Sir Trevor Nunn is one of the most versatile and accomplished directors
in the English-speaking theatre. This book examines his achievements as
a director of Shakespeare within the wider context of debates on the
cultural politics of Britain's theatrical institutions in the twentieth
and twenty-first centuries. His approach has been marked by the
combination of close textual analysis with inventive theatricality, in
performance spaces ranging from the large stages of the Royal
Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre to the intimacy of the
companies' studio theatres. The principal focus of the book is on Nunn's
work as director of Shakespeare during his artistic directorship of the
RSC and the NT. The four core chapters focus in detail on major
productions that can be said to have challenged and changed perceptions
of the plays, including The Winter's Tale (RSC, 1969), the 'Roman
Plays' season (RSC, 1972) and All's Well That Ends Well (RSC, 1982),
and the studio productions of Macbeth (RSC 1976), Othello (RSC, 1989)
and The Merchant of Venice (NT, 1999). The study draws on archive
material, as well as reviews and other published commentary, including
that of actors who have worked with him.