Shakespeare in the Theatre: Mark Rylance at the Globe

Abstract

Each volume in the Shakespeare in the Theatre series focuses on a director or theatre company who has made a significant contribution to Shakespeare production, identifying the artistic and political/social contexts of their work. The series introduces readers to the work of significant theatre directors and companies whose Shakespeare productions have been transformative in our understanding of his plays in performance. Each volume examines a single figure or company, considering their key productions, rehearsal approaches and their work with other artists. Since its opening in the late 1990s, the reconstructed Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre has made an indelible impression on the contemporary British theatre scene. This book explores the theatre’s first decade of productions under the pioneering leadership of Sir Mark Rylance. Drawing upon an extensive range of material from the theatre’s archive, interviews with Globe practitioners, and Rylance’s own personal archive, this book argues that the Rylance era was a ground-breaking and important period of recent theatre history. It concludes with an in-depth interview with Rylance himself. The book gives a unique insight into Rylance’s practice and impact, and will be of interest to anyone studying Shakespeare in performance. Series Editors: Bridget Escolme, Queen Mary University of London, UK, Peter Holland, University of Notre Dame, USA and Farah Karim-Cooper, Shakespeare’s Globe, London, UK.