Book dossier

Shakespeare in the Theatre

by Stuart Hampton-Reeves, Bridget Escolme, Farah Karim Cooper

"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."--