Overview

Dramatis Personae is the third volume in the Stage by Stage series. It resumes the narrative after the disappearance of Greek and Roman drama in the turbulent first centuries of the Christian epoch. The book traces the return of religious theatre and ritual, with Passion Plays, Mysteries and Moralities taking over from classical drama while folk farce flourishes throughout the Middle Ages. Starting in Italy with the revival of classical works, the Renaissance produces whimsical new dramatic forms including commedia dell arte, as well as exalted musical innovations culminating in resplendent operas and opulent ballets. The author studies the impact of the Renaissance in Spain, France, Germany, Holland and in England, where theatre reached an extraordinary climax in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. A vivid picture is projected of the developing theatrical world and the contributions of Kyd and Marlowe, before arriving at Shakespeare. The author gives a detailed summary of Shakespeare s plays and how they have been interpreted through the centuries since their first performance. The book also discusses the personalities and scripts of many of Shakespeare s contemporaries Ford, Beaumont, Fletcher and others now less well known before evoking the lives and output of Jonson and Webster, two great dramatists who outlived the Bard.