This volume forms part of the 5 volume set "Early English Stages 1300-1660." This set examines the history of the development of dramatic spectacle and stage convention in England from the beginning of the fourteenth century to 1660.

Shakespeare's Dramatic Heritage shows that the drama of Elizabethan and Jacobean England is deeply indebted to the religious drama of the Middle Ages and represents a climax, in secular guise, to mediaeval experiment and achievement rather than a new beginning. This is fully examined in terms of dramatic literature as well as in terms of theatres, stages and production conventions.
The plays studied include: Richard II, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Macbeth, Coriolanus, The Winter's Tale and Marlowe's King Edward II.

This volume explores the professional English theatre from 1530 to 1660. The documents collected here, many published for the first time, chronicle the exciting and flourishing world of the theatre through the reigns of Henry VIII to Charles I. These exciting primary sources offer first-hand accounts, including the daily life and work of the actor, and the most complete coverage yet of all the playhouses, both public and private, including the Rose, the Globe, Red Lion and the Swan. The volume documents the various theatre companies of children, costumes and stage property matters, audience reception and behaviour, and ecclesiastical and governmental legislation. A full linking narrative and extensive bibliography detailing the location of the primary sources, provide an important reference work and valuable research tool.

This volume explores the professional English theater from 1530 to 1660. The documents collected here chronicle the theater through the reigns of Henry VIII to Charles I. These primary sources offer first-hand accounts, including the daily life and work of the actor, and the most complete coverage yet of all the playhouses, including the Rose, the Globe, Red Lion, and the Swan. The volume documents the various theater companies of children, costumes and stage property matters, and ecclesiastical and governmental legislation.

The influences of religion, recreation and commerce upon the development of dramatic art in Christian Europe are described in this updated and expanded history of medieval theatre.