About the Book:

Shakespeare, Theory, and Performance is a groundbreaking collection of seminal essays which brings the full range of contemporary critical perspective to bear upon the practical questions of performing Shakespeare.

Bringing together the key names from both realms, the collection reflects a wide range of sources and influences, from traditional literary, performance and historical criticism to modern cultural theory. Together they raise questions about the place of performance criticism in modern and often competing debates of cultural materialism, new historicism, feminism and deconstruction.

Among the issues considered are:

• textual indeterminacy and the contingencies of performance

• the implications of gender, race, and class for audience response

• reading the actor's body as a site of cultural inscription

• postcolonial strategies for performing hegemonic Shakespeare

• the impact of technology on the study of performance as text

Shakespeare, Theory, and Performance constitutes an exciting and fascinating development within the expanding field of Shakespearean performance studies. It will be important reading for students and teachers of theatre, Renaissance literature and literary theory.

What people say:

"A fine collection: it's breadth is impressive, its various arguments almost always provocative, and its concerns timely ... this is a collection which challenged mh thinking about the possibilities for performing Shakespeare." — Susan Bennett, Professor of English at the University of Calgary

About the Author:

James C. Bulman, past president of the Shakespeare Association of America, holds the Henry B. and Patricia Bush Tippie Chair in English at Allegheny College. He is the author of Shakespeare, Theory, and Performance.