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Examines treatment of actors as rogues and “others” by late Elizabethan and early Jacobean authorities. Reads early modern anti-theatrical tracts by Stephen Gosson and Philip Stubbs, discusses fears about theatre, including plague and disease. Connects treatment of actors with representation of corrupt society in Measure for Measure, where autocratic ruler suppresses marginalized persons. English summary, 245.

Employs criminological framework of “ideal” and “complex victims” to discuss Josie Rourke’s production of Measure for Measure (2018, q.v.) which linked play to #MeToo Movement. Discusses production’s staging of two versions within one performance, where notion of “ideal victim” Isabella was troubled by actor later performing role of offender Angelo. Argues that theatrical representations of victims and offenders shapes understandings of victimization in broader socio-legal contexts. English summary, 146.

Describes Shakespeare’s influence on development of people’s theater in French region of Languedoc. Describes how Shakespeare provided both corpus of plays and model of producing theatre for Languedoc region after World War II, with Shakespearean productions enabling social cohesion through inclusive theater. Discusses role of Shakespeare in André Crocq’s theater workshops, Languedoc’s Cultural Center and Montpellier’s drama festival. English and French summaries, online. 

Examines David Greig’s sequel to Macbeth, Dunsinane (q.v.). Argues sequel revises political ideologies of Stuart England to offer Scottish perspective by focusing on clan rivalries and alliances which are neglected by Shakespeare, in so doing considering perspectives of both English occupiers and Scottish occupied in eleventh century Scotland. Connects sequel with contemporary British politics. English and French summaries, online. 

Considers legacies of Elizabethan forms of artistic production in nineteenth and twentieth centuries, focusing on Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803-49), called “the Last Elizabethan” by Lytton Strachey, and T. S. Eliot’s play Confidential Clerk (1953), reviewed as twentieth-century take on Elizabethan verse drama. Considers Beddoes and Eliot reworking of Elizabethan and Jacobean cultural forms, including their treatment of Shakespearean drama, and explains why Eliot apparently neglected Beddoes’s work. English and French summaries, online. 

Discusses significance of games of chance in Henry V, noting how players’ experiences of risk and luck are associated with providence. Links play's references to games of chance with historical narrative of Agincourt. English and French summaries, online.

Reconsiders dynamics of English victory at Battle of Agincourt, arguing that Henry V’s surprise attack was “an act of desperation more than bravado.” Considers how story of battle was romanticized in subsequent years by various authors and accounts, such that Shakespeare’s Henry V was drawing from legend of Agincourt rather than historical fact. English summary, online.

Emily Burns, dramaturg. Ashley Mapley-Brittle, assistant director. Sets by Alexander Dodge, costumes by Evie Gurney, lighting by Donald Holder, and music by Michael Bruce. Jesse Kovarsky, choreographer.

Produced by the Shakespeare Theatre Company (https://www.shakespearetheatre.org) at Harman Hall, Washington, DC, 11 November-18 December 2022.

With Justin Adams (Don John), Carlo Albán (Don Pedro), David Bishins (Verges), Sarah Corey (Ursula), Michael Kevin Darnall (Borachio), Nehassaiu deGannes (Sister Francis), Paul Deo, Jr. (Claudio), Terrance Fleming (Cop), Edward Gero (Leonato), Kate Jennings Grant (Beatrice), Rick Holmes (Benedick), Quinn M. Johnson (Oatcake), Nicole King (Hero), Raven Lorraine (Belle Shazzar/Georgina Seacoal), Ryan Neely and Ring Yuqi Yang (Swing), Dave Quay (Dogberry), and Dina Thomas (Margaret).

By Paula Thielecke. Karla Mäder, dramaturg. Sets by Sarah Sassen; costumes by Jenny Schleif.

Produced by Schauspiel Graz (https://schauspielhaus-graz.buehnen-graz.com) at the Deutsches Theater, Berlin, beginning 18 June 2022; and at Haus Zwei, Graz, beginning 21 October 2022.

With Maximiliane Haß (Judith Shakespeare) and Rudi Widerhofer, Mathias Lodd, Beatrix Doderer, Katrija Lehmann, Clemens Maria Riegler, Sissi Noé, and Miriam Fontaine (Chorus).

Adapted by Markus Bothe. Translated into German by A. W. Schlegel. Elisabeth Tropper, Jan Stephan Schmieding, and Karla Mäder, dramaturgs. Sets by Robert Schweer, costumes by Anna Brandstätter, lighting by Viktor Fellegi, and music by Sandy Lopičić.

Produced by Schauspiel Graz at Haus Eins (https://schauspielhaus-graz.buehnen-graz.com), Graz, beginning 22 April 2022.

With Henriette Blumenau (Hippolyta/Titania), Mathias Lodd (Theseus/Oberon), Daria von Loewenich (Hermia), Sarah Sophia Meyer (Helena), Lukas Walcher (Lysander), Raphael Muff (Demetrius), Forian Köhler (Egeus/Puck), Frieder Langenberger (Philostrate/Peter Quince), Alexej Lochmann (Bottom), Clemens Maria Riegler (Snug), Oliver Chomik (Flute), Franz Solar (Snout), and Gerhard Balluch (Starveling).