Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first complete history of the theatre company in which Shakespeare acted and which staged all his plays. Andrew Gurr provides a comprehensive illustrated history of the company's activities, explores its social role in its time and examines its repertoire of plays.
Trade Review'Andrew Gurr's The Shakespeare Company, 1594–1642 fills an enormous gap … an important reference work, and a book necessary for every serious scholar of theatre history, Shakespeare and Shakespeare's milieu.' Around the Globe
'... comprehensive ... Andrew Gurr has written a definitive and most appealing work, which frequently glitters with the author's own love of theater and its members.' Renaissance Quarterly
'An eminent scholar, Gurr brings both a refined (and colossal) body of research and sage insight into this magnificent achievement. He offers a richly detailed, pleasantly readable case study ... Essential.' P. D. Nelson, Choice
'Gurr doesn't explicitly say that the 'company versions' are better than that habitual overwriter Shakespeare's maximal versions. But the stakes in the argument are high – our vision of what we value most in Shakespeare, why we value it, and the notion of value itself. And so, in addition to being grateful to Gurr for the wealth of historical detail of Shakespeare's company, we are in debt to him for provoking anew this important argument.' The Wilson Quarterly
Table of ContentsPreface; 1. The plan of 1594; 2. The company's work; 3. 'Will money buy 'em?': company finances; 4. 'Workes are playes': the public repertory; 5. Royal loyalties; 6. The afterlife; Appendix 1. The players; Appendix 2. Documents about the company; Appendix 3. The sharers' papers; Appendix 4. The repertory; Appendix 5. Surviving play-texts; Appendix 6. Court performances; Bibliography; Index.
