The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre (Cambridge Companions to Literature)

The drama of the English Middle Ages is perennially popular with students and theatre audiences alike. The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre provides an authoritative introduction and an up-to-date, illustrated guide to the mystery cycles, morality drama and saints' plays which flourished from the late fourteenth to the mid-sixteenth centuries. The book emphasises regional diversity in the period and engages with the literary and particularly the theatrical values of the plays. After a general introduction there are chapters devoted to the York, Chester, Towneley (Wakefield) and N-Town cycles of biblical plays, together with an account of the less well-known Cornish drama of the period. Attention to the contribution of different regions is developed in a chapter on East Anglia, and continued in essays on the morality drama and the saints' plays. Two illustrated chapters are devoted to the performance of medieval plays, both in their own time and in recent modern revivals. A full reference section includes a guide to scholarship and criticism, an extensive classified bibliography and a chronological table. The drama of the English Middle Ages is perennially popular with students and theatre audiences alike. This book provides an authoritative introduction and an up-to-date, illustrated guide to the mystery cycles, morality drama and saints' plays which flourished from the late fourteenth to the mid-sixteenth centuries. The book emphasises regional diversity in the period and engages with the literary, and particularly the theatrical values of the plays. After a general introduction there are chapters devoted to each of the major regional cycles, the less-well known East Anglian and Cornish traditions, the morality drama and saints' plays. Two illustrated chapters are devoted to the performance of medieval plays, in their own time and in recent modern revivals. A full reference section includes a guide to scholarship and criticism, an extensive classified bibliography and a chronological table List of illustrations List of contributors Preface List of abbreviations System of reference, and list of editions of plays cited in the text Chronological table An introduction to medieval English theatre WILLIAM TYDEMAN The theatricality of medieval English plays MEG TWYCROSS The York cycle RICHARD BEADLE The Chester cycle DAVID MILLS The Towneley cycle PETER MEREDITH The N-Town plays ALAN J. FLETCHER The non-cycle plays and the East Anglian tradition JOHN C. COLDEWEY The Cornish medieval drama BRIAN O. MURDOCH Morality plays PAMELA M. KING Saints' plays DARRYLL GRANTLEY Modern productions of medieval English plays JOHN MARSHALL A guide to criticism of medieval English theatre PETER HAPPE An Introduction To Medieval English Theatre / William Tydeman -- The Theatricality Of Medieval English Plays / Meg Twycross -- The York Cycle / Richard Beadle -- The Chester Cycle / David Mills -- The Towneley Cycle / Peter Meredith -- The N-town Plays / Alan J. Fletcher -- The Non-cycle Plays And The East Anglian Tradition / John C. Coldewey -- The Cornish Medieval Drama / Brian O. Murdoch -- Morality Plays / Pamela M. King -- Saints' Plays / Darryll Grantley -- Modern Productions Of Medieval English Plays / John Marshall -- A Guide To Criticism Of Medieval English Theatre / Peter Happé. Edited By Richard Beadle. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 344-364) And Indexes. Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre (2nd, 08) by Beadle, Richard [Paperback (2008)]