Popular Shakespeare »

STEPHEN PURCELL teaches on Shakespeare, theatre history and contemporary performance at Southampton Solent University, UK, where he is joint course leader for the English scheme. He holds a PhD from the University of Kent, where he also taught for four years. He also directs for the open-air theatre company The Pantaloons.

In recent years, the 'Popular Shakespeare' phenomenon has become ever more pervasive: in fringe productions, mainstream theatre, or the mass media, Shakespeare is increasingly constructed as an authentic part of popular culture. A vivid account of Shakespeare in performance since the 1990s, this book examines what 'Shakespeare' means to us today.

Personal Narrative 1: Ambiguous Applause 1

1 Popular Shakespeares 4

Personal Narrative 2: Stand-up Shakespeare 27

2 Text and Metatext: Shakespeare and Anachronism 30

Personal Narrative 3: Jeffrey Archer: The One that Got Away 56

3 'A Play Extempore': Interpolation, Improvisation, and Unofficial Speech 60

Personal Narrative 4: A Bit Sexist 93

4 'It's like a Shakespeare play!': Parodic Appropriations of Shakespeare 95

Personal Narrative 5: Blasphemy 139

5 Shakespeare's Popular Audience: Reconstructions and Deconstructions 142

Personal Narrative 6: Alternative Endings 172

6 Shakespeare, Space, and the 'Popular' 174

Personal Narrative 7: 'It's the famous bit!': Fragments of Romeo and Juliet 206

7 Shakespearean 'Samples' 211

Personal Narrative 8: Rough Magic 222

Notes 225

Bibliography 234

Index 249