Early Performers and Performance in the Northeast of England (Early Social Performance)

This collection explores the evidence for a wide variety of performance traditions up to 1642 in the northeast region of England which was among those most remote from London. While noble and religious houses in the northeast often patronized visiting performers and might be aware of developments in the capital, the region also had lively performance traditions of its own, on every level of society, from the wedding revels, sporting activities, and household fools of major noble families, through civic plays and processions, to the customary annual performances of hunters and ploughmen. The book considers the political, economic, religious, and psychological impulses that affected these traditions, and its closing chapter addresses their possible relevance to the culture of the region today.

Diana Wyatt is Associate Researcher, Records of Early English Drama North-East; Honorary Research Fellow, Durham University; and editor of Records of Early English Drama: East Riding of Yorkshire

John McKinnell is Emeritus Professor of English Studies at Durham University, Principal Investigator of the project "Records of Early English Drama North-East" and co-editor of Records of Early English Drama: County Durham