CHAPTER 3 - Shakespeare's Theatre and Productions

Abstract

This chapter discusses Shakespeare's theatre and productions. The first volume of Shakespeare Survey contains some scholarly articles on the Elizabethan stage. A. M. Nagler's Shakespeare's Stage is a good introduction to the subject. Although closely reasoned with many references to all the relevant authorities, its text flows with the readability of a narrative. It sets out to describe the theatre in which and with which Shakespeare had to work, and the author reminds us that Shakespeare lived in the finest harmony with his audience, as is evident from the prolog to King Henry VIII. The Organization and Personnel of the Shakespearean Company sets out the laws, customs, membership, and history of the Shakespearean company; dealing with the Shakespearean “clan”, with finance, division of labor, apprenticeship, hired men, and the bookkeepers and their manuscripts. Much thought has been given by some writers to the question of the boy actors who played the women's parts in Shakespeare's day. A collection entitled Papers mainly Shakespearean, edited by G. I. Duthie, contains an essay on Shakespeare's celibate stage with particular reference to As You Like It, Antony and Cleopatra, and The Winter's Tale.