Shakespeare Expressed: Page, Stage, and Classroom in Shakespeare and his Contemporaries ed. by Kathryn M. Moncrief, Kathryn R. McPherson, and Sarah Enloe (review)

This collection is positioned at the intersection of Shakespearean scholarship, staging, and pedagogy. Comprising twenty-eight papers, the volume was developed out of the 2011 Blackfriars Conference at the American Shakespeare Centre. It offers a collection of scholarly papers, ‘staging sessions’, and ‘detailed pedagogical exercises’ (p. 2), driven by an overwhelmingly practical aim. As Ralph Alan Cohen explains in the Foreword: ‘[h]ere scholars ask questions of a peculiarly practical sort’ (p. xiv). The edition is divided into five parts, each containing idiosyncratic topics that give attention to often-overlooked aspects of performance (such as sound directions) or more common areas of analysis (early modern stages and audience seating).

Part I focuses on ‘The Body of the Actor’, and considers the performance of a deaf actor as Old Hamlet in a fascinating chapter by Lezlie C. Cross. Other chapters deal with the maternal body in Macbeth (Chelsea Phillips), height difference in As You Like It (Jemma Alix Levy), and cast size (Brett Gamboa).

In Part II, ‘Playing the Text’, chapters explore the Porter’s knock-knock joke in Macbeth (Chris Barrett), the question of original practices (Peter Kanelos), an enlightening consideration of the playability of Q1 and Q2 Hamlet (Matthew Vadnais), and the use of ‘ha’ in Shakespeare’s soliloquies (Bill Gelber).

Part III’s ‘Staging Choices’ considers stage doors and perspective (Jennifer A. Low references Andrew Gurr and Mariko Ichikawa on the doors but surprisingly omits Tim Fitzpatrick), stage business (in which Sid Ray includes an under-explored but intriguing suggestion for teachers at the conclusion). There is also a thoughtful consideration of the staging of ghosts and invisibility (Fiona Harris-Ramsby and Kathryn R. McPherson), and chapters on the use of props to indicate character relationships (Kathryn M. Moncrief), and the role of the Chorus in Henry V (Christina Gutierrez).

Part IV on the ‘Playhouse and Playing Conditions’ comprises perhaps the most cohesive section. The topics include on-stage audiences at the Blackfriars (with chapters from Leslie Thomson and Nova Myhill), the first and second Blackfriars (Jeanne McCarthy), the positioning of characters (Annalisa Castaldo), and the use of gallery space (Christine Parker). This section focuses heavily on practical staging implications and is less directly connected to pedagogy.

Part V turns to ‘Technical and Material Matters’, and considers heat (Ann Jennalie Cook), lighting (Lauren Shell), sound (a highly useful contribution from Alisha Huber), and economics (Melissa D. Aaron). Aaron’s chapter, however, could have benefited from more engagement with criticism on early modern theatre and the market, such as new economic criticism (there are many contributions in and around this field, including Linda Woodbridge, ed., Money in the Age of Shakespeare: Essays in New Economic Criticism, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003).

The final chapter of each part provides a practical classroom exercise or activity. These five pedagogical chapters will be useful for educators of secondary or tertiary students: they offer engaging learning activities that hone students’ ability to read dramatic literature for staging implications. The exercises include a ‘staging’ assignment (Miriam Gilbert), as well as activities for exploring character function (Symmonie Preston), considering the audience relationship (Sarah Enloe), using architectural elements (Doreen Bechtol), and special effects (Cass Morris). Although they do not engage significantly with educational theory, the exercises will be useful and interesting for educators and students. However, relegating these practical activities to the final, very brief section of each part seems problematic: it perpetuates a divide between scholarship and pedagogy that the edition otherwise tries to undo.

As Shakespeare Expressed features a range of contributions in the areas of scholarship, staging, and pedagogy, the volume might have benefited from a tighter scope as it sometimes struggles to do justice to all fields indicated in the title. This book would be most helpful for pedagogical and performative purposes...