Playgoing in Shakespeare's London - Softcover

Gurr, Andrew

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9780521368247: Playgoing in Shakespeare's London

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521368243 ISBN 13: 9780521368247

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1989

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Who were the people for whom Shakespeare wrote his plays? What was it like to go to a play in the London playhouses between 1567 and 1642? What were the social and cultural backgrounds of these playgoers? Assembling all the evidence from the writings of the time to answer these questions, Gurr describes the structure of the playhouses, the cost of entry, the size of crowds, the smells, and the pickpockets, identifying who went to which plays and at which theater. In contrast to previous oversimplified accounts of Shakespeare's audience, which have portrayed typical playgoers as either London artisans or wealthy gallants, Gurr emphasizes the radical divergence of different playhouses catering to different sections of society and the way in which popular tastes in plays grew and diversified during the period. The core of the evidence is contained in two appendices, one listing all the people known to have attended plays, the other listing all the significant contemporary comments on playgoing. Illustrations depict the location and shape of the different playhouses and include portraits of some of the personalities involved.

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Book Description:

This is a newly revised edition of Andrew Gurr's classic account of the people for whom Shakespeare wrote his plays. Gurr assembles evidence from the writings of the time to describe the physical, social and mental conditions of playgoing. For this edition, as well as revising and adding new material which has emerged since the second edition, Gurr develops new sections about points of special interest. Fifty new entries have been added to the list of playgoers and there are a dozen fresh quotations about the experience of playgoing.

About the Author:

Andrew Gurr is Emeritus Professor, University of Reading. His many books include The Shakespearean Stage 1574-1642 (third edition 1993), Writers in Exile, Playgoing in Shakespeare's London (second edition 1996), The Shakespearian Playing Companies (1996), and (with Mariko Ichikawa) Staging in Shakespeare's Theatres (2000).

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