Shakespeare in small places: with particular reference to ten productions, 1990 to 1995.

This thesis is divided into two sections. In the first
section the Elizabethan Theatre is described and the idea that this structure shaped Shakespeare's plays is examined and emphasis is put on the fact that this was an aural theatre. After the spectacular and visual approach of the Victorian theatre, William Poel considered that the texts should again be paramount, while Harley Granville Barker, realizing that we are not Elizabethans, tried to find a compromise between the starkness of the Elizabethan theatre and the greater technical ability of the modern theatre. His one-set productions were to influence the rest of the century, though Tyrone Guthrie thought that Shakespeare should be taken away from the picture-frame stage and be restored to a thrust stage. With the creation of The Other Place at Stratford, and The Young Vic Theatre as part of the
(then) National Theatre, small space productions became part of main stream theatre companies. This led to an
exciting dimension in the presentation of Shakespeare texts where actors had to learn new techniques and which involved audiences to a greater extent than before and which, again, led to the aural taking place of the visual.
The second section examines ten productions performed in
a variety of small theatres and the plays chosen spread over the whole of the Shakespeare canon.

A thesis submitted to Middlesex University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.