Shakespeare in the Theatre: Mark Rylance at the Globe
Each volume in the Shakespeare in the Theatre series focuses on a
director or theatre company who has made a significant contribution to
Shakespeare production, identifying the artistic and political/social
contexts of their work. The series introduces readers to the work of
significant theatre directors and companies whose Shakespeare
productions have been transformative in our understanding of his plays
in performance. Each volume examines a single figure or company,
considering their key productions, rehearsal approaches and their work
with other artists.
Since its opening in the late 1990s, the reconstructed Shakespeare's
Globe Theatre has made an indelible impression on the contemporary
British theatre scene. This book explores the theatre's first decade of
productions under the pioneering leadership of Sir Mark Rylance. Drawing
upon an extensive range of material from the theatre's archive,
interviews with Globe practitioners, and Rylance's own personal archive,
this book argues that the Rylance era was a ground-breaking and
important period of recent theatre history. It concludes with an
in-depth interview with Rylance himself. The book gives a unique insight
into Rylance's practice and impact, and will be of interest to anyone
studying Shakespeare in performance.
Stephen Purcell is Associate Professor of English at the University
of Warwick. His research focuses on the performance of the work of
Shakespeare and his contemporaries on the modern stage and screen, and
his publications include the books Popular Shakespeare and
Shakespeare and Audience in Practice. He also directs for the open-air
theatre company The Pantaloons.
Series Editors: Bridget Escolme, Queen Mary University of London,
UK, Peter Holland, University of Notre Dame, USA and Farah Karim-Cooper,
Shakespeare's Globe, London, UK.
