Shakespeare in the Theatre: Sir William Davenant and the Duke{u2019}s Company

Eubanks Winkler and Schoch reveal how and why the first generation to stage Shakespeare after Shakespeare's lifetime changed absolutely everything. Founder of the Duke's Company, Sir William Davenant influenced how Shakespeare was performed in a profound and lasting way. This book provides the first performance-based account of Restoration Shakespeare, exploring the precursors to Davenant's approach to Restoration Shakespeare, the cultural context of Restoration theatre, the theatre spaces in which the Duke's Company performed, Davenant's adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, acting styles, and the lasting legacy of Davenant's approach to staging Shakespeare. This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on (http://www.bloomsburycollections.com) www.bloomsburycollections.com . It is funded by Queen's University Belfast. "When London theatres re-opened in 1660 upon the restoration of the monarchy, they naturally wanted to perform Shakespeare's plays. Particularly under the leadership of Sir William Davenant, founder of the Duke's Company, Restoration theatres did so in a radically new way. At last, women played women's roles. Theatres moved totally indoors. Massive stage spectacles were preferred over bare platform stages. Music and dance were fully integrated into the productions. And Shakespeare's plays were strongly rewritten: King Lear survived, the witches in Macbeth sang and danced, and Miranda in The Tempest gained a sister. Shakespeare in the Theatre: William Davenant and the Duke's Company reveals how - and why - the first generation to stage Shakespeare after Shakespeare's lifetime changed absolutely everything. The Duke's Company was one of the two London theatre companies established by royal patent in the Restoration. As leader of the Duke's Company, Davenant's influence on its approach to Shakespeare was profound and lasting. He controlled every aspect of theatrical production: deciding the repertoire, writing his own Shakespeare adaptations, casting actors in roles, running rehearsals, training actors, and equipping his theatre with machines and scenery to produce lavish stage spectacle. This book provides the first performance-based account of Restoration Shakespeare, exploring the precursors to Davenant's approach to Restoration Shakespeare, the cultural context of Restoration theatre, the theatre spaces in which the Duke's Company performed, Davenant's adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, acting styles, and the lasting legacy of Davenant's approach to staging Shakespeare."-- Proporcionado por el editor "When London theatres re-opened in 1660 upon the restoration of the monarchy, they naturally wanted to perform Shakespeare's plays. Particularly under the leadership of Sir William Davenant, founder of the Duke's Company, Restoration theatres did so in a radically new way. At last, women played women's roles. Theatres moved totally indoors. Massive stage spectacles were preferred over bare platform stages. Music and dance were fully integrated into the productions. And Shakespeare's plays were strongly rewritten: King Lear survived, the witches in Macbeth sang and danced, and Miranda in The Tempest gained a sister. Shakespeare in the Theatre: William Davenant and the Duke's Company reveals how - and why - the first generation to stage Shakespeare after Shakespeare's lifetime changed absolutely everything. The Duke's Company was one of the two London theatre companies established by royal patent in the Restoration. As leader of the Duke's Company, Davenant's influence on its approach to Shakespeare was profound and lasting. He controlled every aspect of theatrical production: deciding the repertoire, writing his own Shakespeare adaptations, casting actors in roles, running rehearsals, training actors, and equipping his theatre with machines and scenery to produce lavish stage spectacle. This book provides the first performance-based account of Restoration Shakespeare, exploring the precursors to Davenant's approach to Restoration Shakespeare, the cultural context of Restoration theatre, the theatre spaces in which the Duke's Company performed, Davenant's adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, acting styles, and the lasting legacy of Davenant's approach to staging Shakespeare."-- Provided by publisher Cover Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS SERIES PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTES ON THE TEXT ABBREVIATIONS AND LIBRARY SIGLA Preface 1 Davenant Before the Duke’s Company Early life Davenant and the Caroline court masque Operatic experiments 2 Reopening the Theatres in 1660 Patents granted to Davenant and Killigrew Fighting for survival and control Establishing the patent duopoly Theatre at the court of Charles II 3 New Performance Spaces Transitional theatres Changeable scenery Staging Shakespeare at Lincoln’s Inn Fields The Bridges Street Theatre Scenes and machines in the 1670s Operatic Shakespeare in the 1670s 4 Davenant’s Repertoire Allocating the old stock drama to the patent companies Shakespeare in the Duke’s Company Interpreting the performance calendar Restoration Shakespeare at court 5 Acting Restoration Shakespeare The acting company Training Rehearsal Acting Shakespeare in the Restoration 6 Case Studies: Macbeth and The Tempest Macbeth The Tempest Burlesques of Macbeth and The Tempest 7 Davenant’s Legacy Purcell, Shakespeare, and the United Company Shakespeare and theatrical chaos in the 1690s and beyond New adaptations at Lincoln’s Inn Fields The Restoration Macbeth and The Tempest in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX