An international team of scholars offers: - modernised, easily
accessible texts - ample but unobtrusive academic guidance - attention
to the theatrical qualities of each play and its stage history -
informative illustrations, including reconstructions of early
performances Much Ado has always been popular on the stage. This edition
pays special attention to the history and range of theatrical
interpretation. The most famous actors, from the time of Garrick to the
present, have appeared as the sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick. In
recent times the play's matched plots of two pairs of lovers have been
of interest to feminist critics. A full commentary includes annotation
of the many sexual jokes in the play that have been obscured by the
complexity of Elizabethan language.