Leicester's men and their plays : an early Elizabethan playing company and its legacy / Laurie Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Lawrence, 1967- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Earl of Leicester's Men (Theater company).

Theatrical companies--England.

Theatrical companies.

Leicester, Robert Dudley, Earl of, 1532?-1588.

Leicester, Robert Dudley.

Theater--England--History--16th century.

Theater.

English drama--Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600--History and criticism.

English drama.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 259 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Summary:

For three decades, the Earl of Leicester's Men dominated the early Elizabethan stage and helped develop the main features of Shakespearean theatre. Leicester's Men and their Plays is the first book-length study of this foundational playing company, who toured more widely than any other company, performed more often for Queen Elizabeth's court than any other adult troupe, and established the first major playhouses near London. Building on decades of established scholarship, Laurie Johnson makes exciting new discoveries from primary sources and unearths the rich and fascinating life stories of the first Elizabethan players. His findings overturn fundamental assumptions of theatre history and provide new understandings of the players' circumstances and family origins. Through incisive research and engaging storytelling, Johnson shows how the players and their families adapted to life working under one of the most powerful nobles in the volatile Elizabethan court.

Contents:

Starting points

The first decade (1558-1567)

The second decade (1567-1577)

The third decade (1578-1588)

Afterword : strange currencies.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 08 Nov 2023).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781009366458 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.