The Shakespearean Stage 1574–1642（ISBN=9780521729666）

　　For almost forty years The Shakespearean Stage has been considered the liveliest, most reliable and most entertaining overview of Shakespearean theatre in its own time. It is the only authoritative book that describes all the main features of the original staging of Shakespearean drama in one volume: the acting companies and their practices, the playhouses, the staging and the audiences. Thoroughly revised and updated, this fourth edition contains fresh materials about how specific plays by Shakespeare were first staged, and provides new information about the companies that staged them and their playhouses. The book incorporates everything that has been discovered in recent years about the early modern stage, including the archaeology of the Rose and the Globe. Also included is an invaluable appendix, listing all the plays known to have been performed at particular playhouses and by specific companies.
　　· Updated and thoroughly revised fourth edition ensures the continuing reputation of this book as the definitive guide to the original staging of Shakespearean drama · Packed with quotations and illustrations, the book provides undergraduates with all they need to know about staging conditions in Shakespeare's day · Contains an invaluable appendix listing all the plays performed at a particular playhouse, the playing company and date of performance

List of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiii
1　Introduction 1
1　Then and now 1
2　Original staging practices 6
3　The London focus 13
4　Life in London 21
5　Social divisions 24
6　The poets 28
7　The City and the Court 33
2　The Companies 38
1　The laws of playing 38
2　The early boy companies 45
3　The early adult companies 47
4　The strong companies 55
5　The later boy companies 66
6　The later adult companies 71
7　Company structure 85
8　Government control 91
3　The Players 100
1　The social status of players 100
2　Famous clowns 105
3　Famous tragedians 109
4　Styles of acting 113
5　The repertory system 124
6　Acting quality 136
4　The Playhouses 139
1　Mobile players 139
2　The history of playhouse-building 145
3　Early amphitheatre design 150
4　Later amphitheatre design 168
5　The hall playhouses 190
6　Court theatres 203
5　The Staging 209
1　Mobile staging 209
2　Hall and amphitheatre staging 215
3　Stage realism 221
4　Stage properties 229
5　Stage costumes 238
6　Court staging 246
7　Directing performances 253
6　The Audiences 258
1　Social attitudes to playgoing 258
2　Social divisions in the playhouses 264
3　Audience behaviour 275
4　Changes in fashion 282
Appendix: A Select List of Plays and their Playhouses 286
Notes 299
Select Bibliography 320
Index 332