This module offers an introduction to the performance history of the Shakespeare canon from the mid seventeenth century, when Shakespeare was largely regarded as obsolete, to the temporary closure of the theatres caused by the Covid pandemic and beyond. Its focus is on live performance in Britain, with an emphasis on the theatres of London and Stratford-upon-Avon, but it also considers influential theorists and practitioners from Russia, Germany, the USA, and Japan. In addition to interpreting the traces of major Shakespearean productions and performances by the likes of David Garrick, Ira Aldridge, Ellen Terry and Constantin Stanislavsky, the module will contextualize the changing reception of Shakespeare by studying some of the newer plays by others which shaped their contexts: among them works by Leopold David Lewis, Anton Chekhov and Tom Stoppard.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a nuanced analytical understanding of major tendencies and figures in the development of Shakespearean performance from the 17th through the 21st centuries
Demonstrate understanding of historical changes in the status of live performance in relation to literary discourse and to other media of mass entertainment
Demonstrate advanced research skills in evaluating and utilising primary evidence about theatre history, such as promptbooks, portraits, photographs, sound and video recordings, memoirs, non-Shakespearean playscripts, and directorial manifestoes
Identify, assess and synthesise methodologies from a range of relevant disciplines such as literary criticism, cultural history, critical race studies art history, sensory studies, affect studies, textual studies and material culture.
