Localizing Caroline Drama: Politics and Economics of the Early Modern English Stage, 1625-1642 (Early Modern Cultural Studies 1500–1700)

This book redefines the plays and theatrical culture of the years 1625 to 1642 as something more than simply post-Shakespearean in character. Scholars reveal the drama's mixture of political engagement, urbane cosmopolitanism, and commercial ingenuity. They urge us to recalibrate our histories to account for the innovations of the Caroline period. "This collection of original essays redefines the plays and theatrical culture of the years 1625 through 1642 as something more than simply post-Shakespearean or pre-Revolutionary in character. Through local readings of the texts and institutions of the Caroline theater, leading scholars reveal the drama's intriguing mixture of political engagement, religious controversy, urbane cosmopolitanism, and commercial ingenuity. Spanning locations both real and imagined - from London to Dublin to Tunis; from the Salisbury Court theater to the fantastic landscapes of Inigo Jones - the collection as a whole urges us to recalibrate our histories of seventeenth-century drama to account for the unprecedented innovations of the Caroline period."--Publisher's website

This collection of original essays redefines the plays and theatrical culture of the years 1625 through 1642 as something more than simply post-Shakespearean or pre-Revolutionary in character. Through local readings of the texts and institutions of the Caroline theater, leading scholars reveal the drama's intriguing mixture of political engagement, religious controversy, urbane cosmopolitanism, and commercial ingenuity. Spanning locations both real and imagined - from London to Dublin to Tunis; from the Salisbury Court theater to the fantastic landscapes of Inigo Jones - the collection as a whole urges us to recalibrate our histories of seventeenth-century drama to account for the unprecedented innovations of the Caroline period.

Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Introduction....Pages 1-15 Canons and Classics: Publishing Drama in Caroline England....Pages 17-41 Politics and Aesthetic Pleasure in 1630s Theater....Pages 43-68 Reading Triumphs: Localizing Caroline Masques....Pages 69-96 Exeunt Fighting: Poets, Players, and Impresarios at the Caroline Hall Theaters....Pages 97-128 The St. Werburgh Street Theater, Dublin....Pages 129-155 A Beast So Blurred: The Monstrous Favorite in Caroline Drama....Pages 157-181 Dancing Masters and the Production of Cosmopolitan Bodies in Caroline Town Comedy....Pages 183-211 The “Turks,” Caroline Politics, and Philip Massinger’s The Renegado....Pages 213-237 Back Matter....Pages 239-259 This collection of original essays redefines a crucial moments in British theatrical and literary history as something more than simply post-Shakespearean or pre-Revolutionary in character. Through local readings of the texts and institutions of the Caroline theater, leading scholars reveal the drama's intriguing mixture of political engagement, religious controversy, urbane cosmopolitanism, and commercial innovation