Shakespeare in the Theatre: Shakespeare Theatre Company

You must be logged in to access this title.

Sign up now

Already a member? Log in

Synopsis

Co-authored by the resident dramaturg at Shakespeare Theatre Company and a long-time scholarly consultant, this book chronicles how a small repertory troupe at the Folger Theatre on Capitol Hill became an internationally renowned company performing in a lavish, multi-venue performing arts centre in downtown Washington, D.C. The artistic vision and business acumen of Michael Kahn, the founding Artistic Director, largely catalyzed this transformation, but so too did the forces of neoliberalism and, more recently, globalization and new media. Accordingly, Shakespeare in the Theatre: Shakespeare Theatre Company not only examines directorial decision-making but also 3 decades of social and economic change in the nation's capital, from the complexities of gentrification to the arts policies of successive administrations. In addition to discussions of directorial practice, this book examines the ambivalence of American theatre artists toward their British cultural inheritance. Analyses of representative productions and interviews with Kahn and his British successor, Simon Godwin, illuminate this complex relationship: one that aspires to a cosmopolitan Anglophilia while positioning classically trained American actors as worthy rivals to their counterparts at the RSC and the National Theatre of Great Britain.

Book details

Series:
Shakespeare in the Theatre
Author:
Deborah C. Payne, Drew Lichtenberg
ISBN:
9781350352650
Related ISBNs:
9781350352681
Publisher:
Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages:
N/A
Reading age:
Not specified
Includes images:
Yes
Date of addition:
2024-09-04
Usage restrictions:
Copyright
Copyright date:
2024
Copyright by:
Drew Lichtenberg and Deborah C. Payne 
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Categories:
Art and Architecture, Drama, Plays and Theater, History, Language Arts, Literature and Fiction, Nonfiction