Inside Shakespeare: Essays on the Blackfriars Stage

by Paul Menzer (Editor)

The recently built Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, VA, has renewed interest among Shakespeareans and theater historians alike in the playhouse to which Shakespeare's company moved late in his career. Inside Essays on the Blackfriars Stage represents the first scholarly collection to address questions peculiar to the Blackfriars and indoor Did the Blackfriars have its own repertory? What was the place of the Blackfriars in the urban economy? What qualities did the Blackfriars share with the long tradition of great-hall performances? Featuring essays by Andrew Gurr, Tiffany Stern, Stephen Booth, Roslyn Knutson, A. R. Braunmuller, Michael Shapiro, Alan Somerset, Virginia Mason Vaughn and others, the essays span a range of approaches from performative to historical to textual. Some focus quite specifically on the Blackfriars, while others use the theater as a springboard to related concerns. Culled from the first two Blackfriars Conferences in 2001 and 2003, all the essays help resituate the place of the Shakespearean stage.

244 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 2006

Reviews

[Julie Bozza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before there was the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse in London, there was the (new!) Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Virginia. This collection of essays explores that project and its historical basis, as well as considering various aspects of plays and playing in such a theatre. I was interested anyway, but it became a 'must have' when I saw there's a chapter on 'The Knight of the Burning Pestle'.

The volume makes for an interesting and insightful read. It has given me food for thought - for not only my current writing project, but a future one, too. It's all good.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and enjoyable series of essays, prompted by the opening of the indoor Blackfriars Theatre in Staunton, Virginia, and what it tells us about Shakespeare and he plays he wrote. It turns out, quite a lot, but nothing for certain.