Shakespeare in the theatre : The American Shakespeare Center

The original Blackfriars closed its doors in the 1640s, ending over half-a-century of performances by men and boys. In 2001, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it opened once again. The reconstructed Blackfriars, home to the American Shakespeare Center, represents an old playhouse for the new millennium and therefore symbolically registers the permanent revolution in the performance of Shakespeare. Time and again, the industry refreshes its practices by rediscovering its own history. This book assesses how one American company has capitalised on history and in so doing has forged one of its own to become a major influence in contemporary Shakespearean theatre. "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."-- "The original Blackfriars closed its doors in the 1640s, ending over half-a-century of performances by men and boys. In 2001, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it opened once again. The reconstructed Blackfriars, home to the American Shakespeare Center, represents an old playhouse for the new millennium and therefore symbolically registers the permanent revolution in the performance of Shakespeare. Time and again, the industry refreshes its practices by rediscovering its own history. This book assesses how one American company has capitalized on history and in so doing has forged one of its own to become a major influence in contemporary Shakespearean theatre."--Page 4 de la couverture The original Blackfriars closed its doors in the 1640s, ending over half-a-century of performances by men and boys. In 2001, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it opened once again. The reconstructed Blackfriars, home to the American Shakespeare Center, represents an old playhouse for the new millennium and therefore symbolically registers the permanent revolution in the performance of Shakespeare. Time and again, the industry refreshes its practices by rediscovering its own history. This book assesses how one American company has capitalized on history and in so doing has forged one of its own to become a major influence in contemporary Shakespearean theatre. -- from back cover The original Blackfriars closed its doors in the 1640s, ending over half-a-century of performances by men and boys. In 2001, in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, it opened once again. The reconstructed Blackfriars, home to the American Shakespeare Center, represents an old playhouse for the new millennium and therefore symbolically registers the permanent revolution in the performance of Shakespeare. Time and again, the industry refreshes its practices by rediscovering its own history. This work assesses how one American company has capitalised on history and in so doing has forged one of its own to become a major influence in contemporary Shakespearean theatre. FC -- Half title -- Shakespeare in the Theatre -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Series Preface -- Preface -- Dedication -- Introduction: Locations -- 1 The Virginia Company -- 2 Revolutionary Nostalgia -- 3 The History of Light -- 4 Time Bomb - The Actors' Renaissance Season (ARS) -- 5 'But wait, there's more ...!' -- Appendix -- Notes -- Index Chapter 1: Revolutionary Nostalgia -- Chapter 2: A Peculiar Institution -- Chapter 3: Bringing History to Light -- Chapter 4: Ready or not -- Chapter 5: In Others' Words -- Appendices: Timelines; Performance history; Architectural History -- Bibliography -- Notes -- Index