This innovative, theoretical work focuses on temporal issues in theatre and the 'chemistry' of theatre - the ways in which a variety of factors in performance combine to make up what we call 'theatre'. Discussing a range of canonical plays, from Shakespeare to Beckett, the book makes a unique contribution to theatre and performance studies.

This innovative, theoretical work focuses on temporal issues in theatre and the 'chemistry' of theatre - the ways in which a variety of factors in performance combine to make up what we call 'theatre'. Discussing a range of canonical plays, from Shakespeare to Beckett, the book makes a unique contribution to theatre and performance studies.

This book is a study of a group of plays (Neptune's Triumph, The Life of the Duchess of Suffolk, The Bondman, The Sun's Darling, and A Game at Chesse) which appeared during one theatrical season in London in 1623 1624. These plays all allude in various ways to contemporary political issues, and Dr Limon shows how it is possible to treat them as components of a propaganda campaign designed to promote the cause of a particular faction, led by Prince Charles and the Duke of Buckingham, in the court of James I. The campaign opposed James' peaceful initiatives, which included an attempt to marry Charles to the Spanish Infanta. It was a period of severe censorship, and the playwrights engaged in the campaign had to be careful on the one hand to obtain the censor's licence (plays were often suppressed as 'dangerous matter') and on the other to convey appropriate political messages. The book demonstrates how this was managed, and proceeds to investigate the relationship between literature, politics and censorship in general.

This is the first book of its kind in English. It is a comprehensive and scrupulously researched account of the theatrical activity, of professional groups of players who left England for Central and Eastern Europe between the years 1590 and 1660. Touring on such a scale was an unprecedented phenomenon, and in an introductory chapter Dr Limon establishes its causes within the context of English acting traditions on the Continent in general. He describes its distinctive phases, examines the fortunes of particular companies, and stresses the significance of noble patronage, which enabled the players to survive even the most severe times. The book's main chapters deal with English theatrical activities in various specific towns and regions: Gdansk, Elbing, Koenigsberg, Pomerania, Livonia, Warsaw, Bohemia and Austria. Additional sections discuss two key theatre institutions in Gdansk and Warsaw. His book is illustrated with seventeenth-century engravings of theatre sites in the relevant regions. It will be valuable to all scholars and students of English and Continental theatre and drama.