Staging the Old Faith is the first book length study to examine Caroline theatre as a space where the concerns of the English Roman Catholic community are staged.
Rebecca Bailey juxtaposes a detailed analysis of Queen Henrietta Maria's ground-breaking performances which showcased to an elite audience her role as defender of English Catholics, against an exploration of how this community responded to such a startling vision, in particular through the politically charged texts of James Shirley and William Davenant.
This engagement on the stage with the anxieties and hopes of the English...