Simplistic Complexity

The Winter's Tale is Shakespeare's most perfectly realized tragi-comedy, as notable for its tragic intensity as for its comic grace and, throughout, for the richness and complexity of its poetry. It

Much Ado about Nothing has always been popular on the stage. This edition pays especial attention to the history and range of theatrical interpretation, in which famous actors, from the time of Garrick to the present, have appeared as the sparring lovers Benedick and Beatrice. A full commentary includes annotation of the many sexual jokes in the play that have been obscured by the complexity of Elizabethan language. In this new edition, Travis D. Williams reviews recent stage, television, film and critical interpretations of the play, considering treatment of the play's special interest in language, bodies and gender.

Much Ado about Nothing has always been popular on the stage. This edition pays especial attention to the history and range of theatrical interpretation, in which famous actors, from the time of Garrick to the present, have appeared as the sparring lovers Benedick and Beatrice. A full commentary includes annotation of the many sexual jokes in the play that have been obscured by the complexity of Elizabethan language. In this new edition, Travis D. Williams reviews recent stage, television, film and critical interpretations of the play, considering treatment of the play's special interest in language, bodies and gender.

Antony and Cleopatra has the strangest stage history of any of Shakespeare's major tragedies. Richard Madelaine explains how the play's challenging complexity has at different times inhibited or promoted its success on the stage, and accounts for the remarkable resurgence of performances in the last twenty years. Madelaine provides the only detailed, extensive and up-to-date history of the play on stage and screen, in and beyond Britain. His introduction and commentary examine the ways in which cultural factors have shaped the performance of the play, and how actors have tackled the main parts, in particular the exotic eroticism of Cleopatra. In the process he reveals not only the rich plurality of possible readings of the play, but also changing attitudes to Shakespeare.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries, textual notes on the plays and poems and an extensive Introduction. Since the late twentieth century, when scholarly attention began to focus on sexuality, collaboration and Shakespeare's late plays, The Two Noble Kinsmen has become an essential script. Turner and Tatspaugh's edition presents a strong case for taking the play more seriously now than ever before. A lively introduction discusses Shakespeare's craftsmanship in adapting a medieval tale for the Jacobean stage, the extent of co-authorship with John Fletcher, the rhetorical complexity of Shakespeare's late style, the themes of sexuality and friendship, and contemporary critical responses to the play. The edition demonstrates the theatrical vitality of The Two Noble Kinsmen and confirms it as a play for today.

The New Cambridge Shakespeare appeals to students worldwide for its up-to-date scholarship and emphasis on performance. The series features line-by-line commentaries, textual notes on the plays and poems and an extensive Introduction. Since the late twentieth century, when scholarly attention began to focus on sexuality, collaboration and Shakespeare's late plays, The Two Noble Kinsmen has become an essential script. Turner and Tatspaugh's edition presents a strong case for taking the play more seriously now than ever before. A lively introduction discusses Shakespeare's craftsmanship in adapting a medieval tale for the Jacobean stage, the extent of co-authorship with John Fletcher, the rhetorical complexity of Shakespeare's late style, the themes of sexuality and friendship, and contemporary critical responses to the play. The edition demonstrates the theatrical vitality of The Two Noble Kinsmen and confirms it as a play for today.