Staging Scripture

Against a background which included revolutionary changes in religious belief, extensive enlargement of dramatic styles and the technological innovation of printing, this collection of essays about biblical drama offers innovative approaches to text and performance, while reviewing some well-established critical issues. The Bible in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries appears in a complex of roles in relation to the drama: as an authority and centre of belief, a place of controversy, an emotional experience and, at times, a weapon. This collection brings into focus the new biblical learning, including the re-editing of biblical texts, as well as classical influences, and it gives a unique view of the relationship between the Bible and the drama at a critical time for both.

Contributors are: Stephanie Allen, David Bevington, Philip Butterworth, Sarah Carpenter, Philip Crispin, Clifford Davidson, Elisabeth Dutton, Garrett P. J. Epp, Bob Godfrey, Peter Happé, James McBain, Roberta Mullini, Katie Normington, Margaret Rogerson, Charlotte Steenbrugge, Greg Walker, and Diana Wyatt.

Peter Happé, Ph.D. (1966), is a retired independent scholar and Visiting Fellow for English at the University of Southampton. His extensive list of publications includes an edition of the complete plays of John Bale.
Wim Hüsken, Ph.D. (1987), is employed as a consultant at the city of Mechelen (Belgium). He specializes in Dutch theatre and drama. In 2005, he published a new edition of the complete plays of the Bruges playwright, Cornelis Everaert.