The Oxford Handbook of Early Modern Theatre »

Richard Dutton has been Humanities Distinguished Professor of English at Ohio State University since 2003. Previously he was at Lancaster University in England for thirty years. Working on the borders of literary criticism and theatre history, he is best known for his work on early modern censorship, including Mastering the Revels: the Regulation and Censorship of English Renaissance Drama (1991) and Licensing, Censorship and Authorship in Early Modern England: Buggeswords (2000). Ben Jonson, 'Volpone' and the Gunpowder Plot (2008) is his third monograph on Jonson. His scholarly editing includes Jonson's Epicenehas an NEH Fellowship in 2008/9 to work on Shakespeare's revision of his plays for court performance.

There was no single 'Elizabethan stage'. Early modern actors exploited various opportunities for patronage and profit between the 1570s and 1642, whether touring, or performing at inns, in country houses, in purpose-built theatres, at court, at the universities or at the inns of court. This authoritative and comprehensive collection of new essays explores the social, political, and economic pressures under which the playing companies of Shakespeare and his contemporaries operated. It shows how they evolved over time to meet new challenges such as the opposition of City of London authorities, the possibility of permanent location in London, the re-emergence of boy companies c. 1600, and the great increase in court performance which began under James I. Essays also explore the practical everyday business of playing: acquiring scripts and playhouses, dramatic authorship, the contribution of financiers and entrepreneurs, rehearsing, lighting, music, props, styles of acting, boy actors, and the role of women in an 'all-male' world. A number of contributors address the methodologies of theatre history itself, questioning its philosophical premises and evaluating the nature of the evidence we have, such as that from stage directions in play-books or from the visual records. The collection as a whole offers a challenging account of the world of the players in Tudor-Stuart England, revising old assumptions and so inviting us to explore anew the plays which were written for them and which are their greatest living legacy.

List of Figures xv

List of Maps xviii

List of Contributors xix

Introduction: Early Modern Theater History: Where We Are Now, How We Got Here, Where We Go Next William Ingram 1

Part I Theatre Companies

1 Adult Playing Companies to 1583 W. R. Streitberger 19

2 Adult Playing Companies 1583-1593 Sally-Beth MacLean 39

3 Adult Playing Companies 1593-1603 Roslyn L. Knutson 56

4 Adult Playing Companies 1603-1613 Tom Rutter 72

5 Adult Playing Companies 1613-1625 James J. Marino 88

6 Adult and Boy Playing Companies 1625-1642 Martin Butler 104

7 Early (Pre-1590) Boy Companies and their Acting Venues Michael Shapiro 120

8 The Boy Companies 1599-1613 Mary Bly 136

Part II London Playhouses

9 Inn-Yard Playhouses David Kathman 153

10 The Theatre in Shoreditch 1576-1599 Gabriel Egan 168

11 Why the Globe Is Famous Andrew Gurr 186

12 The Most Convenient Place: The Second Blackfriars Theater and its Appeal Ralph Alan Cohen 209

13 The Red Bull Playhouse Mark Bayer 225

14 The Phoenix and the Cockpit-in-Court Playhouses Frances Teague 240

Part III Other Playing Spaces

15 'He who pays the piper calls the tune': Household Entertainments Suzanne Westfall 263

16 The Universities and the Inns of Court Alan H. Nelson 280

17 Touring Peter Greenfield 292

18 Court Theatre John H. Astington 307

19 London Street Theater Anne Lancashire 323

Part IV Social Practices

20 Not Just Sir Oliver Owlet: From Patrons to 'Patronage' of Early Modern Theatre Alan Somerset 343

21 The Court, the Master of the Revels, and the Players Richard Dutton 362

22 Theater Entrepreneurs and Theatrical Economics S. P. Cerasano 380

23 The City of London and the Theatre Ian W. Archer 396

24 Players, Livery Companies, and Apprentices David Kathman 413

25 Materiality and the Market: The Lady Elizabeth's Men and the Challenge of Theatre History Kathleen E. McLuskie 429

26 'For the author's credit': Issues of Authorship in English Renaissance Drama Heather Hirschfeld 441

27 Women in the Theater Natasha Korda 456

Part V Evidence of Theatrical Practices

28 Early Modern Naturalistic Acting: The Role of the Globe in the Development of Personation Jacalyn Royce 477

29 Actors' Parts Tiffany Stern 496

30 Stage Directions and the Theater Historian Alan C. Dessen 513

31 Lighting R. B. Graves 528

32 Music and Sound Lucy Munro 543

33 Properties Andrew Sofer 560

34 Eyewitnesses to History: Visual Evidence for Theater in Early Modern England Thomas Postlewait 575

35 Christopher Beeston: His Property and Properties Eva Griffith 607

Bibliography 623

Index 673