Locating the Queen's Men, 1583–1603: Material Practices and Conditions of Playing (Studies in Performance and Early Modern Drama)

Locating the Queen's Men; presents new and groundbreaking essays on early modern England's most prominent acting company, from their establishment in 1583 into the 1590s. Offering a far more detailed critical engagement with the plays than is available elsewhere, this volume situates the company in the theatrical and economic context of their time.The essays gathered here focus on four different aspects: playing spaces, repertory, play-types, and performance style, beginning with essays devoted to touring conditions, performances in university towns, London inns and theatres, and the patronage system under Queen Elizabeth. Repertory studies, unique to this volume, consider the elements of the company's distinctive style, and how this style may have influenced, for example, Shakespeare's Henry V. Contributors explore two distinct genres, the morality and the history play, especially focussing on the use of stock characters and on male/female relationships. Revising standard accounts of late Elizabeth theatre history, this collection shows that the 'Queen's Men', often understood as the last rear-guard of the old theatre, were a vital force that enjoyed continued success in the provinces and in London, representative of the abiding appeal of an older, more ostentatiously theatrical form of drama. Contents......Page 8 Notes on Contributors......Page 10 Acknowledgements......Page 14 INTRODUCTION: Locating the Queen’s Men: An Introduction......Page 16 PART 1 In and Out of London......Page 40 1 On the Road and on the Wagon......Page 42 2 The Queen’s Men in Elizabethan Cambridge......Page 56 3 Motives for Patronage: The Queen’s Men at New Park, October 1588......Page 66 4 London Inns as Playing Venues for the Queen’s Men......Page 80 5 ‘The Curtain is Yours’......Page 92 PART 2 The Repertory on Page and Stage......Page 112 6 The Start of Something Big......Page 114 7 Page Wit and Puppet-like Wealth: Orality and Print in Three Lords and Three Ladies of London......Page 124 8 Truth, Poetry, and Report in The True Tragedy of Richard III......Page 138 9 The Famous Victories and the 1600 Quarto of Henry V......Page 150 PART 3 Figuring Character......Page 160 10 On-stage Allegory and its Legacy: The Three Ladies of London......Page 162 11 Usury on the London Stage: Robert Wilson’s Three Ladies of London......Page 174 12 Appropriations of the Popular Tradition in The Famous Victories of Henry V and The Troublesome Raigne of King John......Page 186 13 Male Birth Fantasies and Maternal Monarchs: The Queen’s Men and The Troublesome Raigne of King John......Page 198 PART 4 From Script to Stage......Page 214 14 When is the Jig Up – and What is it Up To?......Page 216 15 Facial Hair and the Performance of Adult Masculinity on the Early Modern English Stage......Page 232 16 Performing the Queen’s Men: A Project in Theatre Historiography......Page 244 Bibliography......Page 258 C......Page 276 E......Page 277 H......Page 278 L......Page 279 O......Page 280 R......Page 281 S......Page 282 W......Page 283 Y......Page 284 Locating the Queen's Men presents new and groundbreaking essays on early modern England's most prominent acting company, from their establishment in 1583 into the 1590s. Offering a far more detailed critical engagement with the plays than is available elsewhere, this volume situates the company in the theatrical and economic context of their time. The essays gathered here focus on four different aspects: playing spaces, repertory, play-types, and performance style, beginning with essays devoted to touring conditions, performances in university towns, London inns and theatres, and the patronage system under Queen Elizabeth. Repertory studies, unique to this volume, consider the elements of the company's distinctive style, and how this style may have influenced, for example, Shakespeare's Henry V. Contributors explore two distinct genres, the morality and the history play, especially focussing on the use of stock characters and on male/female relationships. Revising standard accounts of late Elizabeth theatre history, this collection shows that the Queen's Men, often understood as the last rear-guard of the old theatre, were a vital force that enjoyed continued success in the provinces and in London, representative of the abiding appeal of an older, more ostentatiously theatrical form of drama. Locating the Queen's Men presents new and groundbreaking essays on the theatrical and economic contexts of this prominent acting company. Offering a detailed critical engagement that includes a repertory study and investigations into distinctive style, this collection revises standard accounts of Elizabethan theatre history, showing that the company, which bridged a gap between medieval dramatic traditions and the era of Shakespeare and Marlowe, was a vital force in early modern England The essays presented in this book tell of early modern England's most prominent acting company from its establishment in 1583 into the 1590s. Offering a detailed critical engagement with the plays, this volume situates the company in the theatrical and economic context of its time