Burlesque has been a powerful and enduring weapon in the critique of 'legitimate' Shakespearean culture by a seemingly 'illegitimate' popular culture. This was true most of all in the nineteenth century. From Hamlet Travestie (1810) to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (1891), Shakespeare burlesques were a vibrant, yet controversial form of popular performance: vibrant because of their exuberant humour; controversial because they imperilled Shakespeare's iconic status. Richard Schoch, in this study of nineteenth-century Shakespeare burlesques, explores the paradox that plays which are manifestly 'not Shakespeare' purport to be the most genuinely Shakespearean of all. Bringing together archival research, rare photographs and illustrations, close readings of burlesque scripts, and an awareness of theatrical, literary and cultural contexts, Schoch changes the way we think about Shakespeare's theatrical legacy and nineteenth-century popular culture. His lively and wide-ranging book will appeal to scholars and students of Shakespeare in performance, theatre history and Victorian studies.

This is a study of nineteenth-century Shakespeare burlesques.

About the Author
Richard W. Schoch is Lecturer in Drama at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London.

Reviews
'... this book clearly establishes its author in the foremost rank of scholars of the Victorian stage ... Schoch's edition is a tremendously useful supplement to current awareness of the variety of Victorian theatrical forms ...' Theatre Notebook


Awards
Winner of CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2002.



Book Information
ISBN 9780521800150
Author Richard W. Schoch
Format Hardback
Page Count 224
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 484g
Dimensions(mm) 237mm * 159mm * 21mm