Understanding Shakespeare's Plays in Performance

by Jay L. Halio

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people buy tickets to see Shakespeare's plays performed. No other playwright commands the kind of interest that Shakespeare does. Shakespeare's plays have something for everyone. In performance, moreover, they are much more accessible than they are when read from heavily annotated texts, for performances somehow provide all the annotation we need, or enough of it; they make the plays live. In a very real sense, Understanding Shakespeare's Plays in Performance allows you the experience of attending a play rehearsal. During rehearsals, various aspects of staging and interpretation are worked out. In the process, one becomes aware of the many aspects of presenting Shakespeare that in performance might never become evident. Being on the inside, as it were, provides a new perspective, an insight into the complexities of production that cannot help but inform our judgment even as it illuminates our understanding.

100 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1988