Ms-Directing Shakespeare Women Direct Shakespeare

by Schafer, Elizabeth

• ISBN13: 9780312227463
• ISBN10: 0312227469
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-05-19
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary

In this engaging and lively book, Elizabeth Shafer captures a sense of the creative world of women directing Shakespeare. She explores the works of such prestigious directors as Joan Littlewood, actress and director Dame Judi Dench, Gale Edwards, and Jude Kelley, and she looks at a variety of productions directed by women. In interviews with the author, the directors discuss their craft, their critics, and the innovative approaches they have brought to performances of Shakespeare's plays. These thoughtful reflections on the art of directing and the challenges facing women directors will be illuminating reading for anyone interested in the world of the theater and Shakespeare.

Author Biography

Elizabeth Schafer is a lecturer in drama and theatre studies at Royal Holloway College, the University of London. She has published several books on Renaissance drama.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
List of Plates	ix
Introduction	1	(8)
Part 1-The Directors	9	(46)
Joan Littlewood	13	(6)
Jane Howell	19	(5)
Yvonne Brewster	24	(4)
Di Trevis	28	(5)
Jules Wright	33	(4)
Helena Kaut-Howson	37	(3)
Deborah Paige	40	(2)
Jude Kelly	42	(5)
Gale Edwards	47	(8)
Part 2-The Plays	55	(134)
The Taming of the Shrew	57	(16)
Much Ado About Nothing	73	(14)
A Midsummer Night's Dream	87	(6)
The Tempest	93	(9)
The Winter's Tale	102	(9)
All's Well that Ends Well	111	(8)
The Merchant of Venice	119	(9)
King Lear	128	(21)
Macbeth	149	(13)
English History Plays: Richard II, Henry IV, Henry VI, Richard III	162	(14)
Roman History Plays: Titus Andronicus, Anthony, and Cleopatra, Coriolanus	176	(13)
Part 3-Women Directors: A Herstory	189	(54)
Before Edy Craig	193	(14)
Edy Craig and After	207	(23)
The Sixties and Seventies	230	(13)
Reflections	243	(6)
Notes	249	(14)
Bibliography of Works Cited	263	(12)
Index of Plays and Women Directors	275