Synopses & Reviews
This edition of The Tempest is the first dedicated to its stage history. Dymkowski examines four centuries of mainstream, regional, and fringe productions in Britain, nineteenth- and twentieth-century American stagings, and recent Australian, Canadian, French, Italian, and Japanese productions. She analyzes the cultural significance of changes in theatrical representation, eg. when and why Caliban began to be represented by a black actor, and Ariel became a man's role rather than a woman's. The commentary annotates each line of the play with details about acting, setting, textual alteration and contemporary reception.
Review
"In her ample introduction, the editor ably chronicles salient differences among interpretive treatments of The Tempest on international stages. She draws on accounts of more than 100 productions from the 17th through the 20th centuries to delinate a broad range of performative representations...A valuable tool for readers of Shakespeare as well as sage practitioners and playgoers." Choice
Table of Contents
List of productions; Introduction; List of characters; The Tempest: text and commentary; Appendix 1: textual variations; Appendix 2: list of principal players; Bibliography.