A theatre-based study guide to Shakespeare's
greatest play, emphasising the conditions of
Jacobethan production, textual variations, and
aspects of modern performance, rather than the
background of ideas or critical interpretations.
This book aims to introduce students (including
those with little or no prior experience of the field) to
the worlds of Shakespeare and his theatre revealed
in King Lear. It begins by ‘Approaching
Shakespeare’ as utterly a man of the theatre, a
professional actor before he was a playwright and a
resident dramatist who knew intimately the actors for
whom he wrote. It continues by discussing ‘King
Lear’ in that light.The middle chapters look in detail
at the ‘Actors and Players’ of the drama, and at
Shakespeare’s favourite ‘Acts and Devices’ as
deployed within it. A final chapter considers the
concept of 'comedic agony'. The annotated
Bibliography includes the current major editions,
major film-adaptations, and a selection of both the
best criticism and the most useful websites.
