The purpose of this absorbing collection is to illuminate the world of
the theatre by setting it squarely in its historical context. To that
end, Professor Evans draws on the whole spectrum of Elizabethan-Jacobean
writing, from official documents to diaries and letters. Part I, The
Theatre and the World, deals, through contemporary writings, with the
drama itself, the audiences and their responses, theatrical companies,
acting and actors, and buildings and technical matters. Part II, The
Worlds and the Theatre, illustrates how the problems of everyday life,
complicated as they were by moral, religious, social, political, and
economic issues, provided an ever-fruitful source of materials to the
dramatists who practiced their craft during this extraordinarily
creative period.