The Stage and Social Struggle in Early Modern England

"The Stage and Social Struggle in Early Modern England" examines the conflict over the stage in Renaissance England and over what was perceived as the proliferation of theatrical practices. After the first commercial theatre was established in London in 1576, repeated attacks on the stage and on actors, writers and audiences, made available a language through which to condemn any practice deemed theatrical, deceitful or disruptive of the social order.
Drawing upon materialist and feminist theory, Jean Howard explores the ideological function of this anti-theatrical discourse, as well as the cultural function of the stage. She challenges the view that the theatre was primarily the servant of monarchical and aristocratic interest, and illustrates how new historicism has produced an incomplete picture of early modern theatre.

The Stage and Social Struggle in Early Modern England is a ground-breaking study of a controversial period of English literary, cultural, and political history. In language that is both lucid and theoretically sophisticated, Jean Howard examines the social and cultural facets of early modern theatre. She looks at the ways in which some theatrical practices were deemed deceptive and unreliable, while others were lent legitimacy by the powerful. An exciting and challenging work by one of the leading writers in the field, The Stage and Social Conflict in Early Modern England is important reading for anyone interested in the period.

1 RENAISSANCE THEATER AND THE REPRESENTATION OF THEATRICAL PRACTICE A brief for political criticism 2 "SATHANS SYNAGOGUE" The theater as constructed by its enemies 3 ANTITHEATRICALITY STAGED The workings of ideology in Dekker’s The Whore of Babylon Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing 4 THE MATERIALITY OF IDEOLOGY Women as spectators, spectacles, and paying customers in the English public theatre 5 POWER AND EROS Crossdressing in dramatic representation and theatrical 6 KINGS AND PRETENDERS Monarchical theatricality in the Shakespearean history play.

Jean E Howard, PH D (University of Michigan)