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.