The Value of Practical Work and of Theatregoing in the Study of Seventeenth- Century Drama (1600-1640)

Abstract

This essay examines ways in which, as the title suggests, practice-based research and theatregoing may fruitfully aid advanced research in the study of early seventeenth-century plays. Scenes from four plays by Shakespeare (Macbeth), Jonson (The New Inn and Volpone) and Middleton (Women Beware Women) are analysed to illustrate a variety of ways in which insights into early seventeenth-century stage practice may be developed through attention to details such as spatial relations of actors within the playing space; costuming; the absence of certain aspects of the playtext within a particular production which engages with a director's personal concept; pacing and ensemble work within a company of actors. The limitations of such modes of research are also explored, though the chief emphasis is on the advantages of deploying what till recently may have been viewed as unorthodox research tools.