The Reinvention of Theatre in Sixteenth-century Europe : Traditions, Texts and Performance

This book discusses the styles of performance developed in different European countries in response to prevailing conditions, drawing attention to the complex relationship between scripted text and improvisation. The Sixteenth Century Was An Exciting Period In The History Of European Theatre. In The Iberian Peninsula, Italy, France, Germany And England, Writers And Actors Experimented With New Dramatic Techniques And Found New Publics. They Prepared The Way For The Better-known Dramatists Of The Next Century But Produced Much Work Which Is Valuable In Its Own Right, In Latin And In Their Own Vernaculars. The Popular Theatre Of The Middle Ages Gave Endless Material For Reinvention By Playwrights, And The Legacy Of The Ancient World Became A Spur To Creativity, In Tragedy And Comedy. As Soon As Readers And Audiences Had Taken In The New Plays, They Were Changed Again, Taking New Forms As The First Experiments Were Themselves Modified And Reinvented. Writers Constantly Adapted The Texts Of Plays To Meet New Requirements. These And Other Issues Are Explored By A Group Of International Experts From A Comparative Perspective, Giving Particular Emphasis To One Of The Great European Comic Dramatists, The Portuguese Gil Vicente. -- From Publisher's Website. Introduction / T.f. Earle And Catarina Fouto -- Part I: Literary Tradition And The Theatre. Sooner Than Shakespeare: Inwardness And Lexicon In The Drama Of Gil Vicente And António Prestes / Hélio J.s. Alves -- The Auto Da Festa And The (well-stocked) Workshop Of Gil Vicente / José Augusto Cardoso Bernardes -- The Auto De La Huida A Egipto: Italian And Other Connections / Jane Whetnall -- Who Is Júlio? Plot And Identity In António Ferreira's Comedies / T.f. Earle -- The Reinvention Of Classical Comedy And Tragedy In Portugal: Defining Drama In The Work Of Sá De Miranda, António Ferreira And Diogo De Teive / Catarina Fouto -- The Recovery Of Terence In Renaissance Italy: From Alberti To Machiavelli / Martin Mclaughlin -- Palimpsestuous Phaedra: William Gager's Additions To Seneca's Tragedy For His 1592 Production At Christ Church, Oxford / Elizabeth Sands -- The Power Of Transformation In Guillén De Castro's El Caballero Bobo (1595-1605) And La Fuerza De La Costumbre (1610-15): Translation And Performance / Kathleen Jeffs -- Part Ii: Theatre And Performance. Amateurs Meet Professionals: Theatrical Activities In Late Sixteenth-century Italian Academies / Lisa Sampson -- Competing With Continentals: The Case Of William Kemp / Katherine Duncan-jones -- Gil Vicente, A Source For A Heritage Made Of Scraps / José Camões -- Part Iii: Theatre And Society. Plautus And Terence In Tudor England / Peter Brown -- Diffusing Drama: Manuscript And Print In The Transmission Of Camões's Plays / Vanda Anastácio -- From The Catholic Mystery Play To Calvinist Tragedy, Or The Reinvention Of French Religious Drama / Michael Meere -- The Renaissance Meets The Reformation: The Dramatist Thomas Naogeorg (1508-1563) / Helen Watanabe-o'kelly. Edited By T.f. Earle And Catarina Fouto. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- PART I: LITERARY TRADITION AND THE THEATRE -- 1 Sooner than Shakespeare: Inwardness and Lexicon in the Drama of Gil Vicente and António Prestes -- 2 The Auto da Festa and the (Well-stocked) Workshop of Gil Vicente -- 3 The Auto de la huida a Egipto: Italian and Other Connections -- 4 Who is Júlio? Plot and Identity in António Ferreira's Comedies -- 5 The Reinvention of Classical Comedy and Tragedy in Portugal: Defining Drama in the Work of Sá de Miranda, António Ferreira and Diogo de Teive -- 6 The Recovery of Terence in Renaissance Italy: From Alberti to Machiavelli -- 7 Palimpsestuous Phaedra: William Gager's Additions to Seneca's Tragedy for his 1592 Production at Christ Church, Oxford -- 8 The Power of Transformation in Guillén de Castro's El caballero bobo (1595-1605) and La fuerza de la costumbre (1610-15): Translation and Performance -- PART II: THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE -- 9 Amateurs Meet Professionals: Theatrical Activities in Late Sixteenth-Century Italian Academies -- 10 Competing with Continentals: The Case of William Kemp -- 11 Gil Vicente, a Source for a Heritage Made of Scraps -- PART III: THEATRE AND SOCIETY -- 12 Plautus and Terence in Tudor England -- 13 Diffusing Drama: Manuscript and Print in the Transmission of Camões's Plays -- 14 From the Catholic Mystery Play to Calvinist Tragedy, or the Reinvention of French Religious Drama -- 15 The Renaissance Meets the Reformation: The Dramatist Thomas Naogeorg (1508-1563) -- Index The sixteenth century was an exciting period in the history of European theatre. In the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, France, Germany and England, writers and actors experimented with new dramatic techniques and found new publics. They prepared the way for the better-known dramatists of the next century but produced much work which is valuable in its own right, in Latin and in their own vernaculars. The popular theatre of the Middle Ages gave endless material for reinvention by playwrights, and the legacy of the ancient world became a spur to creativity, in tragedy and comedy. As soon as readers and audiences had taken in the new plays, they were changed again, taking new forms as the first experiments were themselves modified and reinvented. Writers constantly adapted the texts of plays to meet new requirements. These and other issues are explored by a group of international experts from a comparative perspective, giving particular emphasis to one of the great European comic dramatists, the Portuguese Gil Vicente. Tom Earle is King John II Professor of Portuguese at Oxford. Catarina Fouto is a Lecturer in Portuguese at King's College London.