Region, religion and patronage Lancastrian Shakespeare [Paperback]

Explores the network of social, political and spiritual connections in north west England as a site for regional drama, introducing the reader to the non-metropolitan theatre spaces which formed a vital part of early modern dramatic activity. Uses the possibility that Shakespeare began his theatrical career to provide a range of new contexts for reading his plays. Examines the contexts in which the apprentice dramatist would have worked, providing new insight into regional performance, touring theatre & the patronage of the Earls of Derby. Examines the experiences of Catholic families and the way in which Lancashire's status as a Catholic stronghold led to conflict with central government's attempts to create a united state. All this feeds into innovative readings of individual plays such as Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Acknowledgements

List of illustrations

1. Introduction

2. The useless dearness of the diamond : patronage theatre and households

Suzanne Westfall

3. The management of mirth: Shakepeare via Bourdieu

Richard Wilson

4. Between astrology and adolatry: modes of temporal repetition in Romeo and Juliet

Phillipa Berry

5. Country house, Catholicity and the cryptic in Twelfth Night

Anne Lecercle

6. Recusancy, festivity and community: The Simpsons at Gowlthwaite Hall

Phebe Jensen

7. Suicide at the elephant and castle or, did the lady vanish? Alternative endings for early modern women writers

Marion Wynne Davies

8. Shakespeare and Lancaster

Richard Dutton

9. The Shireburnes of Stonyhurst: memory and survival in a Lancashire Catholic recusant family

John Callow and Michael Mullett

10. Lancashire, Shakepeare and the cosntrucion of cultural neighbourhoods in sixteenth century England

Mary A. Blackstone

11. A family tradition: Dramatic patronage by the Earls of Derby

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