THTR 380: History of Theatre I

Significant study of Kabuki playwriting of the Edo Period (1603-1867), based around an examination and translation of the only extant treatise fully devoted to the subject, the 1801 Kezairoku, Sakusha no Shikih (Valuable Notes on Playwriting, A Playwrights' Methodology.)

Kabuki is well known for its exaggerated acting, flamboyant costumes and makeup, and unnatural storylines. The onnagata, usually male actors who perform the roles of women, have been an important aspect of kabuki since its beginnings in the 17th century. In a "labyrinth" of gendering, the practice of men playing women's roles has affected the manifestations of femininity in Japanese society. In this case study of how gender has been defined and redefined through the centuries, Maki Isaka examines how the onnagata's theatrical gender "impersonation" has shaped the concept and mechanisms of femininity and gender construction in Japan. The implications of the study go well beyond disciplinary and geographic cloisters.

This book explores the fascinating phenomenon of cross-casting and related gender issues in different theatrical genres and different performance contexts during the heyday of French theatre.

In Princes to Act, Matthew Wikander explores royal court performance from the Renaissance to the late eighteenth century, when plays with monarchs as characters were typically performed before royal audiences. Focusing on the courts of Elizabeth I, James I, and Charles I of England, Louis XIV and Louis XV of France, and Gustav III of Sweden, Wikander finds that the close and complex relationships between professional theaters and royal patrons infused imperial politics with irony and theatricality - as actors and audiences learned the secret that playing the king and being the king were surprisingly similar.

In this biography, first published in 2000, Virginia Scott locates Molière's life and work in the social, literary and theatrical contexts of the period. She offers a narrative account of his life and an overview of his plays in the wider setting of the development of seventeenth-century French drama.

A Companion to the Medieval Theatre presents 250 alphabetically arranged entries offering a panoramic view of European and British theatrical productions between the years 900 and 1550.

We know little about the nature of medieval performance and have generally been content to think of it in relation to more modern productions, not least because of the sparsity of existing evidence. Consequently, whilst much research has been undertaken into its contexts, there has been relatively little scholarly investigation into the conditions of perfommance itself. This book seeks to address this omission. It looks at such questions as the nature of performance in theatre/dance/puppetry/automata; the performed qualities of such events; the conventions of performed work; what took place in the act of performing; and the relationships between performers and witnesses, and what conditioned them.

Ghost Light: An Introductory Handbook for Dramaturgy offers useful and entertaining answers to the confounding questions: "What, exactly, is dramaturgy, and what does a dramaturg do?"

The Dramaturgy of Senecan Tragedy teases out these dramaturgical elements in Seneca's work and uses them both to aid in the interpretation of the plays and to show the playwright's artistry.

What have we learned from the first experiments performed at the reconstructed Globe on Bankside? What light have recent productions shed on the way Shakespeare intended his plays to be seen? Written by the Leverhulme Fellow appointed to study and record actor use of this new-old playhouse, here is the first analytical account of the discoveries that have been made in its important first years, in workshops, rehearsals and performances. It shows how actors, directors and playgoers have responded to the demands of 'historical' constraints (and unexpected freedoms) to provide valuable new insights into the dynamics of Elizabethan theatre.

This series of essays by prominent academics and practitioners investigates in detail the history of performance in the classical Greek and Roman world.

In recent years, classicists have begun aggressively to explore the impact of performance on the ways in which Greek and Roman plays are constructed and appreciated, both in their original performance context and in reperformances down to the present day. While never losing sight of the playscripts, it is necessary to adopt a more inclusive point of view, one integrating insights from archaeology, art, history, performance theory, theatre semiotics, theatrical praxis, and modern performance reception. This volume contributes to the restoration of a much-needed balance between performance and text: it is devoted to exploring how performance-related considerations (including stage business, masks, costumes, props, performance space, and stage-sets) help us attain an enhanced appreciation of ancient theatre.

A comprehensive study of Roman theatrical production including all aspects of Roman performance practice.