This ground breaking collection of essays is the first to examine the phenomenon of how, in the twenty-first century, Shakespeare has been experienced as a ‘live’ or ‘as-live’ theatre broadcast by audiences around the world. Shakespeare and the 'Live' Theatre Broadcast Experience explores the precursors of this phenomenon and its role in Shakespeare’s continuing globalization. It considers some of the most important companies that have produced such broadcasts since 2009, including NT Live, Globe on Screen, RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon, Stratford Festival HD, Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company Live, and Cheek by Jowl, and examines the impact these broadcasts have had on branding, ideology, style and access to Shakespeare for international audiences. Contributors from around the world reflect on how broadcasts impact on actors’ performances, changing viewing practices, local and international Shakespearean fan cultures and the use of social media by audience members for whom “liveness” is increasingly tied up in the experience economy.
The book tackles vexing questions regarding the ‘presentness’ and ‘liveness’ of performance in the 21st century, the reception of Shakespeare in a globally-connected environment, the challenges of sustaining an audience for stage Shakespeare, and the ideological implications of consuming theatre on screen.
It will be crucial reading for scholars of the ‘live’ theatre broadcast, and enormously helpful for scholars of Shakespeare on screen and in performance more broadly.
Volume editor:
Professor Pascale Aebischer,
Susanne Greenhalgh,
Laurie Osborne
Imprint: The Arden Shakespeare
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Weight: 553g
ISBN: 9781350030466
ISBN 10: 1350030465
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 26 July 2018
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
,
Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Illustrations viii List of Contributors ix Acknowledgements x Note on the text xi List of Abbreviations xii Introduction 1 Pascale Aebischer and Susanne Greenhalgh Part One: Wide Angle 1 The Remains of the Stage: Revivifying Shakespearean Theatre on Screen, 1964–2016 19 Susanne Greenhalgh 2 Shakespeare’s New Marketplace: the Places of Event Cinema 41 Susan Bennett 3 The Audience is Present: Aliveness, Social Media, and the Theatre Broadcast Experience 59 Erin Sullivan, University of Birmingham, UK 4 Understanding New Encounters with Shakespeare: Hybrid Media and Emerging Audience Behaviours 77 Rachael Nicholas Part Two: In the Theatre 5 A View from the Stage: Interviews with Performers 95 Beth Sharrock 6 A View from the Stalls: The Audience’s Experience in the Theatre During the RSC Live from Stratford-upon- Avon Broadcasts 103 Julie Raby Part Three: Close-Ups 7 South Bank Shakespeare Goes Global: Broadcasting from Shakespeare’s Globe and the National Theatre 113 Pascale Aebischer 8 The Stratford Festival of Canada: Mental Tricks and Archival Documents in the Age of NTLive 133 Margaret Jane Kidnie 9 Talawa and Black Theatre Live: ‘Creating the Ira Aldridges That Are Remembered’ – Live Theatre Broadcast and the Historical Record 147 Jami Rogers 10 Cheek by Jowl: Reframing Complicity in Web-Streams of Measure for Measure 161 Peter Kirwan Part Four: Reaction Shots 11 The Curious Incident of Shakespeare Fans in NTLive: Public Screenings and Fan Culture in Japan 177 Kitamura Sae 12 Shakespeare and the Theatre Broadcast Experience: A View from Hong Kong 185 Michael Ingham 13 Very Like a Film: Hamlet Live in Bologna 193 Keir Elam 14 Shakespeare at a Theatre Near You: Student Engagement in Northeast Ohio 199 Ann M. Martinez 15 Shakespeare from the House of Molière: The Comédie-Française/Pathé Live Roméo et Juliette (2016) 207 Pascale Aebischer Epilogue: Revisiting Liveness 215 Laurie E. Osborne Appendix: Digital Theatre Broadcasts of Shakespeare, 2003–17 227 Rachael Nicholas Index 243
"Pascale Aebischer is Professor of Shakespeare and Early Modern Performance Studies at the University of Exeter. She specialises in the history of the performance of early modern drama (including Shakespeare), with an emphasis on 1580s-1700 and 1980s-present. She has a particular interest in bodies and performance technologies (from candlelight through social media to 'live' theatre broadcast), as well as in the connection between the reconstruction of early modern playhouses and urban regeneration. These interests are reflected in her teaching, which focuses on early modern - Restoration theatrical cultures and performance practices, Shakespeare, and present-day performance on stages and screens. Susanne Greenhalgh is currently Principal Lecturer in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Roehampton, UK. Her current research interests centre on reception studies and the relationship between theatre and screen media, especially in relation to Shakespeare's circulation, adaptation and citation in different periods and settings, including the home, theatre and mass media. Laurie Osborne, is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Colby College, USA. She teaches Shakespeare, film theory, literary theory, adaptation studies and composition. Her most recent scholarship focuses on ""Shakespeare and Popular Culture."""
Reviews for Shakespeare and the 'Live' Theatre Broadcast Experience
I used to go to my local cinema to watch films. Now I'm more likely to go to see a 'live from' relay, most of which are of Shakespeare. This brilliant collection of pieces sets the parameters for our consideration of the phenomenon for years to come, exploring examples of reception round the world and investigating the technologies that are creating such exhilarating new ways to watch live and once-live theatre by an ever-increasing array of theatre companies. -- Peter Holland, University of Notre Dame.
