Romantic and Revolutionary Theatre, 1789–1860 (Theatre in Europe: A Documentary History)

Cambridge University Press
Edition: Annotated, 6/5/2003
EAN 9780521250801, ISBN10: 0521250803

Hardcover, 586 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm
Language: English

Taking as notional parameters the upheaval of the French Revolution and the events leading up to the Unification of Italy, this volume charts a period of political and social turbulence in Europe and its reflection in theatrical life. Apart from considering external factors like censorship and legal sanctions on theatrical activity, the volume examines the effects of prevailing operational conditions on the internal organization of companies, their repertoire, acting, stage presentation, playhouse architecture and the relationship with audiences. Also covered are technical advances in stage machinery, scenography and lighting, the changing position of the playwright and the continuing importance of various street entertainments, particularly in Italy, where dramatic theatre remained the poor relation of the operatic, and itinerant acting troupes still constituted the norm. The 460 documents, many of them illustrated, have been drawn from sources in Britain, France and Italy and have been annotated, and translated where appropriate.

List of documents
General editor's preface
Editor's preface
Acknowledgements
Britain Edited by Victor Emeljanow
Introduction
Part I. Theatre, the Law and Management Practices
A. Theatres and the law
B. Management and company practices
Part II. Playhouses
Part III. Repertoire, Taste and Audiences
A. Repertoire
B. Plays and playwriting
C. Audiences
conditions of viewing
D. Composition and behaviour
E. The attendance of royalty
its effect on audiences and repertoire
Part IV. Actors and Acting
A. Getting on stage
B. The theatre as industry
C. The art of the actor
D. 'Natural' acting
E. The actors
F. The advent of Edmund Kean and Romantic acting
G. Macready and the move towards realistic acting
H. Melodrama acting
I. The faces of comic acting
Part V. Stage Presentation
A. Stage machinery, lighting and effects
B. Stage settings
C. Stage business
D. Costuming
France Edited by Donald Roy
Introduction
Part I. Documents of Control
A. Licensing of theatres
B. Censorship and propaganda
Part II. Managerial and Contractual Documents
Part III. Actors and Acting
Part IV. Stage Presentation
A. Decors and machinery
B. Lighting
C. Costume
Part V. Audiences and Auditoria
Italy Edited by Kenneth Richards and Laura Richards
Introduction
Part I. After Goldoni
Part II. Carnival, feste and Street Theatre
Part III. Theatres, Scenic Design and Audiences
Part IV. Early Nineteenth-Century Acting Companies and Theatre Conditions
Part V. Players and Playing
Bibliography by country
Index.