The commentary at the centre of this Handbook introduces students to the play as it would be experienced in performance. Other sections provide basic information about the text and its first performances, a brief description of the main political and cultural currents of the time and the popular kinds of entertainment, drama and comedy. Extracts from several comedies and Shakespeare's immediate source, Thomas Lodge's Rosalynde, together with all important elements of performance, case studies of key productions and a survey of critical writings on As You Like It, make this a...
The commentary at the centre of this Handbook introduces students to the play as it would be experienced in performance. Other sections provide basic ...
Working from the premise that the stage performer's primary functions derive from celebrative rituals, this book describes the figure of the actor as anti-character in premodern popular theatre. Particularly in plays belonging to the popular, performative tradition, the actor simultaneously impersonated and subverted the character of the playtext. By doing so, he affirmed the ritual-celebrative authority of the performer and audience over the ideological authority of the written text. Included are close analyses of three major playtexts in performance: Aristophanes' Frogs, the...
Working from the premise that the stage performer's primary functions derive from celebrative rituals, this book describes the figure of the actor ...