Manchester University Press Doing Kyd: Essays on the Spanish Tragedy (Revels Plays Companion Library)

Doing Kyd reads Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, the box-office and print success of its time, as the play that established the revenge genre in England and served as a 'pattern and precedent' for the golden generation of early modern playwrights, from Marlowe and Shakespeare to Middleton, Webster and Ford. Interdisciplinary in approach and accessible in style, this collection is crucial in two respects: firstly, it has a wide spectrum, addressing readers with interests in the play from its early impact as the first sixteenth-century revenge tragedy, to its afterlife in print, on the stage, in screen adaptation and bibliographical studies. Secondly, the collection appears at a time when Kyd and his play are back in the spotlight, through renewed critical interest, several new stage productions between 2009 and 2013, and its firm presence in higher-education curriculum for English and drama. Review 'Thomas Kyd's oft-taught revenge play The Spanish Tragedy engages with issues resonant in our time: authoritarianism, economic and social inequality, global-ization, and the seeming impossibility of worldly justice. Though this collection emerged from a 2006 workshop at the University of Warwick and seems to have had a long gestation, its publication is well-timed for the current political moment.'Early Theatre 20.1, Marianne Montgomery, East Carolina University 'This valuable compendium, which revisits the critical reception of a landmark play and confirms its relevance for modern-day audiences, concludes with Cinpoes, 's comprehensive bibliography of Kyd studies from 1993 to 2013 as well as an index.'Dana E. Aspinall, Alma College, Cahiers Elisabethains: A Journal of English Renaissance Studies XX (X) From the Back Cover Doing Kyd reads Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, the box-office and print success of its time, as the play that established the revenge genre in England and served as a 'pattern and precedent' for the golden generation of early modern playwrights, from his contemporaries, Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, to Thomas Middleton, John Webster and John Ford. This collection of essays offers a wide understanding of early modern playwriting and playgoing. It examines with specialist attention the context from which Thomas Kyd's dramatic work emerged, the play's immediate impact and its legacy in print, stage productions and the challenges posed, issues from genre to gender in theories of revenge, and editing the play - not just for the page but also for the stage and screen. As a collective effort, it assembles the top scholars in the field including editors, theatre historians, theory scholars and critics, and benefits from their wealth of work on this play, bringing together international expertise - veterans and young alike - to 'do Kyd'. Interdisciplinary in approach and accessible in style, this volume appears at the time when Thomas Kyd and his play are back in the spotlight, through renewed critical interest, several new stage productions between 2009 and 2013, and its firm presence in the Higher Education curriculum for English and Drama. As a historical and critical companion to recent editions of the play, such as the Arden and Norton editions, it will be of interest to lecturers, students, dramaturges and translators of early modern drama, but also to editors and performance historians with a particular interest in non-Shakespearean drama. About the Author Nicoleta Cinpoes is Senior Lecturer in English – Shakespeare at the University of Worcester