Christie Carson - Böcker

From 1997 Shakespeare's Globe flourished once more on London's South Bank after an absence of 400 years. The playhouse is now a major attraction for theatregoers, scholars, tourists, teachers and students of all ages who come to experience Shakespeare's plays and those of his contemporaries performed in their original conditions. The team of artists and education specialists who made this happen come together here to reflect on their 10-year experiment. Principal actors, designers, musicians and Globe Education staff engage with international scholars in a lively debate about the impact of this extraordinary building. Featuring an in-depth interview with former Artistic Director Mark Rylance and a contribution from Patrick Spottiswoode, Founder and Director of Globe Education, the book highlights the complex relationship between designer, composer, actor and audience which gives energy to this thriving Shakespearean centre.

The history of Shakespearean performance is very well served at its two extremes, with volumes providing a valuable historical overview of the subject and others concentrating on the performance history of a particular play. However, no individual volume provides an in-depth consideration of the stage histories of a number of plays, chosen for their particular significance within specific cultural contexts. Shakespeare in Stages addresses this gap. The original case studies explore significant anglophone performances of the plays, as well as ideas about 'Shakespeare', through the changing prisms of three different cultural factors that have proved influential in the way Shakespeare is staged: notions of authenticity, attitudes towards sex and gender, and questions of identity. Ranging from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries and examining productions of plays in Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, and South Africa, the studies focus attention on the complex interaction between particular plays, issues, events, and periods.

Tackling vital issues of politics, identity and experience in performance, this book asks what Shakespeare's plays mean when extended beyond the English language. From April to June 2012 the Globe to Globe Festival offered the unprecedented opportunity to see all of Shakespeare's plays performed in many different world languages. Thirty-eight productions from around the globe were presented in six weeks as part of the World Shakespeare Festival, which formed a cornerstone of the Cultural Olympics. This book provides the only complete critical record of that event, drawing together an internationally renowned group of scholars of Shakespeare and world theatre with a selection of the UK's most celebrated Shakespearean actors. Featuring a foreword by Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole and an interview with the Festival Director Tom Bird, this volume highlights the energy and dedication that was necessary to mount this extraordinary cultural experiment.

Due to the unique cultural capital of his works, Shakespeare has long been the test subject for new methods and digital advances in arts scholarship. Shakespeare sits at the forefront of the digital humanities - in archiving, teaching, performance and editing - impacting on scholars, theatres and professional organisations alike. The pace at which new technologies have developed is unprecedented (and the pressure to keep up is only growing). This book offers seventeen new essays that assess the opportunities and pitfalls presented by the twenty-first century for the ongoing exploration of Shakespeare. Through contributions from a broad range of scholars and practitioners, including case studies from those working in the field, the collection engages with the impact of the digital revolution on Shakespeare studies. By assessing and mediating this sometimes controversial digital technology, the book is relevant to those interested in the digital humanities as well as to Shakespeare scholars and enthusiasts.

The history of Shakespearean performance is very well served at its two extremes, with volumes providing a valuable historical overview of the subject and others concentrating on the performance history of a particular play. However, no individual volume provides an in-depth consideration of the stage histories of a number of plays, chosen for their particular significance within specific cultural contexts. Shakespeare in Stages addresses this gap. The original case studies explore significant anglophone performances of the plays, as well as ideas about 'Shakespeare', through the changing prisms of three different cultural factors that have proved influential in the way Shakespeare is staged: notions of authenticity, attitudes towards sex and gender, and questions of identity. Ranging from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries and examining productions of plays in Britain, USA, Canada, Australia, and South Africa, the studies focus attention on the complex interaction between particular plays, issues, events, and periods.

Due to the unique cultural capital of his works, Shakespeare has long been the test subject for new methods and digital advances in arts scholarship. Shakespeare sits at the forefront of the digital humanities - in archiving, teaching, performance and editing - impacting on scholars, theatres and professional organisations alike. The pace at which new technologies have developed is unprecedented (and the pressure to keep up is only growing). This book offers seventeen new essays that assess the opportunities and pitfalls presented by the twenty-first century for the ongoing exploration of Shakespeare. Through contributions from a broad range of scholars and practitioners, including case studies from those working in the field, the collection engages with the impact of the digital revolution on Shakespeare studies. By assessing and mediating this sometimes controversial digital technology, the book is relevant to those interested in the digital humanities as well as to Shakespeare scholars and enthusiasts.

Tackling vital issues of politics, identity and experience in performance, this book asks what Shakespeare's plays mean when extended beyond the English language. From April to June 2012 the Globe to Globe Festival offered the unprecedented opportunity to see all of Shakespeare's plays performed in many different world languages. Thirty-eight productions from around the globe were presented in six weeks as part of the World Shakespeare Festival, which formed a cornerstone of the Cultural Olympics. This book provides the only complete critical record of that event, drawing together an internationally renowned group of scholars of Shakespeare and world theatre with a selection of the UK's most celebrated Shakespearean actors. Featuring a foreword by Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole and an interview with the Festival Director Tom Bird, this volume highlights the energy and dedication that was necessary to mount this extraordinary cultural experiment.

This study returns to the origins of Robert Lepage's directorial work and his first cross-cultural interaction with a Shakespearean text to provide some background for his later work. This early work is situated within the political and social context of Quebec and Canada in the 1980s. Constitutional wrangling and government policies of bilingualism, biculturalism and multiculturalism all had a profound impact on this director, helping to forge his priorities and working methods. In 2018 two of Lepage's productions were cancelled due to concerns about cultural appropriation. Lepage responded by stating his view that the artist is as above the concerns of political correctness. While this approach was deemed acceptable in the 1980s, this study looks at the dangers posed by approaching cross-cultural creation from this standpoint in the 21st century.

This analysis of the Stratford Festival examines the full history of one of the largest and oldest dedicated centres for the performance of Shakespeare in North America.In English-speaking Canada, the Festival has become the unofficial national theatre, drawing both praise and criticism. Dividing its history into three distinct periods, the volume begins with the foundation of the company, moving through its middle years of expansion and securing stability, and ending with an exploration of staging Shakespeare in the 21st century. Through case studies of productions, covering each artistic director from Tyrone Guthrie to Antoni Cimolino, it highlights issues of national identity but also the relationship between actor and audience on the Festival’s unique thrust stage. It not only explores the work of international stars such as Christopher Plummer, but also that of longstanding company members William Hutt and Martha Henry, emphasizing the Festival's collective spirit.This book argues that the Stratford Festival holds an influential position in the theatre world generally and in the Shakespeare performance environment specifically. Initially this was because of the original stage built for its opening, but increasingly it has been due to the way that it has used Shakespeare’s work to articulate complex questions about identity and utilized technology to reach new audiences. The Festival and its collaborative working methods grew out of a particular social and political climate, and when the actors and directors who trained at the Festival took their training and its influences elsewhere, they spread its impact.