The Routledge Companion To Directors' Shakespeare

'Bringing directorial labour into sharp focus, this long overdue volume represents a valuable contribution to theatre history. It not only heightens our understanding of the art and craft of directing Shakespeare but also enables a comprehensive overview of over a century of directorial practice. This is a book to be read, and reread: there are deep pleasures here.' - Barbara Hodgdon, University of Michigan, USA 'An invaluable resource for anyone interested in modern Shakespeare production. The breadth of coverage is one of its greatest assets. A major contribution to Shakespeare performance studies.' - James Loehlin, University of Texas, USA The Routledge Companion to Director's Shakespeare is a major collaborative book about plays in performance. Thirty authoritative accounts describe in illuminating detail how some of theatre's most talented directors have brought Shakespeare's texts to the stage. A must-have work of reference for students of both Shakespeare and theatre, this book presents some of the most acclaimed productions of the last hundred years in a variety of cultural and political contexts. Each entry describes a director's own theatrical vision, and methods of rehearsal and production. Notable entries include: Ingmar Bergman; Peter Brook; Declan Donnelan; Tyrone Guthrie; Peter Hall; Fritz Kortner; Robert Lepage; Joan Littlewood; Yukio Ninagawa; Joseph Papp; Roger Planchon; Max Reinhardt; Giorgio Strehler;Deborah Warner; Orson Welles; Franco Zeffirelli. John Russell Brown was an Associate Director of the Royal National Theatre for fifteen years, and has also chaired the Drama Panel of the Arts Council of Great Britain. He is author of numerous works on Shakespeare, including New Sites for Shakespeare (Routledge, 1999), and Shakespeare and the Theatrical Event (2002), and is editor of The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre (1995).