Can the inadvertent clashes between collaborators produce more powerful effects than their concordances? For Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, the playwriting team best known for their tragedy The Changeling, disagreements and friction proved quite beneficial for their work. This first full-length study of Middleton and Rowley uses their plays to propose a new model for the study of collaborative authorship in early modern English drama. David Nicol highlights the diverse forms of collaborative relationships that factor into a play’s meaning, including playwrights, actors, companies, playhouses, and patrons. This kaleidoscopic approach, which views the plays from all these perspectives, throws new light on the Middleton-Rowley oeuvre and on early modern dramatic collaboration as a whole.

The Changeling is a popular Renaissance tragedy in which the relationship between money, sex, and power is explored. Frequently performed and studied in University courses, it is a key text in the New Mermaids series.

The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley is a luridly sensual dramatic work which was highly regarded in its day, but then largely forgotten until its revival three hundred years later. This timely Handbook: - Offers a detailed theatrical commentary which tracks the motivations of the capricious characters and explores performance possibilities - Examines the cultural conditions that gave rise to the play, juxtaposing them with the conditions of the twentieth century - Analyses early performances as well as later stage and film productions - presents key critical debates and assessments of The Changeling.

Originally published in 1982, this book contains the Thomas Middleton and Williiam Rowley's full play, The Old Law, alongisde textual and critical notes.

A comprehensive companion to 'The Collected Works of Thomas Middleton', providing detailed introductions to and full editorial apparatus for the works themselves as well as a wealth of information about Middleton's historical and literary context.

A fresh approach to Thomas Middleton's career that focuses attention on his relations with Dekker, Shakespeare, and Rowley.