William Shakespeare and Others: Collaborative Plays (The Rsc Shakespeare)
'The reputation of many of the plays in this volume has been tarnished somewhat by their apparent effrontery in presuming to crowd onto the Shakespeare band wagon. In fact they often work brilliantly on stage. As proved at the RSC, Arden of Faversham is a terrific murder thriller, Edward III and Thomas More, intriguing takes on history, while Mucedorus, one of the most popular plays in Shakespeare's day, has still to be proved in production.We know very little about how the stable of playwrights at the Rose, or at the Globe, collaborated. Did one writer do the plotting, another the dialogue? We'll probably never know â€“ but this book provides a fascinating insight into some of the plays in which it has been claimed Shakespeare himself may have had a hand.'Gregory Doran, RSC Artistic Director'How we answer that most vexing of questions - 'What is Shakespearean?'â€”tells us as much about ourselves as it does about the author and his age. This outstanding and beautifully conceived edition, which explores ten plays long attributed to Shakespeare but currently excluded from the canon, allows us to revisit that question afresh and richly informed, and will prove invaluable for actors, playgoers, students, and scholars.'James Shapiro, Professor of English at Columbia University, USA and author of 1599 and Contested Will.'Meet the 'other' Shakespeare: not Shakespeare the solitary writer, the 'lone genius', but Shakespeare the reviser, rewriter and collaborator.Shakespeare and Othersreassesses what was once called the 'apocrypha', and provides, for the first time, fully up-to-date editions of the plays in which Shakespeare may plausibly have had a hand. Consisting of annotated, modern-spelling texts accompanied by interviews with theatrical practitioners, this unique collection will appeal equally to readers and performers. It is a must have book for lovers of Shakespeare on page and stage.'Tiffany Stern, Professor of English at Oxford University, UK'A rich collection of early modern plays that are entertaining, exciting and often simply superb.'Peter Holland, University of Notre Dame, USA'In evaluating candidates, Bate and Rasmussen tread the ground between Victorian inclusiveness and modernist scrupulousness...helpful tables at the beginning of each play give readers the basis to decide authorship issues for themselves. Summing up: recommended' -CHOICE