The best actors in the world
Subtitle: Shakespeare and his acting company
By: David Grote.
Series: Contributions in drama and theatre studies,; no. 97
Publisher: Greenwood Press; Praeger
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Westport, Conn
Language: eng
Number of pages: 298
Subjects: Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stage history -- To 1625.; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Stage history -- England.; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Friends and associates.; Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Relations with actors.; Kemp, William, fl. 1600.; Chamberlain's Men (Theater company); King's Men (Theater company); Theatrical companies -- England -- History -- 16th century.; Theatrical companies -- England -- History -- 17th century.; Acting -- History -- 16th century.; Acting -- History -- 17th century.
Description: "The first book-length study of its kind, this volume investigates Shakespeare as a member of his acting company, dating and casting all the plays they presented from 1594 to 1614, and exploring the effects of actors in his writing.".

"Grote describes the company's reorganization as the King's Men, which led to the writing of Shakespeare's great tragedies, as well as the trials of the plague years, Shakespeare's retirement from the stage, the development of writers to replace him, and the burning of the Globe.".

"Much has been written about Shakespeare and a great deal is known about the Elizabethan theater. Yet little has been done to examine Shakespeare in relation to his acting company. This book casts light on Shakespeare's life in drama and the creation and staging of his plays.

More precisely than any other work, it establishes the dates for his company's productions, exploring the varied and profound influences actors had on the works of Renaissance dramatists, and giving us a unique look at the man who knew his actors best of all."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [275]-284) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Introduction xiii; title: 1: Prologue 1; title: 2: From Cross Keys to The Theatre, 1594-97 21; title: 3: The Crisis Years, 1597-98 53; title: 4: The Globe and Kemp's Exit, 1599-1600 77; title: 5: Life Without Kemp, 1600-03 99; title: 6: The King's Men, 1603-06 123; title: 7: Replacing Shakespeare, 1607-10 159; title: 8: Shakespeare Bows Out, 1610-13 191; title: 9: Epilogue 213; title: Appendix A: Doubling Roles 219; title: Appendix B: Charts 223; title: Chart A: Timeline of Productions for Shakespeare's Company 224; title: Chart B: Probable Casting of Chamberlain's Men Plays 228; title: Chart C: Probable Casting of King's Men Plays, 1604-08 238; title: Chart D: Probable Casting of King's Men Plays, 1610-14 246; title: Chart E: Acting Company Shares 252; title: Chart F: Globe Partnership Shares 253.