of how Elizabethan actors made use of gestures, costumes, props, and the theater's specific design features. Stage movement is analyzed through a careful study of how exits and entrances worked on such stages. The final chapter offers a thorough examination of Hamlet as a text for performance, excitingly returning the play to its original staging at the Globe.
The rebuilding of the Globe theatre (1599-1613) on London's Bankside, a few yards from the site of the playhouse in which many of Shakespeare's plays were first performed, must rank as one of the most imaginative enterprises of recent decades. It has aroused intense interest among scholars and the general public worldwide. This book offers a fully illustrated account of the research that has gone into the Globe reconstruction, drawing on the work of leading scholars, theatre people and craftsmen to provide an authoritative view of the twenty years of research and the hundreds of practical decisions entailed. Documents of the period are explored afresh; the techniques of timber-framed building and the decorative practices of Elizabethan craftsmen explained; and all of this reconciled with the requirements of the actors and restrictions of modern architectural design. The result is a book that will fascinate scholarly readers and laymen alike.
Numerous attempts have been made in the modern and postmodern era to recreate the staging conventions of Shakespeare's theatre, from William Poel to the founders of the New Globe. This volume examines the work of these directors, analyzing their practical successes and failures; it also engages with the ideological critiques of early modern staging advanced by scholars such as W.B. Worthen and Ric Knowles. The author argues that rather than indulging in archaism for its own sake, the movement looked backward in a progressive attempt to address the challenges of the twentieth century. The book begins with a re-examination of the conventional view of Poel as an antiquarian crank. Subsequent chapters are devoted to Harley Granville Barker and Nugent Monck; the author argues that while Barker's major contribution was the dubious achievement of establishing the movement's reputation as an essentially literary phenomenon, Monck took the first tentative steps toward an architectural reimagining of modern performance space, an advance which led to later triumphs in early modern staging. The book than traces the sporadic and irregular development of Tyrone Guthrie's commitment to early modern practices. The final chapter looks at how competing historical theories of playhouse design influenced the construction of the Globe, while the conclusion discusses the ongoing potential of early modern staging in the new millennium.
In the present tense, tells of the times during which the Globe Theatre was built and gives its history; includes a pop-up theater, punch-out characters to use in it, and two booklets of scenes from Shakespeare's plays.
For almost forty years The Shakespearean Stage has been considered the liveliest, most reliable and most entertaining overview of Shakespearean theatre in its own time. It is the only authoritative book that describes all the main features of the original staging of Shakespearean drama in one volume: the acting companies and their practices, the playhouses, the staging and the audiences. Thoroughly revised and updated, this fourth edition contains fresh materials about how specific plays by Shakespeare were first staged, and provides new information about the companies that staged them and their playhouses. The book incorporates everything that has been discovered in recent years about the early modern stage, including the archaeology of the Rose and the Globe. Also included is an invaluable appendix, listing all the plays known to have been performed at particular playhouses and by specific companies.
Step on to a stage full of stories with this beautiful anthology of 12 stories from Shakespeare, retold to be accessible for children. Get lost in Shakespeare's most loved stories with this beautiful anthology of some of the most popular stories in the world. Introduce the children in your life to a collection of the most important stories every written, collected and retold by the much-loved author Angela McAllister. Featuring classics such as The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Othello, each story is rewritten in a comprehensive way that is accessible for children. This perfectly sized anthology is stunningly illustrated by collage artist Alice Lindstrom whose incredible artwork makes these stories dance to life before your very eyes. This lavish follow-up to A Year Full of Stories and A World Full of Animal Stories is the perfect gift for book lovers young and old. The World Full of... series is a collection of beautiful hardcover story treasuries. Discover folktales from all around the world or be introduced to some of the world's best-loved writers with these stunning gift books, the perfection addition to any child's library. Also available from the series: A Year Full of Stories, A World Full of Animal Stories, A World Full of Dickens Stories, A World Full of Spooky Stories, A Year Full of Celebrations and Festivals, and A Bedtime Full of Stories.
A New York Times Notable Book: “A loving testament to the enduring ability of Shakespeare’s play to connect in myriad ways across countries and cultures” (Pop Matters). For the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth, the Globe Theatre undertook an unparalleled journey: to take Hamlet to every country on the planet, to share this beloved play with the entire world. The tour was the brainchild of Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of the Globe, and in Hamlet: Globe to Globe, Dromgoole takes readers along with him. From performing in sweltering deserts, ice-cold cathedrals, and heaving marketplaces, and despite food poisoning in Mexico, the threat of ambush in Somaliland, an Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and political upheaval in Ukraine, the Globe’s players pushed on. Dromgoole shows us the world through the prism of Shakespeare—what the Danish prince means to the people of Sudan, the effect of Ophelia on the citizens of Costa Rica, and how a sixteenth-century play can touch the lives of Syrian refugees. And thanks to this incredible undertaking, Dromgoole uses the world to glean new insight into this masterpiece, exploring the play’s history, its meaning, and its pleasures. “The Shakespearean equivalent of Bourdain’s TV series, Parts Unknown. . . . [Dromgoole’s] aesthetic principle, or unprincipled aesthetic, makes him a natural tour guide for global Shakespeare . . . A comic epic.” —The Washington Post
An absorbing and original addition to Shakespeareana, this handbook of production is for all lovers of Shakespeare whether producer, player, scholar or spectator. In four sections, Staging, Actors and Acting, Costume, Music and Dance, it traces Shakespearean production from Elizabethan times to the 1950s when the book was originally published. This book suggests that Shakespeare should be performed today on the type of stage for which his plays were written. It analyses the development of the Elizabethan stage, from crude inn-yard performances to the building and use of the famous Globe. Since the Globe saw the enactment of some of the Bard’s greatest dramas, its construction, properties, stage devices, and sound effects are reviewed in detail with suggestions on how a producer can create the same effects on a modern or reconstructed Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare’s plays were written to fit particular groups of actors. The book gives descriptions of the men who formed the acting companies of Elizabethan London and of the actors of Shakespeare’s own company, giving insights into the training and acting that Shakespeare advocated. With full descriptions and pages of reproductions, the costume section shows the types of dress necessary for each play, along with accessories and trimmings. A table of Elizabethan fabrics and colours is included. The final section explores the little-known and interesting story of the integral part of music and dance in Shakespeare’s works. Scene by scene the section discusses appropriate music or song for each play and supplies substitute ideas for Elizabethan instruments. Various dances are described – among them the pavan, gailliard, canary and courante. This book is an invaluable wealth of research, with extensive bibliographies and extra information.
The playhouse and the role of playwright were relatively new phenomena during Shakespeares time, yet his audience spanned from royalty to the common man. This text shows what these audiences were finding out about the world through the eyes of the playwright Dora Thornton.
