What did publicity look like before the eighteenth century? What were
its uses and effects, and around whom was it organized? The essays in
this collection ask these questions of early modern London. Together,
they argue that commercial theater was a vital engine in celebrity's
production. The men and women associated with playing--not just actors
and authors, but playgoers, characters, and the extraordinary local
figures adjunct to playhouse productions--introduced new ways of
thinking about the function and meaning of fame in the period; about the
networks of communication through which it spread; and about theatrical
publics. Drawing on the insights of Habermasean public sphere theory and
on the interdisciplinary field of celebrity studies, Publicity and the
Early Modern Stage introduces a new and comprehensive look at early
modern theories and experiences of publicity.