This is, in short, a book which cannot be easily pinned down or pigeon-holed, and which is all the more provocative as a result. It should appeal strongly to actors, directors, and theatre-goers, as well as to students and teachers of dramatic production, and with luck it will help contribute to a renaissance of Jonsonian stagings.
–Renaissance and Reformation, Robert C. Evans, Auburn University at Montgomery
[T]he book has many strengths and much interest, particularly for those more used to studying Jonson in an academic rather than a dramatic context. Interviews with Simon Russell-Beale, John Nettles, Sam Mendes and Geoffrey Rush point out aspects of Jonson's drama in action that may be lost through simply reading. [I]t generates a new and illuminating perspective on Jonson's technical excellence and imaginative stage-craft in his writing for the theatre..
–Lesley Mickel
Product Description
This collection is an investigation and celebration of the Jonson canon from the point of view of the theatre practitioner. Reflecting the increasing interest in Renaissance drama,Ben Jonson and the Theatre bridges the theory/practice divide by debating how Jonson's drama operates in performance, and including discussions with and between practitioners.
With essays by Sam Mendes, Geoffrey Rush, Genista McIntosh, John Nettles, Joan Littlewood and Simon Russell-Beale this collection explores Jonson on stage, in the classroom, and his relationship to women. It is an important volume that suggests new perspectives and new possibilities of engaging with the work of Ben Jonson.
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