Seminar No. 2.6.

Title: Shakespeare's Nineteenth-century Performers.

Leaders:

Gail Marshall (University of Leeds, UK)
Mariangela Tempera (University of Ferrara)

Participants:

Nicholas Clary (St Michael's College)
Patricia Kennan (Universita Milano-Bicocca)
Krystyna Kujawinska-Courtney (University of Lodz)
Lisa Merrill (Hofstra University)
Adrian Poole (Trinity College, Cambridge)
Robert Sawyer (University of Georgia)
Isabelle Schwartz-Gastine (Universite de Caen)

Abstract:

Shakespeare's renown in the nineteenth century is profoundly bound up with that of his performers, primarily responsible
as these actors often were for editing and production decisions. This seminar aims to examine the specific contribution
made both to Shakespearean stage productions and to the Shakespeare-phenomenon by 'mediterranean' performers, the
most internationally-renowned of whom are Ristori, Salvini, Bernhardt and Duse. Issues to be considered might include
those of translation (both cultural and linguistic), the nature of the relationship between performer and playwright,
Shakespeare's intervention in European repertoires and stage-practices, and the broader cultural resonances of specific performers' interpretations of Shakespeare.