The meanings originally communicated by Elizabethan and Jacobean dress have long been confined to history. Why, then, have doublets, hose, ruffs and farthingales featured in many Shakespeare productions staged since the turn of the 21st century? This book scrutinizes the popular practice of costuming Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan and Jacobean dress. It considers why this approach to design appeals to contemporary directors, designers and audiences, and how it has shaped the meaning of Shakespeare's works in specific performance contexts. Informed by original interviews with several prominent theatre practitioners, including Emma Rice, Gregory Doran, Jenny Tiramani, Simon Godwin, Stephen Brimson Lewis and Tom Piper, Shakespeare in Elizabethan Costume explores how various 21st-century Shakespeare productions have drawn on myths and desires associated with early modern clothing. Its discussions range from the practicalities of historical reconstruction to the appeal of early modern sartorial culture as an embodiment of wonder, spectacle and the supernatural. Productions discussed include Shakespeare's Globe's production of Henry V (1997), the National Theatre's Twelfth Night (2017) and the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Tempest (2016). Ella Hawkins examines the minutiae of modern design -- how seams are sewn, whence fabrics are sourced -- as well as the widespread cultural movements that have produced our modern relationship with the period of Shakespeare's lifetime. This is the first book to explore fully the significance of Elizabethan-inspired design in contemporary Shakespearean performance. Shakespeare in Elizabethan Costume reframes so-called 'period' costuming as a dynamic collection of practices capable of refashioning textual meanings, reflecting present-day political and societal shifts and confronting contemporary injustices.

The scripts of the Admiral's Men (later Prince Henry's Men), the Chamberlain's Men (later the King's Men) boy actors and Worcester's/Queen Anne's Men are examined in detail to document the differing costume practices of these companies, especially the ways in which in their earlier days they reconciled visual splendor with the greatest possible economy.

The meanings originally communicated by Elizabethan and Jacobean dress have long been confined to history. Why, then, have doublets, hose, ruffs and farthingales featured in many Shakespeare productions staged since the turn of the 21st century? This book scrutinizes the popular practice of costuming Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan and Jacobean dress. It considers why this approach to design appeals to contemporary directors, designers and audiences, and how it has shaped the meaning of Shakespeare's works in specific performance contexts. Informed by original interviews with several prominent theatre practitioners, including Emma Rice, Gregory Doran, Jenny Tiramani, Simon Godwin, Stephen Brimson Lewis and Tom Piper, Shakespeare in Elizabethan Costume explores how various 21st-century Shakespeare productions have drawn on myths and desires associated with early modern clothing. Its discussions range from the practicalities of historical reconstruction to the appeal of early modern sartorial culture as an embodiment of wonder, spectacle and the supernatural. Productions discussed include Shakespeare's Globe's production of Henry V (1997), the National Theatre's Twelfth Night (2017) and the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Tempest (2016). Ella Hawkins examines the minutiae of modern design -- how seams are sewn, whence fabrics are sourced -- as well as the widespread cultural movements that have produced our modern relationship with the period of Shakespeare's lifetime. This is the first book to explore fully the significance of Elizabethan-inspired design in contemporary Shakespearean performance. Shakespeare in Elizabethan Costume reframes so-called 'period' costuming as a dynamic collection of practices capable of refashioning textual meanings, reflecting present-day political and societal shifts and confronting contemporary injustices.

Inspired by new approaches in performance studies, theatre history, research in material culture and dress history, a rich discussion of the many aspects of costume in Shakespearean performance has begun. Shakespeare and Costume furthers this research, bringing together varied and stimulating essays by leading scholars that consider costume from literary, dramatic, design, performative and theatrical perspectives, as well as interviews with renowned theatre practitioners Jane Greenwood and Robert Morgan. The volume amply demonstrates how an analysis of the meaning of costume enriches our understanding of Shakespeare's plays. Beginning with an overview of the stage history of Shakespeare and costume, the volume looks at the historical context of clothing in the plays, considering topics such as royal self-fashioning, festive livery practices, and conceptions of race and gender exhibited in clothing choice, as well as costume in performance. Drawing on documentary evidence in designers' renderings, illustrations in periodicals, paintings, photographs, newspaper reviews and actors' memoirs, the volume also explores costume designs in specific Shakespeare productions from the re-opening of the London theatres in 1660 to the present day.