- Title Pages
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on References
- Introduction
- 1 Textual Shakespeare
- 2 Shakespeare and Poetry
- 3 Shakespeare and The Novel
- 4 Shakespeare and Translation
- 5 Shakespeare Anthologized
- 6 Shakespeare and Biography
- 7 Shakespeare and Early Modern Music
- 8 Shakespeare and Opera
- 9 Shakespeare and Classical Music
- 10 Shakespeare and Musical Theatre
- 11 Shakespeare, Ballet and Dance
- 12 Shakespeare and Popular Music
- 13 Shakespeare and Drama
- 14 Shakespeare and The Renaissance Stage
- 15 Shakespeare and The Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Stage
- 16 Shakespeare and The Victorian Stage
- 17 Shakespeare and The Modern Stage
- 18 Shakespeare and Contemporary Performance Spaces
- 19 Shakespeare for Children
- 20 Shakespeare and Teenagers
- 21 Shakespeare and The Comic Book
- 22 Shakespeare, Portraiture, Painting and Prints
- 23 Shakespeare, Sculpture and The Material Arts
- 24 Shakespeare Exhibition and Festival Culture
- 25 Shakespeare and Silent Film
- 26 Shakespeare on Film, 1930–90
- 27 Shakespeare on Film, 1990–2010
- 28 Shakespeare on Television
- 29 Shakespeare and Radio
- 30 Shakespeare on The Internet and in Digital Media
- Notes on Contributors
- Index
Shakespeare and The Victorian Stage
Shakespeare and The Victorian Stage
- Chapter:
- (p.292) 16 Shakespeare and The Victorian Stage
- Source:
- The Edinburgh Companion to Shakespeare and the Arts
- Author(s):
Richard Foulkes
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
This chapter reports that by the nineteenth century, the position of Shakespeare as national icon was more firmly established. Yet that alteration in imaginings of Shakespeare was itself the product of concomitant tensions — a desire to keep Shakespearean performance within the capital and a move to extend performance into the provinces. It specifically presents an account of Shakespeare on the Victorian stage. It was ironic that, with both Samuel Phelps' and Charles Kean's managements at an end, the theatrical profession lacked a recognized leader at the time of the Shakespeare tercentenary of 1864. Shakespeare's own theatre had been genuinely popular. The irony was that the Victorian theatre, which differed from it in almost every respect (architecture, scenery, lighting, costumes, casting), had, nevertheless, also succeeded in creating a mass audience for his plays. The audience for Shakespeare's plays fragmented and gone was the genuine popularity of the Victorian decades.
Keywords: Shakespeare, Victorian stage, theatrical profession, Victorian theatre, mass audience, Shakespearean performance
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- Title Pages
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgements
- A Note on References
- Introduction
- 1 Textual Shakespeare
- 2 Shakespeare and Poetry
- 3 Shakespeare and The Novel
- 4 Shakespeare and Translation
- 5 Shakespeare Anthologized
- 6 Shakespeare and Biography
- 7 Shakespeare and Early Modern Music
- 8 Shakespeare and Opera
- 9 Shakespeare and Classical Music
- 10 Shakespeare and Musical Theatre
- 11 Shakespeare, Ballet and Dance
- 12 Shakespeare and Popular Music
- 13 Shakespeare and Drama
- 14 Shakespeare and The Renaissance Stage
- 15 Shakespeare and The Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Stage
- 16 Shakespeare and The Victorian Stage
- 17 Shakespeare and The Modern Stage
- 18 Shakespeare and Contemporary Performance Spaces
- 19 Shakespeare for Children
- 20 Shakespeare and Teenagers
- 21 Shakespeare and The Comic Book
- 22 Shakespeare, Portraiture, Painting and Prints
- 23 Shakespeare, Sculpture and The Material Arts
- 24 Shakespeare Exhibition and Festival Culture
- 25 Shakespeare and Silent Film
- 26 Shakespeare on Film, 1930–90
- 27 Shakespeare on Film, 1990–2010
- 28 Shakespeare on Television
- 29 Shakespeare and Radio
- 30 Shakespeare on The Internet and in Digital Media
- Notes on Contributors
- Index